Received this interesting email today

[Bill V]

I will say this and you cannot refute it. There have been NO structures, or buildings of ANY significance that have been built in this country without UNION labor.

Ah, but I can.



My dad and two of his friends built the house my parents live in. Two-story, walk-out basement. They dug and built the foundation, did all the framing, all the electrical, all the plumbing, built all the cabinery, did all the finishing, etc. etc. etc., with no other labor involved. They even harvested all the wood themselves, from the the forest that my parents live in. Gorgeous place. For three people to build, in one summer, with no other assistance, it's a very significant structure. No union labor involved.

 

[Bill Ellis]

Just some unbiased info for you guys to discuss.

Union Members Summary

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 07-0113

http://www.bls.gov/cps/

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, January 25, 2007







UNION MEMBERS IN 2006



In 2006, 12.0 percent of employed wage and salary workers were union

members, down from 12.5 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Department of

Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of persons

belonging to a union fell by 326,000 in 2006 to 15.4 million. The union

membership rate has steadily declined from 20.1 percent in 1983, the first

year for which comparable union data are available. Some highlights from

the 2006 data are:



--Workers in the public sector had a union membership rate nearly

five times that of private sector employees.



--Education, training, and library occupations had the highest

unionization rate among all occupations, at 37 percent.



--The unionization rate was higher for men than for women.



--Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white,

Asian, or Hispanic workers.

Fact is, 88% of the workforce is non-union and the majority of those do have the typical benefits that we tend to expect; i.e., health care, vacation, paid holidyas, etc. In my 30+ years of industrial experience, union affiliation had no bearing on the skill of the individual worker. A non-union workforce can be just as good as a union workforce and a union workforce can be just as bad as a non-union workforce. Same is true in the construction trades. There are union as well as non-union workers who are very bad at what they do. Only difference is that the non-union guy is not likely to stay employed while the union guy will sit on the bench a lot waiting for short term jobs.

 

[Tom Schindler]

I forgot to hit the smilie face...so shoot me.





Tom

 

[Tom Schindler]

--The unionization rate was higher for men than for women.

That makes sense. Many women choose jobs that either have no union to join, or the job is in an office.

--Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white,

Asian, or Hispanic workers.

Looks like the blacks understand what it is like to be treated unfairly. (Or can someone that says union members are lazy, claim black people do not want to work, so they can become union so they do not have to do anything?)



It is a shame that you can be punished for getting old, the color of your skin, or the sex you were born.



Eliminating the unions is bad for everyone. It would take a few years, but once that monster is unleashed, there is no turning back.



Has anyone read that Toyota says it is cheaper to build their cars in Japan instead the USA and have decided to build no more plants for a while? They rep-orted that sales are slowing down.





Tom

 

[Mark Grumpy]

Many women choose jobs that either have no union to join, or the job is in an office.

:huh:

Do you really think that only skilled labor has unions? That office workers don't??

Office workers have unions. Retail workers have unions.

Unions are like religion - if you grow up with it then it is the best thing since sliced bread. Legalized brainwashing.

Looks like the blacks understand what it is like to be treated unfairly.

The one's that do understand it are dead. To say one knows now is just a figment and an excuse.

 

[gary s]

tom, thats ok

in the past, you have mentioned that i was probably not telling the truth about my decline in maintanance for my toyota's ( i see it as being called a liar ), you implied that i receive "kickbacks" to do business with some auto manufactures. so when you say i am a little slow, how do you think it comes across.

i am a big boy, call me what you wan't, but i know one thing, i may be a little slow, but i am miles in front of you



frank, i don't respond to someone who starts off with... listen gary s.

bye

 

[Tom Schindler]

Gary,



You know I never called you a liar. You can look at it anyway you want, but I still NEVER called you a liar. That is a fact! I said I could call you a liar, though I never did.



Sitting behind a computer, we can say anything we want. I could say that my Trac has been the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned, but in reality, it could have been in the shop non-stop. I say it has been reliable and you have no way to prove me wrong. I could also say my car has been unreliable because I regret buying the Sport Trac, when it actuality, it was very reliable.



The same goes for you. You can claim that your costs have gone down and you are just saving money hand over fist using Toyota's, but at the same time, that is only your word. There is no proof, nor am I asking you for proof. Nobody, except yourself, knows the truth. There is always that possibility that you have been given "gifts" to convert the fleet to Toyota.



I was just saying that if resale value ment soooo much to you, why not go Honda. Why not spend a few extra bucks, don't follow the sheep, and use Honda? They have the highest reasale value. Someone could assume there is an underlying reason you would not consider going that route.



I highly doubt you would do that, but for example, here is what I have to deal with.



My uncle owns a trucking business. The company I work for is one of his customers. Because we are related, I was required to tell the company that they are doing buisiness with my uncle, but it has nothing to do with my employment so NOBODY can say that we were keeping it a secret or that is why he sell a service to the company I work for.



