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Subject:Re: employment law, overtime From:"Bill Swallow" <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"Gregory P Sweet" <gps03 -at- health -dot- state -dot- ny -dot- us> Date:Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:03:59 -0500
> Oh I dunno, job security, better pay/benefits vacation, power-in-numbers
> come to mind right away.
I don't have power in numbers but I am a bit on the large side. ;-)
Pay/benefits/vacation/job security... I have those.
> But apparently the prevailing attitude these days is that the union is of
> no benefit and employers are laughing all the way to the bank on it.
> I've never been asked to work more than 40 hours in a week in a union shop,
> however in the one nonunion gig I had the vice president of the department
> told me out-right that I "made too much money" to only work 40 hours a week
> and had better start putting in 70 or 80 or else. So there, I piped up with
> the exception to that one, too.
LOL! Sounds like the VP was on a power trip. I generally don't pay
attention to noise like that.
> I may not always be happy with my union but I staunchly support it and
> believe I am far better of with it than with out. Previously I was a member
> of the International Brotherhood of Elevator Constructors who had very
> strict rules about job titles and scope of work. The also provided
> world-class training to ensure that anyone who held the rank of elevator
> mechanic really knew their sh*t. Some might have saw that as red-tape.
> Others, myself included saw that for what it was, achieving the leverage to
> negotiate a better deal by ensure a highly-skilled work force.
If it works for you, great. I'd personally feel bound and hindered,
because I enjoy not doing the same work year over year.
> Let me ask this, if unions are so pointless and ineffectual why do
> corporations like WalMart spend millions on anti-union activities including
> surveillance vans for each store and a union-busting fast-response team
> with it's own private jet?
I don't know. I honestly don't understand a lot of things that
Wal*Mart does, and don't shop there as a rule.
--
Bill Swallow
HATT List Owner
WWP-Users List Owner
Senior Member STC, TechValley Chapter
STC Single-Sourcing SIG Manager http://techcommdood.blogspot.com
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