The company my husband works for are in talks of possibly joining a union. Anybody familiar with unions and what the pros and cons are? From what I understand it would be much better for him, but I really don't know anything about them. Any opinions?

By Emily7 on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 11:43 am:

Well my Dad works for BNSF railroad. He was in a horrible accident back in 1991 that killed the engineer & seriously hurt the brakeman. My Dad, the conductor was on the caboose & was not injured. The union saved his job & got him a huge settlement. So in that instance the union was great, because even though the accident was not his fault he would have lost his job permanetly.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 03:17 pm:

Well, the union is good because, at the moment, the contract is pretty good. They are in negotiating for a new contract, but the company wants to take everything away and would love to dissolve the union. Causes a lot of stress at my house, let me tell you! (Greedy company, making money hand over fist and then coming to negotiating sessions pleading poverty.)

By Mommy8 on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 12:37 am:

Well, my husband would be best to answer this question. He worked for a non-union company for about 16 years and a union co. for two. Things seem more fair for everyone. No one receives special treatment. If there is a problem, you just go to the union and they work it out. The pay is better. They are also more strict. The ONLY thing he does not like is you can't do someone else's job. If it isn't in your job description you just don't do it. Seemed a little ridiculous to him at first but he is getting use to it. It does depend on what they negotiate in the contract, though. But, He is glad he joined and so am I. It is optional to join the union and you do have dues to pay. Your husband may feel pressured to join if he doesn't. Everyone has the same rules, pay, etc. But, if he doesn't join they don't work on his behalf.

By Cocoabutter on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 03:03 am:

IMO, unions have outlived their usefulness. Back in the old days, when REAL abuse was rampant among employers, especially blue collar, unions were a necessity. However, in today's world, the only purpose unions serve is to CREATE the belief that the employer is greedy and cares nothing about it's workers. Unions, by their very existence, have merely created a sense of discourse between management and employee that never would have existed otherwise.

My dh's company is non-union. dh receives many bonus incentives and benefits. Stock options, 401K, medical, dental, vision, AD&D Ins., Life ins. for each member of our family, attendance bonus, Christmas bonus, annual safety bonus (for no accidents), double time on holidays plus 8 hrs holiday pay, 5 paid sick days, paid personal days (not sure how many), dh has been there 7 years and has 3 weeks paid vacation, and the list goes on and on and on.... Tell me- does this sound like an employer that doesn't give a hoot about it's workers? Does it sound like this company needs a union to negotiate benefits and pay? Hmmmmmm...

Now, the place I used to work at had a union. The union came in long before I started (I quit in Feb). From what I heard, the end result of the first negotiations was loss of paid sick time, loss of vision and dental ins, loss of overtime on holidays, loss of overtime on Sundays, reduced vacation time (for new hires), and a new lower pay scale.

In addition, unions are VERY partisan. Most unions (dare I say ALL) are pro-Democrat. Your union dues are not supposed to be used for political purposes, so they ask once a year if you would like to contribute to the Political Action Committee- funds which are used to lobby lawmakers and campaign for any Democratic candidate.

In 2000, I received a periodial publication sent out by my union. In it, they did a "comparison" of George W. Bush and then-vice-president Al Gore. At the end, the question was, "Which candidate would YOU vote for?" Naturally, the "comparison" was 100% slanted in favor of Gore. The propaganda printed in that magazine was paid for with my union dues.

By Cocoabutter on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 03:27 am:

Dawn-

Has one of your dk's ever come to you and asked you for something, and say it's something you have, and he knows you have it, and he knows you could give it to him if you wanted to, and you said "no"?

Has your dk then came back to you and demanded his way, and you said "NO!"

Has he then come back and stomped his feet and screamed, and you said, "NO!"

Does his demanding, tantrum-throwing manner make you happy to please him, or does it make you want him to GO AWAY?

I believe that this may be what your dh's employer may be experiencing. As I said, IMO, unions exist to CREATE discourse between employer and employee, thus the "bargaining" that takes place is not pleasant for either side of the table.

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 07:46 am:

Kilara - I think it depends. Some companies have excellent relations with employees and treat them well so a union is irrelevent. Some heap abuses on their employees. Some unions enhance relations between employers and employees and protect members from injustices. Some simply sow discord and care little for their members beyond union dues.

I don't think it's a black and white issue at all. Does he think his company treats him fairly? Has he taken an in depth look at the possible unions they may bring in? Does he and fellow employees have clear expectations of what they want from a union? Have they given their employer a fair chances to address concerns that have led them to considering a union?

I've had a chance to join unions twice in my working life. Once I voted no simply on principal (used to be rabidly anti-union) but should have really examined the option as my employer was a tyrant that regularily abused his employees in different ways. The second time I voted no as well but it was an informed vote and based on the fact that the company was an excellent place to work that treated it's workers with respect. I could only see a union creating a wall in that situation. I don't think it's about whether unions are good or bad but rather what your DH's situation merits.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 08:01 am:

Lisa, you've made a good point, but I just have to say that I think your DH's employer/company is the exception rather than the rule. The greater percentage of people don't have jobs/employers like that.

By Kaye on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 04:35 pm:

My hubby's company has mostly non union plants, but a couple of union plants. He went and worked a strike at one of the union plants..LOL. He said it was very odd, they were arguing over thigns that the company does provide at other places, but the not being able to do this job drove him nuts. For example his job is an engineer, but on occasion he walks out into the unit and sees a spill, people are working on the issue and clean up hasn't happened, so he grabs a mop, no big deal right?? Well in a union plant, it is a HUGE deal. My personal opinion of unions and union people are they are trying to get more and more for doing less and less. Yes the company is trying to make money, sure they could give more to us, but do we deserve more?? Probably not (well maybe..lol)

By Emily7 on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 05:46 pm:

I think that there are good & bad Unions, it just depends. Why not fight for a better work environment, why not have your job protected?

By Mommyathome on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 10:58 am:

My DH belongs to a union. It has been WONDERFUL. He pays $15.00 per week out of his check for "union dues".
His employers (who obviously aren't union) are very fair and extremely nice. They know that if they aren't, the union will be on them.
DH's union works hard for it's members. We also get a free, top of the line attorney to use for whatever we need.
I'm glad DH is part of a union. It has been a great experience for us for the past 6 years.

By Mommyathome on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 11:00 am:

BTW....I strongly disagree with this statement made above "My personal opinion of unions and union people are they are trying to get more and more for doing less and less"
This can't be a generalized statement. It all depends on the company.

By Conni on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 12:23 pm:

I dont like unions and am glad we have never had to deal with them. Luckily we have always worked for companies that provided us with fair pay and great benefits without a union telling them too? lol

My bil has had good experience with union for 14 yrs then very bad experiences for the last 3 yrs. His company almost went bankrupt, they downsized, they took half his pay, they took many benefits including sick pay and vaction... Uhhhhh where was the union then? None of the management lost pay. He said it has rumored that something will happen to the retirement soon. At which point he will tell them to take their contract and stick it. ;) I would have already quit myself.... lol

And yes a union *is* making money off of you.

By S_Talina on Saturday, October 9, 2004 - 07:48 pm:

I believe it is what union you belong to, I am in the plumbers and steamfitters union and I love it, I love paying my dues cause of all the benefits my family recieves being in this union. Not to mention the pay is much greater than before I was in the union.