stupid UNION stories

[b-ONE-b]

I have a good one.


SO I'm in New Jersey with a friend of mine who has a business that makes aquarium lights. We're going to this trade show in Atlantic City. So at the trade show lots of people have aquariums set up.

Well... the convention center is UNION so, the vendors were NOT ALLOWED to dump water from jugs into their aquariums. A UNION plumber had to come to your booth and pour the water from the jugs. And it wasn't one UNION plumber, it was 2-3. You have the young 20-something UNION plumber all tall and strong looking with TWO fat and dumpy looking guys in their 50's. The TWO older guys were directing the young guy how to pour and where to pour.

At the end of the trade show the vendors wanted to drain the water from these aquariums so they could break down their booths and go home. AGAIN, UNION rules required a UNION plumber to siphon water into a bucket for removal.

Oh and it was hot and stuffy inside the trade show hall because the UNION HVAC guys didn't get in until 12 and no one else was allowed to turn the AC on.

[DumbAss Tanker]

I'm surprised they let you plug in the aerators or lights without a union electrician, and no, I'm not kidding.

[Dori]

I've heard union stories from the longshoremen, to the teamsters etc.

John & Ken, a couple of pot and pan banging radio hosts have done a real number on the idiocy of unions in California.  Like a longshoreman can't or won't get off of his forklift to open a gate.  He sits there and waits for someone else to do it.  Or they have job sharing, come into work for a half day, get paid for a full day.

All kinds of crazy with those guys. 

[BattleHymn]

Chitownchica has some union stories that I recall.  Hopefully she'll share.

We were just talking about this very issue, me and another friend yesterday.  She used to work at a big boat show up in Chicago (McCormicks, or something like that).  She regaled me with stories of the union changing all of the electrical outlets in the building so nobody could plug in anything without their help.  She also mentioned that one union person would bring in their 12X12 sections of carpet for their booths, but another union guy was the only one allowed to unroll the carpet.  Conveniently, the unroller would almost always arrive before the thug bringing the carpet, and the carpet would not get unrolled. 

My friend mentioned that many of the people at the show would never even get their stuff off of the trailers before the show ended.  Yes, union thugs were also responsible for unloading.

The aforementioned boat show eventually moved to Florida.  I wonder why.   

[Dori]

My friend mentioned that many of the people at the show would never even get their stuff off of the trailers before the show ended.  Yes, union thugs were also responsible for unloading.

Wasn't that part of the problem with the "Twinkie" bankruptcy?  The truckers wouldn't take the goods off the racks to load their trucks or some such nonsense, someone else had to do it.
 
It took three different unions, or three union people of some kind, just to get the twinkies loaded and delivered.  And then all the lefties cried because the company shut down.   

[JohnnyReb]

Went a auction once, 25 years ago. You sat under a tent and they drove the heavy equipment up a ramp and by the tent when being auctioned off. They had to hire union drivers certified for each piece and pay them for a full day. They wouldn't let potential buyers get on the equipment. You had to bribe/tip/pay a union thug to try it out for you. When it was over and I was checking out they asked if I enjoyed the auction and would I be coming back for another of their monthly auctions. I told them, "Yes, I enjoyed the auction but no I won't be coming back...to many know nothing union people around here for me." They held 2 or 3 more auctions and folded.

[thundley4]

Chitownchica has some union stories that I recall.  Hopefully she'll share.

We were just talking about this very issue, me and another friend yesterday.  She used to work at a big boat show up in Chicago (McCormicks, or something like that).  She regaled me with stories of the union changing all of the electrical outlets in the building so nobody could plug in anything without their help.  She also mentioned that one union person would bring in their 12X12 sections of carpet for their booths, but another union guy was the only one allowed to unroll the carpet.  Conveniently, the unroller would almost always arrive before the thug bringing the carpet, and the carpet would not get unrolled. 

My friend mentioned that many of the people at the show would never even get their stuff off of the trailers before the show ended.  Yes, union thugs were also responsible for unloading.

The aforementioned boat show eventually moved to Florida.  I wonder why.   

IIRC , Chicago was considering passing some rules that changed what the unions controlled at conventions.  The city, hotels and convention centers were losing too much money from shows being cancelled because of union practices.  I don't know if anything ever came of it though.

