450 – Thoughts on Collective Bargaining (the short version)

Those that know me, know I’m pro-union. There are many things you may or may not know about Labor Unions in general, that I hope I can shed some light on.

Before I begin, let me ask you this?

Do you get paid vacation days where you work?
Do you get sick time? (and I don’t mean paid ones)
An 8 hour work day (as opposed to 12-16 hours being normal)
Maternity Leave?
Personal Days?
Some part of your health care paid by your employer?
Leave for deaths in your family?

If you do, thank a union.

In a non-union business, you could work there 30+ years, be a model employee, and the boss can lay you off to hire his pimply faced nephew because his sister made him. That won’t happen with a union.

Consider this. There is a BMW Plant in Spartenberg South Carolina, which is non-union. They don’t NEED one, because they’re paid fairly, and they get the benefits listed above. the people there are incredibly happy with their jobs.
I wish we could all be like that, but it just isn’t possible.

Today, we have Big 3 automakers raping the system for many millions of dollars, while the line worker is being asked to take an almost 50% cut in pay. Oh, and in September 2009, GM (for one) rescinded the white collar pay cuts they had taken to get the company back on track. Sorry, not a penny for union workers on the floor actually making the automobiles.

Don’t even get me started about this idiot in Wisconsin.

Not all unions are good. Many are.

We don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Food for thought.

JMHO

Sorry, not in the mood for a joke today.