Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Not so happy with my Union

Most of the readers are aware I am a Union member. Wherever possible I do join the union if possible. I am familiar with most critiques of unions. However, I have seen enough companies wrecked by mismanagement to be aware of the other side.

The Union is gearing up to fight the detailing of workers to Iraq. The Union does point out that we are civilians who did not sign up for combat. It is not opposed to voluteers, but this is part of what is wrong with unions.

Many people including myself signed on knowing what agency we were working with. The reality is that one of the problems after Katrina was a shortage of trained workers.
The reality is that we are honored to serve and this is one of the things we know when we take our oath. We should be aware that if an emergency breaks out in Iraq or at home we could be called to serve. There are more than enough people who would likely volunteer anyway.

Oddly I was turned down for these details because I did not take sensitivity training. This is what happens when lawyers and HR types are given too much say in day to day operations. In reality many small companies show a two hour video and function just well.

Post blog notes

I will post the interview with Sonia tonight. This interview is intended for mature adults only. We will be discussing some topics that are seldom discussed. I do not
recall many posts or questions on art and architecture. Certainly nudity is not a subject that would appear on this blog under normal circumstances.

Those of you who are offended by NC-17 fare are encouraged to skip that post.

Steve Sonia claims that picture is her.

We may be getting some odd visitors with this visit. I urge my loyal readers to resist the urge to slap anyone around other than Ducky.

Ducky if you have odd film questions try to keep them concise.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

So Sonia is actually her in the pic. Nice.

So you're a member of a union? Sorry about that. My dad was a Ford union worker. When he got injured, it was like pulling hairs from a duck's arse trying to get his worker's comp from them.

Unions suck. Just my opinion. They stifle productivity, creativeness, and proactiveness in the workplace.

Always On Watch said...

Steve said, My dad was a Ford union worker. When he got injured, it was like pulling hairs from a duck's arse trying to get his worker's comp from them.

My father belonged to the transit union. When I was a young child, they had a strike which lasted a full month. Thank God we had a garden and a basement of canned goods!

Back the union members went to work after that month--no change in salary, except for some token benefits in a perks which didn't do a thing for our family.

Dad joined the union because it offered health insurance, for which he paid only $1 for his entire life. He retired early and was grateful for that coverage. And I have to say that the union was a big help when he died.

The above said, I've heard that what Steve said about injury on the job is true.

For my own part, when I worked for the public-school system, I didn't join the union. Too political and a bunch of curriculum experimenters.

American Crusader said...

I was wondering if that was Sonia in the picture.
I've always been against unions. I thought they did more harm than good. I believed they were a major reason that so many American jobs went overseas because of lower wages.
However..when I became a teacher in Dade County I joined the teachers union and they were very influential in getting us a decent salary.
There needs to be a line between demanding too much and settling for not enough.

nanc said...

i belonged to three forced unions - two were great for retirement purposes only. as far as wages and mou's - trying to change anything was like trying to drown a fish.

Urban Infidel said...

I was never in a Union. My mother was in the Screen Cartoonists Union. Was the only way for her to get health insurance for us.

Ironically it was disbanded in NYC years later because of all the animation jobs going overseas.

Batya said...

I don't like unions, since they tried to kill my grandfather.

beakerkin said...

Batya

That is a valid reason not to like Unions.

elmers brother said...

I am applying for a job that has unions. First time exposure.

beakerkin said...

Kuhnkat lets set it up for Monday. You are the overwhelming favorite of the readership. This is a great feat when one considers there are nude candidates.

Anonymous said...

I would go Nude for a interview but I don't really believe in people commiting suicide, so i best not!

beakerkin said...

Rob

You have not lost your sense of humor.

jams o donnell said...

Hmm people only go blind (or at least pretend to) when I go.. damn I've said too much!

Seriously although I am a member of my workplace's union I have seen their downside too. My dad was a car worker (the Fords plant in Dagenham, East ondon). He was involved in too many futile disputes back in the 60s and 70s....

beakerkin said...

I'll post my questions on Sunday night and when you get up on Monday it is fine. I am sure our audience has a few questions as well.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Don't I show my ass enough without a picture?

