[B]crossing a picket line[/B]

[JackDaniels]

You could not have been a union member for very long or maybe you were not paying attention. The wages for union and non union truckers is pretty close and in some cases there are non union drivers making more than union drivers. Which brings me to another point, the reason that most non union trucking companies offer decent pay and bennies is that they have to compete with union wages. Otherwise they would be more than happy to pay their drivers low wages and sub standard benefits. (ever hear of Walmart?) And for all you people who are so anti union, go to China where labor unions are strongly opposed and see how much you earn there while working in sub standard, unhealthy, inhumane conditions for 12 to 15 hours a day. You probably think your boss just loves you and that your company really gives a rat's rump about you and your family don't you. And as far as the idiotic comments so many of you like to throw around about the "unskilled union workers" you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Remember, It is far better to be thought an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!

You ought to take your own advice. Did you seriously use China as an example in your argument? Don't you think that the inhumane work factors in China has more to do with communism than opposition to labor unions?

What planet are you on?

Hey, did you hear that the Chinese eat a lot of rice? And just look how bad their work conditions are. Man, I'm never eating rice again.

That is what you sound like. Your example has nothing to do with the cause of the conditions that you cited.

You're worse than an idiot. You're ignorant. You really do sound like the guy who needs the union, because you really don't seem like you would be competent to do without it.

 

[groundscrapers]

Funny thing is as bad as the conditions are in Chinese factories people are still lining up for work. If it was so bad they would quit. Remember, if you don't like the job... leave. Nobody is forcing you to work as their slave. IF they want to pay you crap money then so be it. If someone is willing to work at that rate then that is their choice and it forces the market to be more competitive. I know if I was offered to join a union I would turn it down. I have nothing to gain with membership.

 

[S&WM&P9]

Why would you say that?



You mean they'd have to pay them what the job is worth? Oh, the horror.

And for all you people who are so anti union, go to China where labor unions are strongly opposed and see how much you earn there while working in sub standard, unhealthy, inhumane conditions for 12 to 15 hours a day.

We have laws against that. No need for unions.



Why does your boss' feelings toward you matter? Either you're an asset to the company, or you're not. He cares about the bottom dollar, which is what he's paid to care about.



Some unions are full of unskilled workers. They're supposed to be.

Hey martlet, what are you worth? Everything you have from your underwear to the materials used to build your home were delivered by truck. Drivers work long hours often not seeing their families for days on end. They have to deal with the stress of driving a tractor/trailer in unfamiliar surroundings often carrying hazardous materials which they are legally responsible for including ensuring that the routes they are travelling are not prohibited. (the staties are not very understanding in most cases) if they are lucky they get to sleep in some shanty motel or if not in a sleeper berth while underway. Then there is the paperwork which is always a pain, traffic jams, breakdowns, jerks on the road who just have to get in front of that truck etc,etc..... YOU ARE A CLUELESS MORON!

 

[JoeT]

I grew up in a "Union House". Dad was a Teamster (Local 25) and EVERY year they went on strike (or threatened strike) right before Christmas. As a "boy" growing up, I was taught that you never crossed the line, even if it meant it was a light Christmas, and tuna casaroles for a while.

As a "working man" I use to manage a business and found unions to be the route of all evil. They did little for their member EXCEPT protect the weak. In a free market society, you get paid for your work. You work harder/better than the guy next to you, then you get paid more than him. Unions take that away. They bring the good down to the lowest worker.

Another (2) stories.

My brother just started a new job. It's an "unskilled" job and it's a union position (he has to be in there 6 months before he can join the union). He was telling me that during the last snow we had, he grabbed a shovel and started to shovel the walkway of this place. It was during a "down time" an was helping out. He got "yelled at" by the shop steward because that's someone's overtime in the union. "Do your job, and nothing more" he was told.

Same brother, same job. . . he grabbed a chair and was pulling old tape off the ceiling (tape he says has been there for a while based on the condition of it). He got a formal warning from his boss because "that wasn't his job" and he was taking food off the table of union brother.


I believe there was a time that there was a "need" for labor unions, but that time is not now. If employees go on strike, consider that they quit, and hire people that would be happy to work.

 

[S&WM&P9]

You ought to take your own advice. Did you seriously use China as an example in your argument? Don't you think that the inhumane work factors in China has more to do with communism than opposition to labor unions?

What planet are you on?

Hey, did you hear that the Chinese eat a lot of rice? And just look how bad their work conditions are. Man, I'm never eating rice again.

That is what you sound like. Your example has nothing to do with the cause of the conditions that you cited.

You're worse than an idiot. You're ignorant. You really do sound like the guy who needs the union, because you really don't seem like you would be competent to do without it.

SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE SIMPLETON!

