Very apt. Union officers are constantly running for re-election. So it is not so much "unions act" as it is "this is how elected politicians act."

And I occupied a variety of elected union office positions over the course of my employment life: I would guess 33.5 out of 35 years I held union office, and 30 or so of those years it was an elective office.

Laborsmith

 

And this would be an example of not keeping the conversation civil. Where's the moderator here?

 

I worked career wise, both union and salaried, at a GM component plant that was SOLD, to another parts mfg. The UAW employees were given the chance to xfer to another GM owned facility nearby...about 60% did..the plant mgmt gave local union officers the 1st and last say who was hired to keep peace..and MOST of those new hires were children, relatives neighbors, and even same for union offiers at other plants. Most had an attitude that my daddy, uncle , neighbor are union officials, and they were connected, so getting them to do their job when they did show up for work...was nearly impossible...scrap costs were ridiculous, quality ..there wasnt any ...we even shut down plants we supplied due to this as a member of the supv workforce...we were guilty until proven otherwise when it came to any confrontations...grievances etc. disciplinary hearings etc. in our attempts to get these employees to work. they just didnt care!
WELL..that plant and its sister plant are gone...work was xferred to foreign countries...these plants for years were productive...and yes I was a UAW employee who walked the picket line in the 70's. The union became so strong and powerful..its greed, work rules, lack of support for mgmt when there was a bad apple..led to the demise of mfg...and the decrease of UAW employees. I remember working Sat, Sundays and holidays when schedules were up...my dept , as SUPV was charged with labor costs of the Union Pres, bargaining chairman, and committeeman who werent even in the plant AT ALL!!
When I went to the Plant mgr, Labor relations/Personnel complaining about this...especially since I was being pressured about my efficiency reports on those days...too many hours to produce the parts needed...Iwas told that it was needed to keep labor peace. I know Union officials that were making over $100k..in the 1980's!! and didnt actually work a 40 hr week....I couldnt deal with it any longer..took my 32 years and retired...thank you UAW...you should be proud!!

 

Management has an obligation and the legal duty to manage. The union has the legal duty make sure management is fair. A union by law can not do management's work for them.

Your reference to union officials being on the clock while carrying out union/employer agreement duties indicates some degree of not understanding the relevant terms in the agreement; a common misunderstanding and one some of my supervisors had to learn the hard way each time I was paid after being suspended without pay because I adhered to the agreement's terms when representing co-workers.

Released time is difficult to understand and any excessive need for such indicates (to me, biased as I am) people in management either untrained or unable to function despite being trained. In my work experience, I found the latter to be more likely than the former.

Laborsmith

 

Oh puuuullleeeeeze......

 

Its not a perfect world and its not a one way street. If you look at the sins of management you'll find plenty to get upset about. I've been on both sides. How many times have long time workers with high pay rates and benefits been fired so that new workers can be hired with low pay and no benefits?

Unions are certainly not perfect but they are a necessary. It is no surprise that wages are stagnant, profits are up, productivity is way up and the union movement hasn't been in such bad shape in 100 years.

Most employees forget that a rising tide lifts all boats. When union wages go up, most everyone else's do too. Its so odd to me that working people, who have seen their wages stagnate or go down, complain about how bad unions are and side with management. I guess its one of the reasons so many blue collar workers vote Republican, against their own economic self interest.

Is it really so difficult to see that management's self interest is in generating as much profit as possible and if this has to come at the workers expense, so be it? This is largely what was behind the shipping of so many manufacturing jobs overseas. Cheap labor meant higher profits. Americans lost jobs so that profits would increase, not so that companies could stay in business.

Why do you suppose so few companies have true profit sharing plans for the blue collar worker?

 

 

That was entertaining...

 

While not as directly involved as you, I had a similar professional experience in the 90s with a Ford supplier.

Any fair reading of labor history must admit many examples of labor union abuses that were ultimately their undoing. The UAW was the poster-child. But the evidence is equally clear that our nation has suffered from labor's demise. Capital has come roaring back from the great recession with year after year of record corporate profits while wages remain stagnant. Great for my 401k, but not for the future of our economy.

The temptation is to throw the baby out with the bathwater and you see it in posts here.

The U.S economy dominated the 20th century becoming the largest economy in the world because of our enormous middle class which was build by high-paying union jobs. The alternative model is Mexico.

Germany is a model the U.S should strive to emulate. Their manufacturing sector is thriving with an almost 100% unionized workforce earning high wages, complete health care and high profits.

There is a popular myth that manufacturing in the U.S has the highest wage costs in the world. Here is the reality from the BLS:


And some more food for thought:


The U.S must rebuild it's manufacturing sector and higher wages in all sectors of our economy must be a national priority. Labor has to be a part of this strategy, and management must stand up to labor when they push too far. The German economy used to be us, and it can be again, but we've got to take off our ideological blinders. The alternative is Mexico.

What ever happens to Eldon Renaud, and what ever you think of the UAW, it's past time for some fresh blood at the top of the UAW in BG. No one should be in charge for 30 years.

 

someone is deep in a cult... but is in denial about it. The funny part is that these cultists think the rest of the country is also fooled into believing the same.

 

Sadly, despite some members being very civil in their disagreement, others seem to think that name calling is necessary. If you want to argue union/no union, take it to PRC.