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Don't I show my ass enough without a picture?

Always On Watch said...

KuhnKat interview? Yeehaw!

I have a short workday on Monday, so I hope to get in on the interview early on.

FLORIAN said...

Unions? Grumble..... I don't like them. I think they served a good purpose in the past but now they're akin to corporate terrorists trying to have control over everything and the main reason why Ford just posted record deficits this past year.

nanc said...

i've never seen beamish arse...

Warren said...

Outside of a few special purposes, Unions Suck BIGTIME!

They are "in turn" infested with petty criminals, the mob, communist shills and nepotistic union heads that haven't worked a day in their life.

I've belonged to three different unions and one union twice.

They will protect a drunk or drug user but someone with a legitimate complaint will end up getting fired for some trumped up charge and the union will lay down on them. (they don't like people that "rock the boat".)

Is anyone old enough to remember the Teamster pension fund rip-off and the reason that Jimmy Hoffa went to prison?

Truthfully, Unions are bigtime protection rackets, self-perpetuating money making and power brokering machines.

The Merry Widow said...

Warren-Yep, and the disappearance to boot! That was nasty. I also clearly remember the unions trying to force Florida to become a union state! PTL, enough good, solid, honorable employers and workers resisted and refused to cave to the violence! So we remain a right to work state! Gumption broke that little adventure!
So the mob is using casinos and gambling to break in. :sigh: Vice is winning here.
Good morning, G*D bless and Maranatha!

tmw

tazzmax said...

I am a retired union member{Cement Masons}, and I am glad that I stayed with them long enough to be vested, although my pension would have been much more had I not dropped out when I lived in K.C.....70s& early 80s......But those were the Carter years and you couldn't buy a job in my trade then.

I relocated to Ca.in "86" and re-joined the union.

One thing that sucks,...you can't withdraw from them, that's why I lost all my years in Mo.

So, they are crooks, and now their H&W sucks when you retire,....you have to pay for it and it's expensive!

I opted out of the union plan and am on the wife's plan.

The union is killing itself here in Ca..... it's even signing up illegal aliens who can't speak English , much less put out quality journeyman work.

Also,I resented them using my dues for their demon-rat pacs without my permission!


Another thing,.....the dispatchers are bad to "back door" their pals and cronies to the good jobs, which pissed me off.

Fortunately,my last 5 years, I stayed with the same contractor.

The union is a good concept, but over the last 2 or 3 decades, they have become more and more corrupt.


I do agree with KK, the big 3 have shot themselves in the ass,{not all the unions' fault}, they kept putting out shitty product with planned obsolesence,.....lucky to get 100,000 miles out of them.

The Japanese took OUR technology to a higher level with better quality and gas mileage,....so guess what?


I like the Ford Diesol trucks, but don't need one, besides too x-pensive.


Ford does piss me off with their social engineering agenda, and I HATE the Ford Foundation, because of the millions of dollars they give to radical Latino commie groups that want re-conquista in America.

To me, that is treasonous and anti-American!
Ford needs to concentrate on building affordable quality vehicles, and get off their social engineering agenda or get out of the business!

Myself, I hope the bastards go bankrupt!

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

No one hates unions more than me, but with my help, you can come to hate them too.

Union contributions to political parties (who am I kidding... they go to one party, the Democrats) are tax deductible - meaning someone else pays the taxes on them (like you and me). Same with political activism - we pick up the tab for that.

Once you factor in that only 12% of American workers are unionized, and that 85% of those unionized workers are members of a government union (like Beak), you come to realize that "union labor" (where actual calories are burned performing LABOR, with tools, etc.) is only representative of a little over 1% of all workers in America. The rest of the union "workers" are desk jockeys at some government bureaucracy.

If you're getting pissed now, hold on wait a minute.

Now get to the bottom of the balance sheet. Government employees are paid by the government, their union dues pay the bulk of what money goes to the Democratic Party, and tax laws make these contributions non-taxable so someone else picks up for them the tab down the line.

The Democratic Party funds itself, and sends YOU the bill for their political activities.

Okay, now you can be pissed.

Purple Avenger said...

Sensitivity training? What manner of bullshit is this?!?!