 

[JackDaniels]

YYou probably think your boss just loves you and that your company really gives a rat's rump about you and your family don't you.

No one thinks that. No one cares about that. See, in a free market, workers exchange a service, at it's value, for compensation. Love and care has nothing to do with it. And rightly so. If I'm not being compensated in a manner that I desire, I take my service somewhere else. That is what forces employers to pay competitive wages to adequate workers in a free market. Not because a boss cares about his employee's family.

I don't pretend to give a shit about anyones family, but if I need a job done, I'm willing to pay what it is worth to have it done. And, if your picket party is going to turn into a picnic party real fast, because I sure as hell am not going to put up with that kind of bullshit. You don't hold my business hostage. You either work, or you leave. If I'm not paying adequate wages to keep skilled workers employees, my business is going to go down the drain. But, I'm not going to hire a bunch of incompetent schmucks because they threaten to stop working if I don't pay them enough. Nope. Shit, or get off the pot.

 

[S&WM&P9]

Funny thing is as bad as the conditions are in Chinese factories people are still lining up for work. If it was so bad they would quit. Remember, if you don't like the job... leave. Nobody is forcing you to work as their slave. IF they want to pay you crap money then so be it. If someone is willing to work at that rate then that is their choice and it forces the market to be more competitive. I know if I was offered to join a union I would turn it down. I have nothing to gain with membership.

What choice do the Chinese people have?

 

[Martlet]

Hey martlet, what are you worth?

Me personally? Depends on what my employer feels I'm worth.

Everything you have from your underwear to the materials used to build your home were delivered by truck. Drivers work long hours often not seeing their families for days on end. They have to deal with the stress of driving a tractor/trailer in unfamiliar surroundings often carrying hazardous materials which they are legally responsible for including ensuring that the routes they are travelling are not prohibited. (the staties are not very understanding in most cases) if they are lucky they get to sleep in some shanty motel or if not in a sleeper berth while underway. Then there is the paperwork which is always a pain, traffic jams, breakdowns, jerks on the road who just have to get in front of that truck etc,etc.....

Boo Hoo. If I could hire someone to do your job as well, or better, for less money without union protection then you are overpaid.

YOU ARE A CLUELESS MORON!

Probably. That doesn't make my statement less factual, though.

 

[06LemansC6]

SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE SIMPLETON!

The personal attacks are not helping your cause.

 

[goofycj7]

Why would you say that?



You mean they'd have to pay them what the job is worth? Oh, the horror.

And for all you people who are so anti union, go to China where labor unions are strongly opposed and see how much you earn there while working in sub standard, unhealthy, inhumane conditions for 12 to 15 hours a day.
Hey martlet, what are you worth? Everything you have from your underwear to the materials used to build your home were delivered by truck. Drivers work long hours often not seeing their families for days on end. They have to deal with the stress of driving a tractor/trailer in unfamiliar surroundings often carrying hazardous materials which they are legally responsible for including ensuring that the routes they are travelling are not prohibited. (the staties are not very understanding in most cases) if they are lucky they get to sleep in some shanty motel or if not in a sleeper berth while underway. Then there is the paperwork which is always a pain, traffic jams, breakdowns, jerks on the road who just have to get in front of that truck etc,etc..... YOU ARE A CLUELESS MORON!

No reason for the name calling, it just makes your opinions less credible.

 

[JoeT]

and don't get me going on YOUR union dues supporting the people who want to take my rights

 

[S&WM&P9]

Why would you say that?



You mean they'd have to pay them what the job is worth? Oh, the horror.



No reason for the name calling, it just makes your opinions less credible.

Based on the jury in this forum the judgement of my credibility is meaningless

 

[JackDaniels]

Why would you say that?



You mean they'd have to pay them what the job is worth? Oh, the horror.

And for all you people who are so anti union, go to China where labor unions are strongly opposed and see how much you earn there while working in sub standard, unhealthy, inhumane conditions for 12 to 15 hours a day.
Hey martlet, what are you worth? Everything you have from your underwear to the materials used to build your home were delivered by truck. Drivers work long hours often not seeing their families for days on end. They have to deal with the stress of driving a tractor/trailer in unfamiliar surroundings often carrying hazardous materials which they are legally responsible for including ensuring that the routes they are travelling are not prohibited. (the staties are not very understanding in most cases) if they are lucky they get to sleep in some shanty motel or if not in a sleeper berth while underway. Then there is the paperwork which is always a pain, traffic jams, breakdowns, jerks on the road who just have to get in front of that truck etc,etc..... YOU ARE A CLUELESS MORON!

If you don't like the job, get another job. No one forced you to do it. You can't decide to work a shitty job that you apparently don't like then bitch at everyone else for your poor soul. Go work somewhere that you want to be. The rest of us are either doing that or working toward doing that. That is life. I used to shovel shit on a farm. It sucked. I went out and followed a better career. I guess a guy like you would have just kept shoveling shit and expected everyone else to feel bad for you and give you things that you don't deserve.

