Spin-off From SAG strike: Let’s Talk Unions

[mylilnikita]

I have very limited knowledge about unions. However, I am about to accept a job that has a union.


In your opinion: are you for or against unions and why.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

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[mylilnikita]

Hold on, let me get my ! Definitely a politically charged topic!

I don’t mean for it to be politically charged cause once again my knowledge is very limited about them.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Okay, now I'm ready to read this thread.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

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[Buzz Rules]

I don't think everything that can be unionized should be unionized. And I'll leave my opinion there.

 

[tvguy]

Depends on the Union and the Employer.
My wife was in a Union for 42 years. If the Union Rep was on the ball he or she was in touch with the Members concerns and needs. If they were not on the ball, Union member had to negotiate first with their Union Rep FIRST to convince them that what they wanted in a contract was what the Union Rep should negotiate with the company. My wife's experience was a pretty even split between having an on the ball Union Rep, and having one who didn't understand why certain things were priorities for the workers.
I worked at the same company for 12 year and was in the same Union for 10 of those years. The last two years left a bitter taste in my mouth because the Union and the Company came to an agreement to no longer have people in my job classification in the Union. We had NO say. So we were on our own for a year, then they put us under Personal Service Contracts.
The advantage of a Union is there is a process in place if there is a dispute between an employer and and employee. And there is a pay scale with regular raises. Some employees would rather negotiate their own salaries, and feel the pay scales hold them back.

 

[_19disnA]

Instead of asking for generalities about unions since there are a wide variety of them, probably better to research online the specific union associated with the job you are planning to accept. As I understand it, if you accept a position at a company where those jobs are represented by a union, you are required to join that union. As an employee, I don't believe you can refuse to join that union.

More likely you need to understand your view of that particular union BEFORE accepting the job. Asking us to comment about unions in general won't provide you any meaningful input to decide if you want to accept that specific job. I don't think you should post which company/union you would be part of on a public website.

 

[StageTek]

I have very limited knowledge about unions. However, I am about to accept a job that has a union.


In your opinion: are you for or against unions and why.

I'm for them. Because there is strength in numbers.

 

[DrJenski]

My husband is a teacher who worked a non-union job at a charter school for 7 years before finally landing a union job in a public school. If you want fair compensation, raises and benefits as a teacher, union is the only way to go. Well worth the approx $900/year dues.

 

[bcwife76]

Yes we are pro union in our family. My mom was a public school teacher and my husband is a delivery driver (so he's part of the Teamsters). Pro for the reasons mentioned above.

 

[fly girl]

It absolutely depends upon your career and your union.

For my career, so thankful I was non union because the union we had voted for twice was horrible. The company I was with was not perfect, but they are known for treating their employees well. (ps, they did)

For other family members, their unions were fantastic.

Can go both ways.

 

[BrianL]

It varies greatly. Obviosuly, unions were necessary because of horrible abuses of workers in the early industrial period. Companies will still try to get away with whatever they can. That said, sometimes unions can go too far, demand too much, and become corrput themselves. Sometimes they aren't even looking out for their members anymore. So, it's a push and pull. Of course, compromise should rule the day every time, balancing the interests of the companies and the workers, but that's not too likely to ever happen, so....

 

[snikki]

In the field I work there are some union positions and the people who are in the union positions tend to be lazy and entitled. From what I hear from upper management it’s very hard to get rid of the union folks.

I know the history behind unions and why they are needed. I’m not against unions and really have no experience with them on a personal level since I’ve never worked a union position.

 

[jackilvsmath]

I am VERY pro-union as my dad was in one his whole working life. I was in one for about 20+ years and removed myself from mine 2 years ago. I feel that unions protect the worker. However, my union is not strong in the ways it should be and did not protect me on a situation where they should’ve. Therefore I chose to stop wasting my dues. If I were to ever switch positions I would be open to joining the union at the new position but I would ask more questions first to determine if the union really fought for its members in all situations.

 

[sam_gordon]

I agree with others with "it depends". When I worked in television, there were horror stories about stations where only a union member could turn on the lights in the studio or only a union member could edit a piece of video. So I think some union rules can be too strict. But, at the same time, I can see a benefit to "strength in numbers" that @StageTek brings up.

I would want more information about the Union, as it affects my location, before accepting a job. This would include what the dues are and what the "rules" are.

A number of years ago I did a freelance gig for a production company. I made ~$1K from the gig. It was the only gig I did for that company all year. About a month later I get a notice from the Union "you owe $300 (whatever the amount was, it was a fairly high percentage) because you accepted this gig." I ended up ignoring it because it was never mentioned to me ahead of time, and I wasn't going to give up 30+% of my income.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

I've seen positives and negatives:
Positives: My Engineering coworkers overseas are in a union and they receive advance notice if there is a layoff.
Negative: Some of our assembly plants are incredibly inefficient because the union forces us to pay employees that aren't really needed. I have also run into unions that had such a tight grip that you couldn't plug in your own extension cords in a trade show booth.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

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[Babs Johnson]

For traditional blue collar careers unions are often beneficial.

For so-called white collar jobs….well, IMO unions encourage slackers and inefficiency. My wife is a city office employee (Bureau of Vital Statistics), union, and so many employees are deadweight who do as little as possible. It’s difficult to motivate them and even harder to discipline or fire them if needed.

 

[DisneylandFreak2013]

My professor in business school said unions are not always beneficial because it hinders negotiations for better pay for yourself. I don't know enough about them to have an opinion one way or the other.