bobgssc

I firmly believe unions were essential in building this country; however, I also believe they have outlived their usefulness and are now part of the problem (not all unions, let me finish). My wife is a CNA, she doesn't have a degree, but did spend a year in school in order to get certified. For that year of schooling, she makes the grand sum of $14 an hour. She chose that profession and accepts that it provides a limited salary. Now, we look at a UAW worker where the average salary is $29 and many of those workers know how to tighten 8 screws on each piece that comes by. (I know there are trained engineers in there also, but there truly are a lot of basically untrained, uneducated workers making WAY more than they are worth simply because they are unionized.) Out here, the clean up kid on a construction site starts at $19 an hour if it's a union site (if it isn't union, the workers clean up after themselves.) My point is that many unions are partially responsible for the ridiculous cost of living. I'm sure this isn't a popular opinion in some places but oh well, it's an honest one.

GEM lucas Loc: TRIADELPHIA ,WV

No company ever invites a union to come in,because they want to deal with a problem ,Corporation against one person. They have the idea that if they don't like you for any stupid reason, your out the door. My opinion ,management isn't just cruel. They are lethal. I know from experience. ,and to Most large Corporations , you are just a number on their payroll.You never take your home problems to work. And It's also not good to take you work problems home to your family either. That happens all the time.Supervisors and workers.I also have been on both side,and me personally . I always try to keep a level head. I Always engage Brain, before engaging mouth.It saved my job every time. And as a union Rep, I saved a lot of jobs for others that couldn't do as I do. My motto will always be .If I'm right,I,m right. If I,m wrong ,I will admit it and take whatever punishment I deserve. But as to unions ,there it is the power of the people. With the corporations , it's the power of their money.''Gem''

GEM lucas Loc: TRIADELPHIA ,WV

No company ever invites a union to come in,because they want to deal with a problem ,Corporation against one person. They have the idea that if they don't like you for any stupid reason, your out the door. My opinion ,management isn't just cruel. They are lethal. I know from experience. ,and to Most large Corporations , you are just a number on their payroll.You never take your home problems to work. And It's also not good to take you work problems home to your family either. That happens all the time.Supervisors and workers.I also have been on both side,and me personally . I always try to keep a level head. I Always engage Brain, before engaging mouth.It saved my job every time. And as a union Rep, I saved a lot of jobs for others that couldn't do as I do. My motto will always be .If I'm right,I,m right. If I,m wrong ,I will admit it and take whatever punishment I deserve. But as to unions ,that it is the power of the people. With the corporations , it's the power of their money.''Gem''

rhomin57 Loc: Far Northern CA.

I believe, from what I can recall as a kid, the Unions protected their members on the job from frivolous firing, and conducted fair labor disputes. My dad and his dad, my grandfather, were in a Union when they did heavy construction work as building some portions of the I-5 freeway, and in the construction of Shasta Dam (originally Kennett Dam), and Wiskeytown Dam. The Unions paid well according to skill and ability which allowed families to prosper in the Unions day.
Now, employees are fired at the drop of a hat left and right, which causes a lot of financial collapse in families across the country. Wages are meager, and an inexperienced person can be put in a position to cause a lot of problems for everyone concerned. It's who you know, are related to, or whose back you pat in order to get a good job and advance in.
Union dues were not all that bad in view of the employment chaos we have now. Unions protected the company as well as the employee.
So, in their day the Unions had their purpose, and they served well.

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

Only someone who has never operated a business would believe a business could survive by firing people who produce and replacing them with people who create problems for everyone involved.

Unions of the more recent history protected the jobs of those who were goldbrickers and troublemakers - the productive workers didn't need the protection - and all the union resources were spend protecting those who shouldn't have been protected. That is largely the story of the UAW and the American auto industry

GEM lucas Loc: TRIADELPHIA ,WV

GEM lucas Loc: TRIADELPHIA ,WV

THERE IS A OLD SAYING ,EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY.Now in the case of Volkswagen in Tn. ''THEY WILL BE BACK'' and your right I don't work there,if I did they would have won and I mean the UAW. ''Gem''

bahmer

You are right. As a supervisor for a UAW controlled plant the other supervisors asked what could be done to get more productivity out of their crews and all I said was start firing the lazy workers. They told me they couldn't because of the union. I figured it would take a minimum of two years to fire someone for laziness. They also would have to be stubborn and as dumb as brick but it could be done in two years. Aside from fighting, drinking on the job or major infractions of that nature it is all but impossible to fire a union member and that goes for school teachers as well as other union positions.

FEDUP

I have been there and done that and all I can say is bullshit! The UAW damm near killed the auto industry because of high wages and benefits that will not allow the auto makers to compete with the imports. That is a simple fact! It was not always that way when American auto manufactures controlled the market but now they don't. And as others have said that not being able to get rid of employees that are dead weight and do not want to do a decent days work is next to impossible

bmac32 Loc: West Florida

That is what I like about right to work, they also have the right to fire the slugs.

GEM lucas Loc: TRIADELPHIA ,WV

'' rhomin''And they will again,look at WaLMart , it is a good example of why we need Unions.''Gem''

Don DeHoff

If Wal-Mart raises their wages, the price of their products will go up and they will lose their competitive position---something called "supply and demand" and they must make a profit to stay in business.

GEM lucas Loc: TRIADELPHIA ,WV

''Don'' They are the richest family in America,so who cares. If old Sam was still running the Company he would agree with me. I used to stop at his place in Arkansas, and talk for a couple of hours at a time. He was nothing like the ones running it today. They are greedy.''Gem''

rhomin57 Loc: Far Northern CA.

Is that right~ As a young teenager, there were two skating rinks, one in Redding, and one in Anderson. Both gone. Where do kids go now, to their cell-phones and computer games.
There was a town mall in the Middle of Redding, I recall when roads were cut-off in the middle of town to build the town mall. Now it is a ghost mall, not only that but Mervyn's is gone, and other dept stores that once served the people of this community. The hospital where my children were born became a ghost building not long afterwards.
Now we have super-walmarts that are the dirtiest places to shop in, wade through the garbage on the floors. We have huge Sears, and Macy's that don't give shoppers much choices of dept stores.
There is a Thrift store in every block as people try to make a living.
Gee, I guess we are in better shape than before~
As for the Auto Industry, I believe Obama took government control of one of them, and placed his pick of people to oversee the others. You know this as well as I and everyone else.

rhomin57 Loc: Far Northern CA.

As Unions were banned, or forced out, a small hospital named Memorial Hospital (took up about a quarter of a block) was purchased by large corporations, one being Tennet, and the huge Redding Medical Center was built in its place. (actually I worked there a few years) The Heart Center of Northern California. Anyhow, Dr. Realyvasques and Dr. Moon ran the heart center only to be investigated by the FBI for 'performing' heart caths on people and fraudulently saying they needed open heart surgeries. Both my Grandfathers were under their knife, and neither made it out alive. One grandfather had that surgeons scalpel dropped into his lung- causing a pneumothorax (collapsed lung), where repeated surgeries to correct that. right after the open heart, caused him to lose the will to live.
Way to many were put under the knife for little to no reason, but insurances paid out and the Large Hospital flourished financially, as well as those two physicians. Fortunately they were kicked out of our State.
The Unions, as I said, were good in their day. For several reasons I sorry they are gone.