read what you said. a very direct attack against all union workers, which I said was bullsh*t and I will say it again. all UAW or whatever union don't feel that way. you cast a very broad brush stroke, and I said it is not true, which it isn't.

also me Union ?

I wore a suit,tie and wingtips for 28 years, installed and worked on payroll/human resource systems for major companies and the last 13 was responsible for a designing,maintaining software systems that managed 61 billion dollars, did mortgage backed security trades as well as normal securities trading . Hardly a union person.

this is probably the point where we mutually agree to disagree and go our separate ways because it is obvious that at this point I don't care for you and you don't care for me

 

I have discovered one(well, more than one) thing after 3 decades of belonging to one of the largest construction unions in North America. Both ideas noted above are true. On one hand, you have an abundance of workers who are proud of doing a good job. They take pride in their abilities and want nothing more than to perform their tasks and go home to their families. Then you have a percentage of the members who are as useless as **** on a boar - a waste of good skin. Their only mission is to do as little as possible, cause as much trouble as they can and generally just be obnoxious and annoying. However, here is the rub. Union leadership protects these deadbeats just as much as they protect good workers who may have been wronged. In the union's mind, everyone is "equal". They preach protecting the "brotherhood" at all costs. You are not allowed to excel. If you show you are capable of outperforming anyone else, you are soon reminded to "slow down". "We're working by the hour here". "You trying to make the rest of us look bad"? "You trying to work yourself out of a job"? These are just some of the catch phrases. Buck the "system" and you might find personal items missing or destroyed. Tools stolen or broken. Vehicles in parking lots vandalized. I could go on and on for hours but that is the jest. First hand experience.

 

I really didn't intend for this to become a union discussion.

Everyone is human. We all do what we do,for the reasons we did. Walk a mile type stuff....

​​​​Just like facebook. Someone says something and someone takes it the wrong way. Thats why I left.

Let's just talk about the havoc and annoyances we have caused others...fair?

I miss putting ball bearings in random peoples hubcaps (going back alittle here) and seeing how long it took for them to find the random noise. My friends dad took a year.. we laughed our asses off....

 

I think there was a better atmosphere at the Saturn plants, in the beginning anyways. Freaking Saturn!

 

This is an interesting read from a former GM line worker.
Finding multiple build sheets is not as rare as you would think, I found the one for my 68 Caprice along with one for the car that followed it down the line.

 

Does that apply to law enforcement unions also?

 

For some reason I thought the Bowling Green factory workers were trained and rotated among a handful of positions, like they would assemble doors for a month or two, then install the doors for awhile, then move over to assembly/balance the wheels/tires, then install the interior console, seats or stereo system, etc. I understand monotony can kill an enthusiast's passion. But I haven't seen many chefs getting tired of food... but also they aren't making the exact same dish thousands of times in a row LOL.

 

Change "food" to "fast food", different story. Not fun working the backline (kitchen? no, it ain't no kitchen), glad I don't ever have to do that again, despite spending four years in high school and college getting greasy.

 

IF YOU EVER WORKED IN A FACTORY YOU RECOGNIZE THE LOOK LINE WORKS HAs . IF YOU EVER DID THE JOB OF THE LINE WORKERS YOU HAVE THE SAME LOOK . I HAVE 40 YEARS TODAY WORKING IN A FACTORY AND MADE PARTS FOR COMPUTERS AND WE HAVE THE SAME LOOK . IM TIRED AND I WANTA GO HOME

 

I too have worked Union construction (IBEW, 40 years, now retired), and have seen those jobs come and go. I've also seen those employers and members come and go. I kept my head down and did my job, but when I found a good employer, I worked extra hard and made myself indispensable to them and stayed for 30 years. I worked my way up, over those 30 years, to being the lead electrician for over 100. On the last job I ran, ($10M, with 18 guys working for me, 2 years), we had so much fun. I had a great bunch of guys that I whittled down from about 30 that showed up during the duration of the project... I had to lose a bunch that were the deadbeats you described. To me, this is the way things should be done, regardless of the union trying to "help" me run the job. It was so good, that nobody wanted to be the union steward. I respected my guys and worked hard to give them the little extras that made their jobs easier. Gloves, lots of tape, good washrooms, good lunchroom, heat on the site, etc. Projects like what you describe are the results of unimaginative and lazy leadership that has no idea what they are doing. I learned leadership from 24 years in the RCAF reserve, and applied it to my civilian career. Every GF should take courses in leadership before trying to run a job. Best of all, my employer made SO MUCH MONEY! Life is good when you make it what you want.