This is constant barrage of negativism toward the unions is having a real effect, and American support for them has been waning.
Courtesy of Addicting Info:
1. Minimum Wage: Without federally mandated minimum wage, we’d still be working for pennies.
2. Child Labor Laws: Without these laws, children would be hired as cheap labor.
3. Paid Vacations: Did you go on a cruise this year? Perhaps to the Grand Canyon or another country? Thank a union.
4. Employer Health Care, Dental, and Vision Insurance: If you have a medical, dental, or vision care plan through your employer, your a lucky person. All because of organized labor.
5. Pensions: If you were able to retire at 65 and get pension checks in the mail, congratulations, you’re living proof that unions work.
6. Safety Conditions: Do you work at a potentially hazardous job but have safety regulations in place to protect you? If so, unions are responsible for your continued safety.
7. Collective Bargaining: Just having the right to negotiate with your employer is a benefit guaranteed by a union.
8. Weekends: If you have weekends off to spend with your families, a labor union is responsible for giving you that time off.
9. Sick Leave: Did you get to use a work provided sick day to get well? Unions fought for that too.
10. Overtime: Are you able to work overtime and get paid even more for it? Thank a union.
11. 8 Hour Work Day: Without unions, we’d all be working non-stop 24/7. Because of unions you’re able to go home and spend some time at home with family and friends before you catch 6-8 hours of sleep.
12. 40 Hour Work Week: Just like number 11, without unions, we’d never have a day off and work would encompass our entire life.
13. Unemployment Benefits: Are you unemployed but receive unemployment benefits to care for your family until you find another job? One word. Unions.
14. Wrongful Termination Laws: Because of unions, you can’t be fired for stupid reasons, like the color of your skin or because you make too much money.
15. Pay Raises: Unions are responsible for your ability to ask for and receive pay raises.
16. Holiday Pay: Do you at least get some holidays off? If so, thank a union.
17. Pregnancy and Parental Leave: In some countries, women give birth on the job and have to go back to work the next day. Corporations would make women do the same thing here if not for the determination of a union.
18. The Right To Strike: We have the right to organize and protest against the government. A union fought for your right to organize and strike against your employer.
19. Equal Pay For Women: Women finally get equal pay for equal work. Thank a union.
20. Laws Ending Sweatshops: Because of unions, sweatshops, which employ cheap labor with harsh conditions, are illegal.
Fairly impressive list don't you think? The counter argument to keeping unions around is that they are NO LONGER necessary because businesses have already adopted these policies and don't need unions to hold their feet to the fire or fight for more employee rights, but that is the kind of illogical thinking that makes somebody a Ron Paul supporter. And nobody wants to be THAT ignorant!
Business did NOT make these concessions out of the goodness of their hearts. They had to be fought tooth and nail, because ALL they cared about what making a profit, and in their eyes the employee was simply a necessary cog in the machine they used to churn out wealth.
When the cog burned out you simply replaced it, you did NOT give it a paid vacation and employer provided health insurance. Unions fought for those rights, and without unions to advocate for workers, you would quickly learn just how fast America could return to the era of sweatshops, child labor, and 16 hour days. To find the proof of that, look no farther than how Apple treats its employees in China.
Why do they treat workers like that in China? Because they CAN!
I have a relative who has worked almost 30 years on a union job for one of the largest employers in the US. The company has shops all over the country and in foreign countries. My relative works 58 to 60 hours per week, drives between 1800 and 2000 miles each week, while he makes about 60 or so deliveries a day. He lives on the edge of the desert where temps this year have already reached over 100 degrees but the trucks have no air-conditioning. He does that each and every week and it's been going on for years. The company pays well but as he approaches 50 years of age, the hours are killing him. Literally. He's developed serious health problems.
