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This is why unions are still relevant, FYI

SAUSAGEMAN

SAUSAGEMAN

Registered User
Richard Trumka said:
The thoughts and prayers of America’s workers are with the families of those lost today at Performance Coal Company’s Upper Big Branch mine. We pray for the safe rescue of those still missing and for the safety of the courageous mine rescue team members.

As a third-generation coal miner, I know too well the dangers these brave men and women face every day as they work to provide for their families. Forty years after the passage of the Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969, mine safety has improved, but mining remains a dangerous occupation. Unfortunately, it has taken tragedies and miners’ deaths to get safety improvements.

However, this incident isn’t just a matter of happenstance, but rather the inevitable result of a profit-driven system and reckless corporate conduct. Many mining companies have given too little attention to safety over the years and too much to the bottom line. Massey Mine, and its CEO, Don Blankenship, have been cited for over 450 safety violations in this mine. Massey paid over $1 million in fines in the past year alone – and has failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more in fines that it is contesting.

Blankenship’s attitude towards workers is showcased in a memo addressing safety concerns in his mines. In the memo, he told his superintendents to put coal production first because, “[T]his memo is necessary only because we seem not to understand that the coal pays the bills.”

While we are all discussing and recognizing these important issues today, we must be mindful to address them every day until all working people can go to jobs in safety. Strict enforcement of regulations by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the additional protections a union membership brings are key factors to improving worker safety, and we will work to achieve that goal. In the meantime, let’s continue to pray for the safety of the missing miners.
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http://aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr04062010.cfm
 
[Buttons] We don't need unions to ensure safety. The market would take care of it all. After enough people dead, Massey would not do business as well, thereby leading to other mining companies with better records getting the business and employees. [/Buttons]

God, I hate myself just for channeling the evil little shit. I hope he dies in a horrible accident.
 
Been union for over a decade, and have a lot of wildly conflicting thoughts on the matter, which I should try to whip into a coherent essay at some point.

I remember cracking an anti-union joke here years ago and getting negged by, of all people, Big Dick McGee. Laker_Girl assured me he was very pro-union, which came as a bit of a surprise (this was soon after his whole flamewar with jack about who stayed at fancier hotels in Las Vegas, etc etc.) I'd love to hear what he has to say on the issue.
 
I think the problem most people have with unions is that they eventually become as corrupt as the companies they're supposed to be protecting the workers from. At least that is how they are perceived. Also, I think a lot of people have issues with the demands they make in some industries. I know a lot of people who are independent contractors, and they always complain about some of the ridiculous aspects of union jobs.. like how a forklift driver isn't allowed to get off his tractor to move a water hose and will sit in his tractor for however long it takes for someone else to come over and move it (that happens at Disney), all the while the guy is getting paid to sit there and do nothing. Just seems silly for them to be so anal about every little thing, and I know it wastes a lot of money, money that could be spent on better pay or better insurance for all the workers, union and non-union.

Personally I'm not anti-union, I just think they should be more conscientious about how they affect whatever industry they're involved in. I mean, these unions need workers working. They also shouldn't be able to force companies (and schools) to keep bad employees.
 
I'll echo your thoughts, Cassie.

I nearly accepted a job as bus driver here (and I should have taken it, another story), and some of the union rules were that drivers absolutely could not do anything to clean the buses (and I'm not talking about cleaning spills and whatnot -- I'm talking about picking up newspapers that get left in the seats) because it'd deprive Maintenance from their jobs. If a spill or body fluids get spilled on the bus, the bus was to immediately unload the bus and return to the garage, no questions asked -- that makes sense, but picking up the newspapers?

I used to belong to the grocery workers' union, and while they were excellent for covering my medical expenses when I had my appendectomy, they were sadly inept from protecting the workers from the whims of management. During my senior year in college, my manager decided to bump me from Part-Time 20 status to Part-Time 12. My union rep said the union couldn't do anything about it as the designation was an internal store designation and that I'd have to make sure I got the hours I needed. Not only that, they didn't help me when I needed three-weeks off to go cross-country and I secured the paperwork and my professor's signature to make the trip into a school-sanctioned credit for geography. While the store took great pains to outline the policies in which an employee could quit or get fired, they didn't say that after the first day due back, I'd have to call in every day to keep the job. I called in while in Des Moines with a leaking gas tank, and no way to get back to Portland. Apparently I was supposed to call in every day scheduled after that; I lost my job as a 'No call no show' and the union merely shrugged.
 
Robert "Monkey" Loggia said:
[Buttons] We don't need unions to ensure safety. The market would take care of it all. After enough people dead, Massey would not do business as well, thereby leading to other mining companies with better records getting the business and employees. [/Buttons]

God, I hate myself just for channeling the evil little shit. I hope he dies in a horrible accident.
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different board Mal, for fucks sake just let it go.
 
Archibald Nixon said:
Been union for over a decade, and have a lot of wildly conflicting thoughts on the matter, which I should try to whip into a coherent essay at some point.

I remember cracking an anti-union joke here years ago and getting negged by, of all people, Big Dick McGee. Laker_Girl assured me he was very pro-union, which came as a bit of a surprise (this was soon after his whole flamewar with jack about who stayed at fancier hotels in Las Vegas, etc etc.) I'd love to hear what he has to say on the issue.
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he and are are both very pro-union, yet adamant republicans.
 
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Unions are probably necessary but construction unions piss me off. Workers literally sit around and do nothing or chat on their phones all the time or actually sit down and read books while they are supposed to be working (I have seen all these). And then projects and over budget and late.
 
I once stated in a management meeting that the union was a positive aspect of our company and every effort should be made to work with them, not fight every scrap and benefit. You'd have thought I dropped trou and took a dump in the middle of the HR rep's desk. While I think many unions have become so bloated and powerful they are actually a detriment to the careers they supposedly protect (teachers, I'm looking at you) I still feel they are very necessary in our world, where "make a buck and screw the workers" is still a very popular rule of thumb.
 
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