[vesta111]

IIRC , Chicago was considering passing some rules that changed what the unions controlled at conventions.  The city, hotels and convention centers were losing too much money from shows being cancelled because of union practices.  I don't know if anything ever came of it though.

Our government Shipyard has a union with a no strike clause.

Having most males and my own mother work there for years and years the major complaint was waiting to do a job until another union employee got to plug in a lamp or open closed doors.   

This is I believe is one of the reasons of the cost over runs on a Government project.  I myself ran into this years ago on an AB rip off and re apply at a union private shipyard.   We were to do our jobs in the bilges but there was not enough light.   8 of us had to wait 3 hours for the union to come in and flick on a switch for lighting, we spent those hours eating our lunches, smoking and playing cards.

[Maxiest]

Wasn't that part of the problem with the "Twinkie" bankruptcy?  The truckers wouldn't take the goods off the racks to load their trucks or some such nonsense, someone else had to do it.
 
It took three different unions, or three union people of some kind, just to get the twinkies loaded and delivered.  And then all the lefties cried because the company shut down.   

Well your close, but it was that they couldn't deliver Wonder Bread and Twinkies on the same truck.  Although made in the same place...  How people can sit back and say unions are good is beyond me.  There is some employee protection but I don't even agree with that in 99.4% of the cases.

And the story told in the OP just backs up my feelings on the union even more.  And liberals wonder why companies close and leave the country?

[Dori]

And the story told in the OP just backs up my feelings on the union even more.  And liberals wonder why companies close and leave the country?

I detest unions.  Years ago we had a union strike by grocery store employees that lasted for four months.  The Teamsters refused to deliver to the stores and the ships backed up in the harbors loaded with rotting food. 

I learned how to shop non union during that time.  You can save a lot on food that way.  I only shop my local union store when they have a sale on things that I like.

[Wineslob]

I've heard union stories from the longshoremen, to the teamsters etc.

John & Ken, a couple of pot and pan banging radio hosts have done a real number on the idiocy of unions in California.  Like a longshoreman can't or won't get off of his forklift to open a gate.  He sits there and waits for someone else to do it.  Or they have job sharing, come into work for a half day, get paid for a full day.

All kinds of crazy with those guys. 

In the early 80's I used to fumigate rice. One of the jobs was at the Port of Sacramento. We were fumigating sacked and pelleted rice as it came off the trucks and was then stacked in the wherehouse. We watched as Union forklift drivers would refuse to work because the assigned to them (by number) forklift was not available or they only unloaded and not loaded trucks/wherehouses. During this time they stood (can't SIT on the job) at a makeshift table playing cards until "their" forklift was free. They also had six packs of beer ON the forklifts, per Union rules. Yes, they did drink on the job.

And we wonder why Unions are bad....................NOT.

[JohnnyReb]

In the early 80's I used to fumigate rice. One of the jobs was at the Port of Sacramento. We were fumigating sacked and pelleted rice as it came off the trucks and was then stacked in the wherehouse. We watched as Union forklift drivers would refuse to work because the assigned to them (by number) forklift was not available or they only unloaded and not loaded trucks/wherehouses. During this time they stood (can't SIT on the job) at a makeshift table playing cards until "their" forklift was free. They also had six packs of beer ON the forklifts, per Union rules. Yes, they did drink on the job.

And we wonder why Unions are bad....................NOT.

Unions....DUmmie safehavens.

[The Abolitionist]

Labor unions = labor cartels

Good for the small percentage of union members, bad for the overall economy.  The more free an economy is, the more efficient it will run and the more productive and competitive it will be.  Like government, labor unions are the opposite of a free market.

[CollectivismMustDie]

My whole working life has been non-union, so I have not been in a position to see many of these things mentioned in previous posts, but...

Seeing the firsthand accounts some of you have posted about, I can only wonder what goes on with government unions, and what kind of shenanigans go on where most of us can't see them, and where those that can are unable or unwilling to tell others about them.

[DumbAss Tanker]

My whole working life has been non-union, so I have not been in a position to see many of these things mentioned in previous posts, but...

Seeing the firsthand accounts some of you have posted about, I can only wonder what goes on with government unions, and what kind of shenanigans go on where most of us can't see them, and where those that can are unable or unwilling to tell others about them.