ReplyDeleteThe question of "why don't they hire more drivers?" is answered with "it's cheaper for them to pay the overtime rather than hire new people". The question of "why doesn't the (very strong) union go out on strike?" they are told "you guys went out on strike (in 1997) and since the strike, this is the way it is. You shouldn't have gone out on strike. It's the union's fault". That strike was the only strike in the company's history. When they do hire, the new employees quit within a month or so - the work is too hard, the hours are too long, the spring, summers and fall are too hot for that type of work under those conditions. I'm beginning to think the union is afraid to strike in the current atmosphere.
The company has almost a quarter million drivers in the US. Think about it: if all the current drivers are working about 60 hours per week - or 15 to 20 hours overtime per week - IF they hired enough drivers to give most of them 40 hours work per week, that would mean about 100,000 new jobs. Why don't they hire? The business model of "increase productivity" sounds great but at the expense of people's health?
There is strong demand for hiring new employees at that company. What this post says about "if there were no unions, companies would immediately go back to slave labor conditions" is so true. They would "increase productivity" over-night with cheaper wages, getting rid of the people who have been there for years and are making the higher wages. If President Obama isn't re-elected, will corporations stop hoarding their money and start filling the jobs that there's already demand for? I don't think so. I think if Romney gets in, union busting efforts will get much worse.
The CEO of the company I'm talking about sits on the board of ALEC.
This is a perfect case-in-point that the whole "job creators" soundbyte is a steaming pile of bullshit. Businesses hire as a course of last resort. More tax breaks for big businesses and the rich will not fuel job creation. Consumerism and demand will. For that we need a healthy middle class. And unions to protect the middle class.
DeleteI knew it was coming.
ReplyDeleteI worked in unions for many years, and they did much good. They also protected incorrigible slackers.
I tried very hard to set a good example and came close to getting in trouble myself for trying to shake people awake. “This can’t last! Stop goofing off!” Then they would tell on me.
I had some success, but not enough, obviously. Victims of their own foolishness.
Anonymous at 4:42. We’re both right. Two sides of the same coin.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sarah quit on her cushy job nickle-and-diming the State with four hour work days four days a week dragging her thug husband and rude children around with her like human shields while telling village constituents that they, like Todd, needed to grow up and take jobs on the slope away from their families.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, nevermind that she campaigned like hell for a job with such young school age children but then got angry with the Administration, reporters and constituents that questioned her use of State funds to treat the office as a Family Business.
Curious.
She's a patriot hard worker union member again?
Pre-union days are what the gop likes to think of "the good old days" People had better open their eyes before the next election. It is time to reassess the healthcare and pension plans of the thugs in DC. Why are they treated like royalty, with no limits on what they do? The Suporeme Court needs to change it's name to the Republican Court. The US is sliding backwards each week with the current gop obstructionists in DC.
ReplyDeleteA VERY little know fact; Prior to Unions, there were cases where the filthy rich - like the railroad barons - were so powerful they were even able to get the US Army to commit to actions against their own citizens. There was at least one instance where a whole encampment of families who were complaining about the extremes of their mining jobs were literally fired upon by the Army, using machine guns!
DeleteMen and women and children were gunned down.
Unions not needed? Yeah, Rrriiiiiggggghhhhhhhtttttttttt!
Exempt employees need to remember that what union employees get...you get. Who the hell do people
ReplyDeletethink fought for better healthcare, hours, sick time, vacation, etc.? Let's start hearing from people who put in "green time" that is expected by companies when employed....and that means time required to get the job done that is over and above your 40 hr. a week pay but you are not a salaried/hourly worker.
How many companies do not pay overtime even if you work it and are hourly but you are asked to be reimbursed in time off? Did you ever get that time off?
Excellent post G. One minor quibble on #19 - women do not receive equal pay for equal work - we are still at 77 cents to the dollar, but we are at least that close because of unions.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame FOXnews is able to effectively brainwash people into believing unions are bad. People who are anti-union are just too stupid to understand why unions are important. I feel sorry for these sadly misinformed low-info know-nothings. Hopefully they will see the light and realize they've been manipulated.
