Who is tired of USIC's crap

[unionusic]

there is a email address @
unionusic@yahoo.com

let your voice be heard it is time

[SmokeMoreP]

i left usic, but a union is not the answer.

[TheCableVine]

Is there such a thing as a contract company going union and surviving the transformation? Do contract companies ever go union? Seems to me to turn a contract company into a union company is to fire yourself. Why don't you just quit and spare yourself the time and trouble. That way you can get on with a new career, sooner.

[Mke]

Steve, you sir, do not sound like you have had a recent dinner paid for by a union rep. I know they can't promise you that you will keep your job, or the same amount of pay, but they will fight the oppressive overlord for more money and bennifits for your position. It is a Win/ Win situation. By law, they can not fire you for talking about unionizing, and if you do unionize they will arbitrate on your behalf for more money.... you can't lose. Except, if a contract company asks for too much money and benefits, there is no monitary advantage of contracting out the locates, and the utilities will cancel the contract and do the locates "in-house". Even that will be ok, because you are now officially part of the Union, but there is no real union for locators, so we will be attatched to a version of the IEBW or similar....but we won't be full fledge members of the union since there is no certificatioin for being a locator, so in their oppinion we are actually unskilled laborers. So even though we paid about 6 months of union dues, and were told we would get help finding jobs if we ever found ourselves out of a job.......but it was actually a layoff and not a firing, so we would wait around for another 6 months trying to find a job wich wouldn't fall under the auspices of utility locator and we would eventually be booted from the union. The good news, is by that time we have been out of work for a year, and the utilities would be legally allowed to put the utility contract out to bid again....... so, all in all, we get a year of non-paid vacation...

How can you not like this idea Steve?

Mke

[TheCableVine]

You are right. I didn't see it that way.

You kinda got what I meant. When i said you are firing yourself I basically meant that going union would end up losing the company the contract because the company can't operate at the higher expenses that would be required from the workers in the way of pay and benefits.

I really see no use for unions anymore. They have become a negative effect on our society.

[FreedMan]

To my knowledge the local USIC operation out of Raleigh is still honoring the CLS union agreement they inherited. A good friend of mine works under that contract and has for several years now. He's well paid, has great benefits, and likes his employer (most of the time), so it's not always a guaranteed dead end road.

The big trouble with unions these days is the same trouble it's been for most of the last fifty years - the unions got infiltrated and brought into bed with the employers and became compromised. Add to that the various state and federal rules and rulings that removed the few teeth they had to start with and unions today have become puppet organizations and thus most people have no memory, first hand or otherwise, of what a real labor organization is about. We haven't had a real labor movement in this country since before WWII, long before most of our parents entered the work force.

[Goldenboy]

Like I've said before, unions are for the lazy people that would be fired from any other job. The union makes it hard to fire people. So if you are a hard working person that never calls in sick you would make the same wage as the guy that sits in his truck hours a day and calls in sick all the time.

[locatethis]

I honestly feel that back in the day unions served a good purpose . But over the decades, they are what I believe has caused this once great nation of ours to fall to the wayside!
After all, if you think about it, unions while were a good thing for better pay and benefits , they caused big business to find ways to rake in the profits by busting unions or just simply ship the jobs overseas. And the union kept forcing more and more and more to be drained from the bottom line! And if it's not a strong union, well it's just another middleman with it's hand in your pocket...

[Turk182]

Like I've said before, unions are for the lazy people that would be fired from any other job. The union makes it hard to fire people. So if you are a hard working person that never calls in sick you would make the same wage as the guy that sits in his truck hours a day and calls in sick all the time.

That isn't true unless the contract makes it so, labor contracts can be written to be beneficial on both sides. Unions exist to keep employers from taking advantage of their employees, much like USIC making on call duties part of the job, but not paying any extra for it in many states, but the states that they have union shops in do get paid extra for it.

[Goldenboy]

That isn't true unless the contract makes it so, labor contracts can be written to be beneficial on both sides. Unions exist to keep employers from taking advantage of their employees, much like USIC making on call duties part of the job, but not paying any extra for it in many states, but the states that they have union shops in do get paid extra for it.

Yes I don't get paid the measly 50 dollars for oncall like the union shop does but I did get $9000 in bonuses the last 4 years for going damage free and the shops that are union get no bonuses. I think I'll take the $9000 and let them keep their couple hundred dollars of on call money.

