Ed Norton has it figured out

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=367x33494

Oh my.

ejpoeta  (1000+ posts)        Tue Oct-04-11 03:35 PM
Original message
 
3rd Attempt to unionize my hubby's work.....  

The first two attempts were by the IBEW. Each time the employer would give all kinds of mandatory meetings with disinformation and be 'nicer' to the guys until after the vote. Now, my brother and brother in law also work for this company and are anti union. The vote went down both times.

Now the Teamsters are aggressively trying to get a union in there. There is ONE area the is unionized and I can't understand why workers don't look at them to see the disparity in pay and treatment of the workers. The unionized guys have gotten raises where my husband just got his first in three years. Not sure what else the unionized guys get, but I do know that my husband has had to work through his lunch and doesn't get paid for it. Technically they don't force him, but they are on them all the time about getting all this work done that there aren't enough people to do. They keep piling more work on the guys that is impossible for them to complete and seem to be all about cutting costs.

So there was a meeting yesterday. Here is a bit of the stuff being sent around to these guys...

"Signing a union card is the first step to getting into your pocket" Then they urge the reader to wait until the get all the facts before they sign anything.

Here are 'the facts'....

A union authorization card is not just for information;
It is not just for an election;
It is not a guarantee of any changes, improvements or job security.

But if you do sign a card and a union gets in, you would be represented, like it or not, and you would face UNION COSTS and UNION RISKS, including the chance of a strike.

THE TRUTH ABOUT A UNION AUTHORIZATION CARD

It is a legal, binding document (a signature is required!
It is like giving a blank check on important job rights to a stranger;
It may be the only choice you get to make about the union (the cards can even be used to bring a union in, without a vote).
It is difficult to cancel once signed.

Now, my hubby has a booklet that would be the contract. First of all, there is a no strike thing right in there. Secondly, this is an attempt to scare people into thinking a union would get into their lives and they wouldn't have a say. This is a company that tells these guys if they don't like it here, there are a line of people waiting to take their job.

It's a shame really. When my husband came to this company, there was a lot of promise there. But when the company became more interested in the quarterly profits than actually taking care of their customers.... it went downhill from there. The hubby has been shopping around for something else for awhile. It's not just about money... he took a paycut to come to this place.

I know I know... just be glad you have a job. And he is glad to have a job. But this company has been beating them down for a long time now. I wonder if it is enough to finally get a union in there. I hope so.

Maine_Nurse (623 posts)      Tue Oct-04-11 06:03 PM
Response to Reply #5
 
6. There are lots of employees that don't want a union. That is just the way it is sometimes.

The non-union hospital I work at has a sister facility owned by the same local non-profit agency. They are union. A lot of workers at my place are refugees from there. We have better time off accrual, get extra work/promotions based on ability not seniority, same health benefits but they cost us less, pay is less for us by less than 1%, and our working conditions are a bit better overall. The couple times their union tried to come over here, our hospital did no anti-union campaigning, in fact they did nothing at all except send emails to us telling us when the union reps would be here to talk to us. The union just went away due to complete lack of interest by us. Sometimes that happens.

Omaha Steve  (1000+ posts)        Tue Oct-04-11 07:24 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Now I'm sure you can figure out why they treat the non union shop better?
 
To use against the union in the sister hospital. Happens all the time.

[franksolich]

Damn.

One can sure tell franksolich doesn't do television.

I thought Ralph Kramden was the guy who worked in the sewers.

I nadined things after posting this, only to find it was Ed Norton.

 

[tanstaafl]

Omaha Steve  (1000+ posts)        Tue Oct-04-11 07:24 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Now I'm sure you can figure out why they treat the non union shop better?
 
To use against the union in the sister hospital. Happens all the time.

Gee, what's the downside? OS wants you to join the union, get less pay, less benefits and the added bonus of paying dues. Plus the possibility of a mandatory PAC extra tacked on to support Obummer and the union bigwigs fanciful lifestyle of exclusive resorts and private jets.

[Karin]

BLASPHEMER!!!

Maine_Nurse (623 posts)      Tue Oct-04-11 08:34 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. Except that hasn't happened in the 20 years we have existed...
 the other facility has been around for over 100 years. We are never mentioned over there (or vice versa for that matter). I'm not saying unions are bad, but sometimes they don't help either. I prefer not to have one and negotiate for myself so I can work at getting what I want, not what some union thinks I should want. Even if both places were at a par, I'd work at mine for that reason alone. I make a little less than average for my position, but I accrue time off faster than the others. That is important to me, but maybe not to others. I like being an individual, and many feel that way.

[thundley4]

  unions.  I just got a letter today about dues increases.  Starting 01/01/2012 they are planning an increase every year for the next 5 years.  When it's all done the dues will have increased 25%, from $28 per month to $35 per month.    And that is on top of the 2% hourly working dues that they charge.

[Celtic Rose]

BLASPHEMER!!!

For some reason I honestly thought that all nurses were unionized.  I am very excited to find out that there are still some hospitals that are not unionized.  I will likely have to look harder to find one, but it is good to know that they are out there.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

BLASPHEMER!!!

That's a quick way to get booted from the Collective.  Resistance is futile.

[FiddyBeowulf]

DUmmie ejpoeta should figure out how much of a raise her husband could have gotten if the unionized part of the company had not gotten theirs.

[jukin]

Unions kill companies.  That is what they are designed to do and they do it well. A good friend had a successful  HVAC contracting company. He had been in business since 1999. There were some lean times but never had a layoff. Then he got big enough to be in the union sights. The employees voted union in 2005. In 2006 he suffered his first reduction in business year to year and his first layoffs. Bottom line is he was losing jobs to nonunion companies. He no longer could compete. 2007 brought in even less business and more layoffs. The same reason, the unions were driving up costs and he was losing bids. First half of 2008, even less business but lots of bids so the jobs were out there.  It was just not economically sensible to stay in business and nobody wanted to buy a unionized company. He decided to go out of business.

Did the recession play a part in the demise of his company? He really does not think so. He pins 90% on the increased costs and working conditions demands (the real killer) was what took him out.  he directly blames the fact his workers unionized. Some of his workers got jobs with competitors. Most of them moved out of state to get a job.

Killing businesses and governments is what unions do. Sadly, they do it very well.

[Chris_]

The Predators/Jets match last week was a home game for the Canucks and was sponsored by the IBEW.  In addition to enjoying Bob and Doug Mackenzie-quality local radio from Manitoba, the station played "sponsor identication" spots that touted the unions good deeds.  Every fifteen minutes, you were treated to pro-union talking points such as "guaranteed quality workmanship", "projects completed on time and on budget", and "a highly-skilled, dependable workforce".

Someone needs to remind the UAW.  They seem to have missed the message.

[thundley4]

The Predators/Jets match last week was a home game for the Canucks and was sponsored by the IBEW.  In addition to enjoying Bob and Doug Mackenzie-quality local radio from Manitoba, the station played "sponsor identication" spots that touted the unions good deeds.  Every fifteen minutes, you were treated to pro-union talking points such as "guaranteed quality workmanship", "projects completed on time and on budget", and "a highly-skilled, dependable workforce".

Someone needs to remind the UAW.  They seem to have missed the message.

The UAW workers are too busy getting high and drunk on their lunch break to care about craftsmanship.