ReplyDeleteAlso the 40 hr work week.
ReplyDeleteI've been a Union worker since 1986 (IATSE).
It hasn't guaranteed me raises, there's been years with frozen pay, but I am paid for overtime - and sometimes it can as Darlene Underdahl commented - slackers are protected
(although it has been my experience that the company often will not discipline a bad Union employee, but would rather use that violation as a reason to penalize the Union as a whole...). I do pay Union dues - but it's $1 for each $100 of salary. Hardly a backbreaking amount.
But over all, being a Union employee at a TV
station gives me a 40 hr work week. 2 days in a row off, a regular shift instead of 4 or 5 different start times, ensures I have at least 8 hrs off between shifts. It is NOT the same for non-Union writer/producers.
It's kept me from being furloughed for 2 plus weeks (It's a 4 percent paycut when any worker takes a forced leave - union or not).
And I've watched non-Union employees with over 20yrs experience have a job in the morning, and have been terminated by lunchtime, because the company wanted to make a change and they had no one to protect them.
People think we have a problem now? The thing that scares me the most is what can potentially happen with this coming election. If we have a Congress that is controlled by Republicans and a White House that is in the hands of the Republicans, this country is in DEADLY trouble.
ReplyDeleteI say deadly because MANY people will literally die with all the "austerity programs" they want to institute. Yes, we need to reduce our spending, but let's do it in a responsible fashion. To immediately cut programs, as the idiot Tea Party fools want to do, will literally kill people who desperately need help through no fault of their own.
Of course, if the US Government is totally in the hands of ONE party (Republican OR Democrat) we are dead. To have one party able to completely run with their programs will be dangerous.
Having said that, I do believe that the party that would be the most dangerous right now, were it to get complete control, is the Republican Party as it is currently leaning.
I totally agree, excellent comment!
DeleteI am a union member and am proud of it.
ReplyDeleteMy union got us dental and health insuranc. Also my union has been instrumental in getting us our needed pay increases.
ReplyDeleteI am not a union member, but I see how union members affect my own life. I know the electric utility is being worked on by professional, experienced highly trained people, who have had rest so that they can concentrate properly on their job. My son's teachers benefit from the teachers union, and the. So does my son when he isn't in a classroom of 50 kids with one teacher. I want to know that the people who will come and fight a house fire or help me when I'm in need, have what they need to do the job well.
ReplyDeleteWhen we allow those to break the infrastructure in order to say "see it's broken, let's get rid of it" we have punked ourselves. Americans need to wake up or we will be looking like Greece pretty quickly.
People routinely claim that unions protect slackers, but that is very much an individual situation with every union local, and their relationship with their employer. My union seeks to make sure a union member's rights are protected, but if you are not doing your job, there will be consequences, up to and including firing.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of slackers in non-union positions. People who put most of their energy into figuring out ways to get out of doing their job, covering up not doing their jobs, and blaming others for them not getting their jobs done. And because of this they manage to stay employed while other, better, workers are let go.
Most people don't choose a union versus a non-union job. You choose a job and if it happens to be a union job then you will likely be a union member. You are the same person regardless and if you are a slacker in a union position you will be a slacker in a non-union position.
The idea that businesses are ruthless in getting rid of bad employees, and all non-union employees are great people with a wonderful work ethic is pure and utter horseshit.
In my case, being a union member has provided protection from a non-union, unethical, lying, abusive bully who doesn't do her own job, but points fingers at everyone else (especially if they can't get their work done because she won't do hers).
If Sarah's parents are both retired teachers, they should be receiving that "golden parachute" retirement pension provided by their union's efforts.
ReplyDeleteGood point.... Just like Sarah's kids getting free healthcare due to Native Alaskan blood.
DeleteHer mother was ever a teacher, and her father was a substitute teacher, only.