This is the last union crap I'll talk about. Every winter all the lazy ass worthless locators bring up unions but nothing ever happens. There is a reason for it. Unions suck and there are no guarantees going in that you are going to get anything more than what you already have. The only thing you are guaranteed is that they are gonna beg for their union dues each and every month.

[Wingfoot]

Years ago I worked for Goodyear in sales and management. I have managed union employees (2 shops with 15+ workers) and I have managed non-union employees (a shop with 20 workers). As a manager, I would take the union shop management job over the other anytime. Managing a union shop was as enjoyable and easy a job as I ever experienced. As a hourly paid worker though, I would prefer not be on the union roster. These were my observations:

The lazy and "trouble maker" employees are the most vocal to organize and get voted in a union. These same "trouble makers" are the very first to be let go, even with the "help" of their union!

The ones who are the most vocal "We gotta walk!" are the very first A-holes to say, "We gotta go back to work! I got bills to pay!"

Unions consider union scale wage as minimum pay and the company considers union scale maximum pay! Union scale for lead-techs, or lead-men, will be a buck or 2 higher if passed by a 2/3 majority vote by the union body. Fat chance of that ever happening if there is a locator's union.

Unions consider their contract rules the "Spirit of the Law" and the company considers these contract rules the "Letter of the Law!" Big, BIG difference!

Simple majority of shop employees votes a union in. A 2/3 majority vote of the union local is required to vote a union out of the same shop!

A small group of 5 or 6 leaders of the union local makes the decisions for the entire body. Annual union meetings are a hot summer Saturday picnic at a small park where 98% of the voting members don't show up. A quorum is declared by the 5 or 6 leaders and a simple majority of those present will transact union business legally.

A 2 year union scale worker will be making the same wage as a 20+ year union scale worker.

I've seen 20+ year non-union workers get 6 weeks paid vacation per year vs a 20+ year union-scale worker for the same company getting 2 weeks paid vacation each year.

The union-paid retirement benefits not in the same league as company contributary retirement benefits.

Union dues are not that costly - 2 hours pay per month.

Union seniority means everything at lay-off time and re-call time. As with locators, people assigned with a territory tend to have more seniority and are less likely to be laid-off before the floaters.

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[orangeboots]

I would have to vote no, cant afford the pay cut and then have to pay dues on top of that.

[Bad Robot]

Yes I don't get paid the measly 50 dollars for oncall like the union shop does but I did get $9000 in bonuses the last 4 years for going damage free and the shops that are union get no bonuses. I think I'll take the $9000 and let them keep their couple hundred dollars of on call money.

This is the last union crap I'll talk about. Every winter all the lazy ass worthless locators bring up unions but nothing ever happens. There is a reason for it. Unions suck and there are no guarantees going in that you are going to get anything more than what you already have. The only thing you are guaranteed is that they are gonna beg for their union dues each and every month.

Tell us how you really feel Goldenboy, lol!! Sounds like you got the bad end of a union situation somewhere in a past life.

[Bad Robot]

Like I've said before, unions are for the lazy people that would be fired from any other job. The union makes it hard to fire people. So if you are a hard working person that never calls in sick you would make the same wage as the guy that sits in his truck hours a day and calls in sick all the time.

This is a blanket statement Goldenboy. I've read a lot of intelligent posts by you, and you really sound like someone who knows their stuff. But this? This has a lot of bile in it friend. You need to cut whatever it is that is eating you about unions loose. It isn't doing you or anyone around you any good.

[Goldenboy]

Tell us how you really feel Goldenboy, lol!! Sounds like you got the bad end of a union situation somewhere in a past life.

It was actually in this life. Twice. But I'm sure I'll still hate unions in my next life.

I worked for a garbage company for about 5 years and saw how much they liked taking our dues but not really doing anything for us. We went on strike for better benifits and more money and after a long strike we didn't get anything we wanted.

I had also got a job as an electrician at a non-union shop and they decided to go union and they were forced by the union to fire everyone that was still on probation so they could bring in guys on the book. I was still on probation.

I also hate hearing from the IBEW guys about how much they make. I always ask them how much vacation time they get. The answer is none. They don't get any paid vacation,sick time, or holiday pay. That adds up to alot of coin in a year so when you compare hourly rates they should make more if they don't get any paid days off in a year.