 

[S&WM&P9]

I grew up in a "Union House". Dad was a Teamster (Local 25) and EVERY year they went on strike (or threatened strike) right before Christmas. As a "boy" growing up, I was taught that you never crossed the line, even if it meant it was a light Christmas, and tuna casaroles for a while.

As a "working man" I use to manage a business and found unions to be the route of all evil. They did little for their member EXCEPT protect the weak. In a free market society, you get paid for your work. You work harder/better than the guy next to you, then you get paid more than him. Unions take that away. They bring the good down to the lowest worker.

Another (2) stories.

My brother just started a new job. It's an "unskilled" job and it's a union position (he has to be in there 6 months before he can join the union). He was telling me that during the last snow we had, he grabbed a shovel and started to shovel the walkway of this place. It was during a "down time" an was helping out. He got "yelled at" by the shop steward because that's someone's overtime in the union. "Do your job, and nothing more" he was told.

Same brother, same job. . . he grabbed a chair and was pulling old tape off the ceiling (tape he says has been there for a while based on the condition of it). He got a formal warning from his boss because "that wasn't his job" and he was taking food off the table of union brother.


I believe there was a time that there was a "need" for labor unions, but that time is not now. If employees go on strike, consider that they quit, and hire people that would be happy to work.

I'll say it one more time, pass it on. I CAN NOT SPEAK FOR ANY UNION OTHER THAN THE TEAMSTERS UNION. I am also a member of local 25 like your Dad was and that must have been some years ago because the last big strike was in 1995. The Union handles thing more diplomatically than they did years ago.

 

[rudiewhitebwoy]

Wow, you read my mind. +1

I grew up in a "Union House". Dad was a Teamster (Local 25) and EVERY year they went on strike (or threatened strike) right before Christmas. As a "boy" growing up, I was taught that you never crossed the line, even if it meant it was a light Christmas, and tuna casaroles for a while.

As a "working man" I use to manage a business and found unions to be the route of all evil. They did little for their member EXCEPT protect the weak. In a free market society, you get paid for your work. You work harder/better than the guy next to you, then you get paid more than him. Unions take that away. They bring the good down to the lowest worker.

Another (2) stories.

My brother just started a new job. It's an "unskilled" job and it's a union position (he has to be in there 6 months before he can join the union). He was telling me that during the last snow we had, he grabbed a shovel and started to shovel the walkway of this place. It was during a "down time" an was helping out. He got "yelled at" by the shop steward because that's someone's overtime in the union. "Do your job, and nothing more" he was told.

Same brother, same job. . . he grabbed a chair and was pulling old tape off the ceiling (tape he says has been there for a while based on the condition of it). He got a formal warning from his boss because "that wasn't his job" and he was taking food off the table of union brother.


I believe there was a time that there was a "need" for labor unions, but that time is not now. If employees go on strike, consider that they quit, and hire people that would be happy to work.

 

[S&WM&P9]

Why would you say that?



You mean they'd have to pay them what the job is worth? Oh, the horror.



If you don't like the job, get another job. No one forced you to do it. You can't decide to work a shitty job that you apparently don't like then bitch at everyone else for your poor soul. Go work somewhere that you want to be. The rest of us are either doing that or working toward doing that. That is life. I used to shovel shit on a farm. It sucked. I went out and followed a better career. I guess a guy like you would have just kept shoveling shit and expected everyone else to feel bad for you and give you things that you don't deserve.

I never asked anyone to feel bad for me and in fact I like my job. My wife is able to stay at home with our three children and over the years she has had multiple surgeries all completely covered thanks to our excellent insurance coverage. I am not bitching, I am correcting someones stupid comments about "unskilled union workers" and how much or little they are worth.

 

[Martlet]

I never asked anyone to feel bad for me and in fact I like my job. My wife is able to stay at home with our three children and over the years she has had multiple surgeries all completely covered thanks to our excellent insurance coverage. I am not bitching, I am correcting someones stupid comments about "unskilled union workers" and how much or little they are worth.

No you aren't. You're making a statement, but you haven't provided anything to support it.

 

[EddieCoyle]

What an incredibly stupid comment! As a Teamster and professional class A driver with all endorsements I can tell you from actual experience (12 years with a Teamster Co.) that I work with some of the best in the business. Just like everywhere else
there are always going to be whiners but one of the things that was always important to all of us was to remember that we were not just representing our employer but also the Teamsters Union. The customers know the Union companies as well as the non union companies. Be a man, don't make uneducated comments just to get a laugh or because you want to be a follower!
I can't speak for other unions (because I don't want to look like an IDIOT) but I can tell you that the Teamsters Union is one of the best "labor unions" in the world.