At least in the Federal sector, unions are nowhere near the obstacle to work that they are in the private sector.  They tend to have very few activist voting members since the union has to represent everyone in the bargaining unit regardless of membership status, strikes are illegal, and the pay is set by Congress (Or less directly by Department of Labor for the 'Wage Grade' employees as opposed to the GS ones) instead of local negotiation.  The union generally represents all the nonmanagement white collar workers, all the blue collar workers, or both (Often with a separate unit for either the firefighters, the police/security force, or both) so there isn't the same crap with having to get a member of the electrician's union to shut off the power to the water heater so a member of the plumber's union can work on it.  They're really pretty harmless, and they do occasionally do some good in keeping the management honest and ensuring things are done fairly and legally.

The same is often not true of State and municipal unions, particularly teachers.

[Mike220]

At least in the Federal sector, unions are nowhere near the obstacle to work that they are in the private sector.  They tend to have very few activist voting members since the union has to represent everyone in the bargaining unit regardless of membership status, strikes are illegal, and the pay is set by Congress (Or less directly by Department of Labor for the 'Wage Grade' employees as opposed to the GS ones) instead of local negotiation.  The union generally represents all the nonmanagement white collar workers, all the blue collar workers, or both (Often with a separate unit for either the firefighters, the police/security force, or both) so there isn't the same crap with having to get a member of the electrician's union to shut off the power to the water heater so a member of the plumber's union can work on it.  They're really pretty harmless, and they do occasionally do some good in keeping the management honest and ensuring things are done fairly and legally.

The same is often not true of State and municipal unions, particularly teachers.

Just ask PATCO... 

The DUmmy angst over that warms my tiny heart.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Just ask PATCO... 

The DUmmy angst over that warms my tiny heart.

Yeah...those shitheads deserved everything they got, and deserve no sympathy whatsoever.  'Actions have consequences.'

[The Abolitionist]

At least in the Federal sector, unions are nowhere near the obstacle to work that they are in the private sector.  They tend to have very few activist voting members since the union has to represent everyone in the bargaining unit regardless of membership status, strikes are illegal, and the pay is set by Congress (Or less directly by Department of Labor for the 'Wage Grade' employees as opposed to the GS ones) instead of local negotiation.  The union generally represents all the nonmanagement white collar workers, all the blue collar workers, or both (Often with a separate unit for either the firefighters, the police/security force, or both) so there isn't the same crap with having to get a member of the electrician's union to shut off the power to the water heater so a member of the plumber's union can work on it.  They're really pretty harmless, and they do occasionally do some good in keeping the management honest and ensuring things are done fairly and legally.

The same is often not true of State and municipal unions, particularly teachers.

Collectivism is collectivism.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Absolutism always works so well in totalitarian systems.  Not so much anywhere else.

[Dori]

The Machinist Union in Washington state is voting today regarding a contract dispute with Boeing.

Boeing is threatening to pull out of the state and go elsewhere.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/01/01/critical-vote-looms-for-boeing-machinists/

[Maxiest]

The Machinist Union in Washington state is voting today regarding a contract dispute with Boeing.

Boeing is threatening to pull out of the state and go elsewhere.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/01/01/critical-vote-looms-for-boeing-machinists/

I thought they already decided they were going elsewhere?

[Mike220]

I thought they already decided they were going elsewhere?

The locals turned them down once. Once Boeing started making noise of either going to S. Carolina or setting up shop somewhere else the national union looked at the locals and told them to stop being ****ing stupid. They convinced both side to have a do-over but if it fails this time, that's probably it for the 777 in Washington.

These morons don't seem to get that a small cut in pensions and raises beats the hell out of no income at all.

[Dblhaul]

It isent a cut for existing employees. The biggest issue is that it takes a couple years longer to get to max hourly wage.

[NHSparky]

It isent a cut for existing employees. The biggest issue is that it takes a couple years longer to get to max hourly wage.

That's what I DON'T like about unions...the fact there is a max hourly wage.  If I'm non-union, my maximum is dictated by my abilities, skill, and work ethic.

[freedumb2003b]

The locals turned them down once. Once Boeing started making noise of either going to S. Carolina or setting up shop somewhere else the national union looked at the locals and told them to stop being ****ing stupid. They convinced both side to have a do-over but if it fails this time, that's probably it for the 777 in Washington.

These morons don't seem to get that a small cut in pensions and raises beats the hell out of no income at all.

I think he is thinking of the mostly symbolic move of Boeing HQ from Seattle to Chicago in 2001.  From one liberal paradise to another.