DeleteIf you live in a Right to Work state, good luck finding a union to have your back. Right to Work States are totally on the business side, not the side of the workers.
ReplyDeleteThese states often allow businesses to go belly up on pensions, healthcare and the like. Businesses in these states run rampant over workers' rights. The business environment in these states often means anti-minimum wage. There is a definite "my way or the highway" mentality in Right to Work states.
Funny, isn't it, how Right to Work states are often in the red category?
I am a Retire Union Carpenter.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad is a Retire Union Carpenter.
My Granddad own a Union Construction company.
There is no protected for slackers.
It easy to laid them off.
I made good money not great.
Had dental and health insurance.
There was a time when it took 1 breadwinner.
To support a family with his or her earnings.
Not today.
Better of today? No way
I am a union member who has seen directly the benefits of having union protection. I have worked in both union and nonunion positions for the same company and hands down the union position was much better. The pay was comparable, but the conditions were INFINITELY better with union protection. The nonunion position was in management and I was salaried but ended up working as many as 90 hour/week which meant that my hourly wages were less than half of what they would have been with a 40 hour week. In that position my health took a dramatic nosedive from all of the stress. I quit that position.
ReplyDeleteThe union gig was temporary but actually quite satisfying. I would work for the same company again - but I would need the union protection.
I have no doubt that the excesses that led to the creation of the unions in the first place would return, kind of like they did for my nonunion gig.
Are the unions perfect? Hell no, but our country is far more prosperous and free because of their presence. Conservatives have ALWAYS hated unions because the unions threaten their quest for absolute power both in the workplace and politically. Additionally, one constant in our nation's history has been conservatism's quest for as near to zero cost labor as is possible. In the absence of slavery, a subservient non unionized workforce is the next best thing.
Make no mistake, if the GOP succeeds in crushing the unions, who is going to then stand up for American workers? It sure as hell won't be any elected politician in Washington.
Winston Churchill said, "... it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
The same could be said of unions. Like any human enterprise, they are susceptible to bureaucracy, incompetence, and corruption, but as Gryphen's post points out, many of the freedoms that we take for granted came about because of the strength of organized labor.
Unions are not perfect, but they are a damn sight better than the alternative.
No one has figured out that has approval and participation in unions has gone down, unemployment has gone up.
ReplyDeleteThose responsible talked the public into blaming the unions for outsourcing, but it wasn't their fault.
The problem with waiting to "prove" it is that after you're there, it takes four times the effort to fight to get back our unions than it would have taken to prevent their elimination.
No one has figured out that as the attacks on unions have lowered their approval, their membership and their very existence, unemployment has gone up while salaries have gone down.
ReplyDeleteNo one gets that connect?
No one understands that the middle class which made this country great was a direct result of the existence and participation in unions?
In May of 1933 Hitler abolished unions in Germany.
ReplyDeleteIn May of 1933 Hitler abolished unions in Germany.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and so many great comments, I wish there was a Like button.
ReplyDeleteI live in a right to work state. I have never been a member of a union, but I am 100% union. Many years ago, I read that even before WWII, corporate owners wanted to crush all unions. And without a fight by teaching the children to be nonunion, to accept authority without question. And the whole language program was implemented to accomplish that goal. See Spot Run.
I think that it is all about privatizing government services, so unions must go.
Great Comments!
ReplyDeleteI ALWAYS try to hire union labor, and when I was in business, I demanded union labor.
My parents came here from Eastern Europe, worked in sweatshops all their lives, and unions helped them advance on their way to achieve the American Dream. They actually taught workers the "American" language, helped them with legal services and attaining their citizenship so they could join unions. I was the first in my family to graduate College, and a union funded partial scholarship helped me be able to attend a decent college.
My dad passed, and my mom still gets a small reminder every month from the union they belonged to by getting her benefits from 35 plus years of union dues.
Pay it forward, support and hire local union labor whenever possible.