The Teamsters are the worst of the bunch. Your union has funded and supported the lowest elements of society. They've also funded more Democratic, anti gun campaigns than ACORN. You should be ashamed.

 

[goofycj7]

I never asked anyone to feel bad for me and in fact I like my job. My wife is able to stay at home with our three children and over the years she has had multiple surgeries all completely covered thanks to our excellent insurance coverage. I am not bitching, I am correcting someones stupid comments about "unskilled union workers" and how much or little they are worth.

Sounds more like you are one step away from being on welfare and getting your re-distribution of wealth. Great you are unskilled and can afford to have your wife stay at home with your three kids thanks to the union. Great union endorsement, glad you only speak for your union and not the rest.

 

[goofycj7]

I never asked anyone to feel bad for me and in fact I like my job. My wife is able to stay at home with our three children and over the years she has had multiple surgeries all completely covered thanks to our excellent insurance coverage. I am not bitching, I am correcting someones stupid comments about "unskilled union workers" and how much or little they are worth.

Didn't the teamsters support Obama? And Clinton?

 

[S&WM&P9]

No you aren't. You're making a statement, but you haven't provided anything to support it.

OK, I'll tell you what. I'm going to take the high road here and just let it go. Sometime it just makes more sense to let the other guy win.

 

[K-DUB]

What an incredibly stupid comment! As a Teamster and professional class A driver with all endorsements I can tell you from actual experience (12 years with a Teamster Co.) that I work with some of the best in the business. Just like everywhere else
there are always going to be whiners but one of the things that was always important to all of us was to remember that we were not just representing our employer but also the Teamsters Union. The customers know the Union companies as well as the non union companies. Be a man, don't make uneducated comments just to get a laugh or because you want to be a follower!
I can't speak for other unions (because I don't want to look like an IDIOT) but I can tell you that the Teamsters Union is one of the best "labor unions" in the world.

I'm a Class A driver too, with all the fancy endorsements & extra security clearance cards. Drivers don't need unions, we need freight & diesel fuel. It's really not that complicated.

Your union supports the worst of the worst, & your dues make you a co-conspirator.

 

[Martlet]

OK, I'll tell you what. I'm going to take the high road here and just let it go. Sometime it just makes more sense to let the other guy win.

You make post after post insulting people and now you're calling that the high road? Ok. I'll take the win. Thanks.

 

[06LemansC6]

Didn't the teamsters support Obama? And Clinton?

Yup

 

[lupis42]

UPS paid their loaders 1/2 what FED-EX did years ago. And UPS employees had to pay their "union tax" on top of that.

I'll say it one more time, pass it on. I CAN NOT SPEAK FOR ANY UNION OTHER THAN THE TEAMSTERS UNION. I am also a member of local 25 like your Dad was and that must have been some years ago because the last big strike was in 1995. The Union handles thing more diplomatically than they did years ago.

I was a teamster. At UPS. I saw several people so lazy that they worked less than one hour for every hour I put in, but they were paid more because the union insisted on seniority pay. I saw two people repeatedly cause accidents that could have severely injured someone, but they were never disciplined because the union stepped in.

In my experience, unions negotiate contracts where employers cannot reward hard work, and cannot fire slackers. As a result, they have a disproportionate number of slackers and not very many hard workers. This probably is less true as the jobs get more skilled, but I see no reason to try to find out.

Nobody's forcing you to take a job. The Chinese are queuing up by the hundreds for just the sort of unpleasant industrial work you mention, because they prefer that to farming. Just like Americans did 100 years ago.

 

[goofycj7]

OK, I'll tell you what. I'm going to take the high road here and just let it go. Sometime it just makes more sense to let the other guy win.

Especially when they have already won, thanks Al Gore....

 

[S&WM&P9]

Didn't the teamsters support Obama? And Clinton?

Yes, they sent out fliers to all of us to vote for Obama and I was at odds with a lot of the guys I work with because I can't stand Obama. When I was told by a co-worker that the Republicans were all anti union I replied that as much as I value my union job, I value my country and the Constitution far more. A true story that caused me a few headaches.

 

[groundscrapers]

My company has a partner company in china. The company provides housing/ food and a job. If they don't like it they leave and go elsewhere. Its not slavery.

 

[Martlet]

Yes, they sent out fliers to all of us to vote for Obama and I was at odds with a lot of the guys I work with because I can't stand Obama. When I was told by a co-worker that the Republicans were all anti union I replied that as much as I value my union job, I value my country and the Constitution far more. A true story that caused me a few headaches.

Yet another example of what's wrong with unions. You're making our case for us.

 

[DukeNukem]

Some Unions....not all.