Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Mark_88
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2007
- Messages
- 18,554
- Age
- 69
- City
- Ontario, Canada
- Vehicle Year
- 2007
- Transmission
- Automatic
- My credo
- Love Thy Neighbor
I've worked within a few union environments and I have mixed feelings on their worth. The last place I worked at (USWA) paid really good, had great benefits once you were over the probation period, and provided me with H&S training free (level II) to act as a H&S rep.
During the course of my employ things weren't always good, and I witnessed some blatant abuses (and participated in some) of the Union safety net. Most of the guys I worked with drank on the job and quite often left the job site to go drinking and came back half sloshed but still managed to perform their jobs. But, then again, so did most of the foremen so we were usually covered. I was laid off about six times during the three years I was there, but was back usually within a month or two as production picked up.
The market for our product started drying up and competition from overseas vendors for the same product at a fraction of the price seriously affected the companies ability to stay solvent. The Union was pushing for higher wages, more benefits, and other perks in spite of the writing on the wall and requests from Union representatives that came to discuss our position.
At a meeting, where I was acting as Recording Secretary, I was busy doing my recording and listening to the back and forth chatter of disgruntled workers. After about an hour of this I finally had enough and tied into them. I started off by stating that if we don't make concessions with the employer as suggested by the Union president and ride out the market stagnation until it stablized we would all be out of work. I received an extremely negative response from all involved and a few claimed rather voiciferously that the company could more than afford the increases they were demanding.
Well, to their surprise the company rejected their contract and they eventually settled for much less, but did not take a cut as recommended. That was 1991, and I was in the first round of layoffs due to my lack of seniority. Permanent, no recall layoffs.
It took about ten years to finally close the place down completely due to the obligations they had to fulfill military contracts and the company only recently payed out the severance to those that were working till the end in 2002. They all received about $20,000, but there were only a handful that qualified out of the original workforce of 100 men.
So, overall, I feel that Unions have much to offer, but they do not usually work with companies effectively when things are going south rapidly. I know that many of the auto parts manufacturers in Ontario have widely rejected unionization and have been offering good wages and benefits, but not on part with what the Big Three are paying.
I'm interested in hearing if others have experienced this, and also curious about what the Big Three Unions will be faced with should the bail-out require restructuring and possible wage/benefits cuts.
During the course of my employ things weren't always good, and I witnessed some blatant abuses (and participated in some) of the Union safety net. Most of the guys I worked with drank on the job and quite often left the job site to go drinking and came back half sloshed but still managed to perform their jobs. But, then again, so did most of the foremen so we were usually covered. I was laid off about six times during the three years I was there, but was back usually within a month or two as production picked up.
The market for our product started drying up and competition from overseas vendors for the same product at a fraction of the price seriously affected the companies ability to stay solvent. The Union was pushing for higher wages, more benefits, and other perks in spite of the writing on the wall and requests from Union representatives that came to discuss our position.
At a meeting, where I was acting as Recording Secretary, I was busy doing my recording and listening to the back and forth chatter of disgruntled workers. After about an hour of this I finally had enough and tied into them. I started off by stating that if we don't make concessions with the employer as suggested by the Union president and ride out the market stagnation until it stablized we would all be out of work. I received an extremely negative response from all involved and a few claimed rather voiciferously that the company could more than afford the increases they were demanding.
Well, to their surprise the company rejected their contract and they eventually settled for much less, but did not take a cut as recommended. That was 1991, and I was in the first round of layoffs due to my lack of seniority. Permanent, no recall layoffs.
It took about ten years to finally close the place down completely due to the obligations they had to fulfill military contracts and the company only recently payed out the severance to those that were working till the end in 2002. They all received about $20,000, but there were only a handful that qualified out of the original workforce of 100 men.
So, overall, I feel that Unions have much to offer, but they do not usually work with companies effectively when things are going south rapidly. I know that many of the auto parts manufacturers in Ontario have widely rejected unionization and have been offering good wages and benefits, but not on part with what the Big Three are paying.
I'm interested in hearing if others have experienced this, and also curious about what the Big Three Unions will be faced with should the bail-out require restructuring and possible wage/benefits cuts.
shady
