My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

My Dad is part of the teamsters union. He drives a truck for Thomas's english muffins. Tommorrow they will likely go on strike and I'm pretty sure that the new owner is going to break the strike and fire them.

Well, my Dad has a really good job. He makes a lot of money and has great benefits considering the kind of job he has. Generally I can't think of anyone who would ever want to lose thier job.

How did we get here? Well they were supposed to vote on a five year contract. Everyone from NYC, NJ, and Conneticute was suppose to meet at the union building in Manhatten to vote on it. My Dad showed up, but most of the people from his depot were "too busy" to vote on the contract for the next five years of thier lives. As a result the meeting was dominated by people from the NY depot.

We were offered a really good contract. I'm not going to go into details, but to give you an idea the increases in medical benefits were 15%, 13%, and 10% for the first three years. My Dad was pleasently surprised by the contract, and accepting it should be a no-brainer.

However, the people in NY don't like thier new depot manager. So much so they decided they will vote down every single contract until he is fired. The union leader tried to explain to them that the contract was over pay and benefits, and that grievences with a manager had to be filed seperately and dealt with as a seperate process. They didn't care and they voted down the contract (the only union under this companies management to do so under the terms of that contract. every other depot wasn't retarded).

Tommorrow they are supposed to vote on a new contract. Pissed off at how retarded they were the company has made them a new offer. No benefits or pay increases at all in any year. Obviously, they are going to vote this down and strike.

In previous years strikes worked because the company was fairly small and the strike was a threat. Now it is owned by a large multi national that will probably absorb the strike and hire scabs.

I'm just really pissed the hell off. These guys have good union jobs where they are making three times what they would make if they lose thier jobs. But they were too [censored] lazy to show up or too [censored] stupid to think with thier heads.

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

That's really absurd. I am sorry to hear about your father's situation.

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

What does your dad think about the situation?

Don't worry about your dad. Its very ususual for companies to hire permanent replacements for established unions.

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

Blog?

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

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What does your dad think about the situation?

Don't worry about your dad. Its very ususual for companies to hire permanent replacements for established unions.

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It seems like in a case like this that leaving the union should be seriously considered. I think remaining in a union that is not able to represent your best interests would be counter productive, but I have no idea what the realities are for working in this business without a union.

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What does your dad think about the situation?

Don't worry about your dad. Its very ususual for companies to hire permanent replacements for established unions.

[/ QUOTE ]

It seems like in a case like this that leaving the union should be seriously considered. I think remaining in a union that is not able to represent your best interests would be counter productive, but I have no idea what the realities are for working in this business without a union.

[/ QUOTE ]

My Dad will never leave the union. He is a huge union guy. He hates the way his union is acting, but he will never ever ever cross a picket line. My family has a long union history. My grandfather was a union organizer and a card carrying communist when he was young. My Dad will go down with the union, even if losing his job means he doesn't have a shot in hell of getting the diabetes treatment he needs.

What annoys the hell out of me and him is that the people from his depot didn't even show up. They had 150 drivers that were supposed to show up and only 64 did, most of them from NY. How in the hell does someone decide they don't have the time to show up to vote on a contract that will effect the next 5 years of thier live. They are not skilled workers. They drive a [censored] truck. They are gonna go from 80,000/year jobs with health and retirement benefits to 30,000/year jobs with no benefits if they blow this. How can you not show up to vote on that contract?

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

another example of the antiquity of unions in america.

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

Maybe the company will just fire the NY depot manager in response to this? We have no way of knowing whether or not this will be the case, and you haven't shown that it would in anyway difficult to fire the manager. It also seems plausible that productivity would be higher under a different manager, as a lot of productivity will be wasted bad mouthing, debating with, not listening to, trying to sabotage or get fired, the manager (etc.). The reality is that there are plenty people that have nearly equally good qualifications that would take the managers job, and the company itself would be better off picking one that the employees didn't disdain with a passion. The union's actions let the larger company know that productivity loss would be the case if the manager stayed, and my guess is that he will simply be replaced or at least transfered. The union plays a useful role in increasing productivity if the company lets it instead of fighting with it, making the company aware that these problems will occur under this manager. My guess is that firing the manager is, and should be, exponentially more likely to occur than the scenario you laid out. In general as well, the belief that a union will be eliminated if it, you know, actually is effective, is, in the vast majority of cases, simply an illusion that is useful for the company to foster to gain control over the workers and more profits.

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

you mean abandon antiquity and go back to the old way? I like your logic.

Re: My Dad\'s [censored] Union
 

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I'm just really pissed the hell off. These guys have good union jobs where they are making three times what they would make if they lose thier jobs.

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This right here makes me wonder why any thinking capitalist might suffer a union.