I think you are an good guy, maybe a little misguided , but that doesn't make you bad.





Tom

 

[Tom Schindler]

Do you really think that only skilled labor has unions? That office workers don't??

Office workers have unions. Retail workers have unions.

So the UFCW is actually a union? I never knew that. (Actually, I did know that. Thanks for telling me that anyways. You have been very helpful.

Unions are like religion - if you grow up with it then it is the best thing since sliced bread. Legalized brainwashing.

Get the bone too many times in the rear and you start to think differently too.





Tom

 

[Mike Wilson]

Aah, the proverbial "Bone in the Rear"... It makes us all think, doesn't it?



O.K.... Trivia,... but not trivial...



What does I.L.G.W.U.A. stand for?



Hint: Unoins are not all about men and "machismo"!:unsure:

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Wow! I have been out of communication for a few days as I traveled back to Poland. I had a lot of reading to catch up.



Tom (Caymen) -- I maybe be career military, but I did work for nine years before I entered Basic Training. I know about hard work and low wages. I worked in the grocery industry in non-union stores for that time. Wages were low and I had no health care. I could have easily made more money working in Krogers, which was union, but my dad got screwed by his union (The Teamsters) when he worked for Pepsi as a delivery driver, so I have vowed to never work for a "closed shop" union company.



I realise that Civil Service has a union, but it is voluntary membership. Typically, only the blue collar WG wage workers belong. I'm not really sure why they need a union, with the pay and benefits the government gives them, but to each his own. In almost 20 years of military service, I have not met one person in civil service that told me they were in the union.



I am an NCO. I guess some outside of the military could consider that as management. I always considered the officers to be management, and the NCOs to be the workers. I don't really think being a career military man clouds my perceptions of the working world in the US. My parents worked, my brother works, and I have friends and neighbors who work. Many of the young folks I supervised make much more money than me on the outside, but I love my job, and don't need anymore money than what I have to enjoy life. I realise I could be pulling down six-figures in a civilian job, but I like what I do now. I'll make that money later when the Air Force decides they have had enough of me.

 

[Todd Z]

Sitting behind a computer, we can say anything we want.

Yup,

Saw some of that at louisville....



Just felt like jumping in with a random quote... :lol::lol::lol::lol:



Todd Z

 

[NYJohn]

Here's a true story - My company recently got awarded a contract to do safety inspections in a hospital. Before we came in it was taking 8 (yes eight) union guys over a month to do this work. Now, it takes my company 2 non union guys 3 days to do the job. Every day we get harrased on the job. The union wants us out even though were are licensed, certified, and everything else to do this type work. The union people are not. And we've looked into the contract between the hospital & the union and there is no job description for the work we do, so why would the union be upset? Because 2 non union guys are doing the work of 8 union guys in less time saving the hospital thousands in safety violations.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

NYJohn,



It seems most anyone who is non-union and has worked with union employees and companies has a story like that (I too have several).



Yet those that benefit from being union seem to claim that such abuses and bad shops are the exception and not the norm, and that they rarely see such abuses.



I wonder how both of those can be true?



TJR

 

[Tom Schindler]

TJR,



You are exactly right. The same goes for vehicle problems. We all have horror storries about what problems we have had with a vehicle, but never say a word about the hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles we have drive. We dwell on the bad, never the good.



There is a plant in Minerva, Ohio that makes common parts for the auto industry. Owners/managers were getting bad. They were demanding all guys work 12 hrs a day. They were cutting vacation time, eliminating sick time. They were also creating an unsafe shop by causing friction between the employees and managment. It went from a great place to work, to a bad place.



One day, one guy wore a UAW shirt into the plant. I think he actually got it at the thrift store because the company pulled the uniforms from the list of benefits. Managment noticed. The employees noticed it too. Guys started talking, a few calls were made, and the UAW started their work. Before long, many guys were wearing UAW hats and shirts.



A vote was cast and 80% voted yes. They company said it could not be true. The wanted a second election to take place by a third party. Before the next election, things started to change. Uniforms were back, 12 hr workdays were voluntary again, they added vacation time and doubled sick time. The next vote was cast.



99% voted the union in. Those guys were not stupid enough to think the company was being nice by going back to the way it was. They were scared and were not to be trusted.



We the non-union company I worked for went in there, the union officials asked why we were there. We were there to do overflow work caused by a bad supply of steel. We would be there around the clock for 3 to 4 days. Once we were done, we left. We never had one

problem at any union shops. We knew we were not there to steal their jobs, nor would we put them down for being union. In return, they never spoke bad about us and never stood in our way. If there was a problem, we talked it out and went on with our lives.



I actually preferred to work in a union shop as a non-union contractor over working in a non-union shop. At the union shop, I enjoyed the benefits of a safer shop. We were always reminded to wear gloved, face shields, etc. and if we needed help, we could always get someone.





Tom