saltyfishguy

going from a union state working in the union to a non union state I see quite a difference in the labor conditions and pay, Sandy hit it on the head, non union labor in Florida sucks, and the pay sucks worse.

MWG2

My late father was a Real Estate Developer. Depending on the size of the job, some were deemed "Union" and smaller jobs were "non-union." In fact, I worked for him for a few years and here is what I learned:

1) No matter if you are union or non-union, there are people who take pride in their work and others who don't.
2) Some union tradespeople would do the minimum amount of work; the non-union subcontractors worked hard to get more business and put in that "extra" hour or extra effort to do a superior job, so as to get hired for another contruction job.
3) To join the union, I was TOLD, in no uncertain terms that I had to registar as a Democrat and bring a copy of my voter's registration card to prove it, otherwise I would "not be hired."
4) The union plumbers, electricians, HVAC and masons were well trained in their trades and knew their stuff! They were the BEST at what they did, no question about it.
5) For the most part, the non-union labor didn't know squat about anything.
6) Union guys would never "rat" on a fellow union member, even when they stole stuff from a construction site. (It put me in a difficult situation as my father was the developer and shrinkage hurt the bottom line, which hurt my father.) I was told that if I said anything, I would "never walk again." I quit the next day.
7) The biggest thing I learned is that there is a lot of "peer-pressure" to do everything the "union" way, even if it was unethical (like stealing from the construction sites). Unions protect their members and a member is "never wrong."

Unions have their good points and their not-so-good points. From my personal experience, I would never join one again as they demand that you conform "or else."

hhrcrafty

Please tell me exactly what the UAW up at Fairfax is complaining about now? They're one of the most spoiled plants in the system. If they want a miserable plant to work in, they should go over to Ford in Claycomo and work all summer without A/C.

Dead weight? My Dad was one of those "dead weights" you're referring to until he retired a year ago. Worked on the line for 20 years, got a degree, and worked upstairs for another 20. He was shown the door because a kid on the line did something incredibly stupid and my Dad took the heat for it, even though he'd told the kid NOT TO DO IT and the kid did it anyway after my Dad walked away. The kid wasn't shown the door himself because of the bulletproof contract at Fairfax. Since my Dad was salary, he was fair game.

Fairfax II Assembly is going to wind up like Oklahoma City Assembly if they aren't careful. OKC walked out back in '99 over stupid issues and they also had the Malibu at the time. They wound up in the first round of shut-downs two years ago because they cost the company more than the plant or their productive capacity was worth. It was also only seven years older than the new Fairfax II plant.

tsaints1115

Those laws may intend to prevent that stuff from happening but the truth be told if someone is told to "do it or else" in a non union job,they`ll do it. The difference is I`ll still be working when I call the NRLB or OSHA,I know from experience. A non union worker will be unemployed when they make the call.