Poll of the Day > Labor unions

(+) Yeah! (+)

Do you or have you ever been in a labor union?

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I haven't been in one since I was in a company small enough to not qualify for unions anyways.

Unions are good though, as long as they serve the group trust / don't have ulterior motives.

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Lokarin posted...

I haven't been in one since I was in a company small enough to not qualify for unions anyways.

Unions are good though, as long as they serve the group trust / don't have ulterior motives.

Odd thing is, I am amazed that people aren't aware of the good that unions did early on that also benefit non-union people as well.

Vacation

Healthcare Coverage

Sick Leave

Weekends Off

Social Security (Keep in mind prior to the New Deal and Labor Unions, Americans had no retirement plans)

Minimum Wage

8 Hour Work Day

40 Hour Work Week

Unemployment Insurance

Pensions (Now gone and replaced by 401K and similar plans)

Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees

Public Education for Children

Please stop pretending labor unions did not play a role in helping American workers to attain Middle-Class status because they did.

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BUMPED2002 posted...

I am amazed that people aren't aware of the good that unions did early on

Pretty much everybody knows about their historical good, but we aren't in those days any more. Now unions are very different, with more of a net detriment to society especially because the largest unions are public-sector ones in fields not even close to resembling the historically dangerous ones where they helped.

BUMPED2002 posted... 8 Hour Work Day

40 Hour Work Week

...which was the work of Henry Ford rather than unions, since Ford's decision to implement it was the real turning point and prior to that unions hadn't made any real headway. In fact, a lot of things listed here are wrongly credited to unions.

More importantly, the 40 hour workweek is generally a myth anyway. A lot of hourly employees are kept under a certain number of hours to avoid paying benefits and salaried workers tend to work longer. And many fields routinely require 50-70 hours per week.

BUMPED2002 posted...

Please stop pretending labor unions did not play a role in helping American workers to attain Middle-Class status because they did.

Please stop pretending that today's unions are of any relation to those.

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Who killed Jimmy Hoffa?

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BUMPED2002 posted...

Odd thing is, I am amazed that people aren't aware of the good that unions did early on that also benefit non-union people as well.

Is this the Genetic fallacy? I don't remember.

Not knocking historical unions and the end of the near slavery level serfdom of the industrial revolution.

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No, but I support organized labor.

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No, most of the places where Ive worked would fire you if you started talking about unionizing

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ive Never worked anywhere that offered one. And even if I did, Id never give my money to that literal gaggle of thugs.

Zeus posted...

Pretty much everybody knows about their historical good, but we aren't in those days any more. Now unions are very different, with more of a net detriment to society especially because the largest unions are public-sector ones in fields not even close to resembling the historically dangerous ones where they helped.

...which was the work of Henry Ford rather than unions, since Ford's decision to implement it was the real turning point and prior to that unions hadn't made any real headway. In fact, a lot of things listed here are wrongly credited to unions.

More importantly, the 40 hour workweek is generally a myth anyway. A lot of hourly employees are kept under a certain number of hours to avoid paying benefits and salaried workers tend to work longer. And many fields routinely require 50-70 hours per week.

Please stop pretending that today's unions are of any relation to those.

i did not say today's uniojs have the same influence as those old school unions because beginning in the 1960s/1970s there began a push from corps to get out from under the thumb of labor unions and I also disagree with your Henry Ford assessment. Ford used armed guards at his Mich plant to drive out union leadership and potential members so get that history before spouting off facts you have no clue about. In fact, the only reason Labor Unions ever existed to begin with was to combat corporate abuse. Go back and research Andrew Carnegie for one and you'll find they abused their workers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because workers back then had no voice and there were no Gov rules and regs in place so employers did whatever they wanted to do to employees. Also keep in mind there was no retirement, no workman's comp, no unemployment etc so if a worker was injured on the job or became too old to work,, that person was 100% reliant upon family to care for them. So unions and Gov played a pivotal role in curtailing that situation and today we have people trying to turn back the clock.

Secondly labor unions along with Government via FDR's New Deal programs and later on, the G.I. Bill played a pivotal role as well in the formation of the working Middle Class because prior to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, America did not have a Middle Class and if you know your history, the Great Depression was the driving force behind FDR's creation of the New Deal programs because he witnessed the destruction it had on average Americans.

Prior to the G.I. Bill, Americans did not attend college either because college was thought of something that the wealthy did and most working-class Americans never gave college a thought until the G.I. Bill made it possible by paying the costs of college for returning servicemen after WW2.

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They're great.
They just got me $50 from July 4th holiday pay that my work said I wasn't missing.
The best part is, I was thinking it was gonna be like $10 when I first contacted the union.

So, yeah, I support the union. I did before I needed them and will continue to do so now.

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BeerOnTap posted...

ive Never worked anywhere that offered one. And even if I did, Id never give my money to that literal gaggle of thugs.

youd rather just work for such a gaggle and obediently forfeit you rights as a worker

good boy

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BeerOnTap posted...

ive Never worked anywhere that offered one. And even if I did, Id never give my money to that literal gaggle of thugs.

Union workers make 30% more on average though. So even if you gave some of that for union fees, you'd most likely be making more being in a union.
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Yes. There are good unions, and there are bad unions.

The union I'm part of now is excellent. It has considerable power and ensures that we are treated fairly. For many professional careers, unionizing makes great sense.

The union I was part of when I worked for Safeway during university was horrible. Union dues brought my hourly before tax wage below minimum wage, and I had nothing to show for it. The union prevented my employer from firing the absolute worst employees despite their complete incompetence and shit work ethic, which only made my job worse. An unskilled job like being a Safeway clerk has absolutely zero benefits in unionization, at least in my experience. Perhaps if these low skill jobs were less common, and unemployment was high, I would disagree.

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There is no such thing as a union for the IT industry, which is insane. If there's anyone who needs a union more than anything it's IT workers.

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Oddly enough, the only time I've ever been in a union was when I was working part time at the student book store at the community college I went to. As technically I was an employee if the San Diego Community College District, I was in their union. It was ok I guess. Current place of employment treats us really well, so luckily we have good ownership that actually values worker morale.

BUMPED2002 posted...

Not interested

Excellent choice.
BUMPED2002 posted...

Please stop pretending labor unions did not play a role in helping American workers to attain Middle-Class status because they did.

Middle-class is a myth and only existed during the Baby Boom.

Also 40 hour work week is a myth. I don't know how many 50+ hour work weeks I've pulled since entering the work force as a salaried employee.

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I believe in unionization, but I'm totally against mandatory unionization. It's almost as bad as outlawing unions.

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Zareth posted...

I believe in unionization, but I'm totally against mandatory unionization. It's almost as bad as outlawing unions.

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I was in a union once. They threatened to kick me out (effectively making it so I would be fired) because I refused to walk the picket lines when I was preparing/writing finals in University.

Note that I didn't cross the picket lines, I just told them I wouldn't show up and therefore they don't need to pay me strike pay. Then I got phone calls from lawyers and it was a whole mess. I still don't dislike unions, but boy did that put a damper on how I viewed them.

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Work in retail. Not allowed to unionize.

The retail unionization thing is really interesting. Of all of the industries that I'd think would be pro-union it would n retail but I remember my short stint in retail had propaganda in our break room that was basically summed up as "unionize and you will be fired".

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MirMiros posted...

Work in retail. Not allowed to unionize.

Those poor Walmart bastards need a union.

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Have been. It was okay but I mostly felt like they were taking too much money for nothing.

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