Unions ...... Good Or Bad??

I just think it's their job to represent me to the company. They can go home and vote for anyone they want in the elections, as long as they're on my side when they're speaking with management.

Yes, but union dues should NOT be used for that purpose.

If I'm a union rep., I should be looking out for the people I'm representing. If I'm a UMW rep., I had better not be saying things like, coal causes global warming and coal mines should be shut down.

If I'm a truck driving rep., I should be looking out for the truck drivers and support people that support safe driving and not some "feel good" representation that is ineffective toward safe driving, and actually hinders a drivers ability to complete his job in a safe manner.

Again, if union members were able to elect from the ranks, and not some college punk who doesn't know the REAL WORLD, I would probably be more in favor of unions.

Dave

Im shocked it took this long for politics to enter this discussion. Now we just need religion to weigh in and we can call it a day.

Did someone say they needed a Pastor!

Im shocked it took this long for politics to enter this discussion. Now we just need religion to weigh in and we can call it a day.

Did someone say they needed a Pastor!

Jesus saves Romans 10:13

if union members were able to elect from the ranks, and not some college punk who doesn't know the REAL WORLD, I would probably be more in favor of unions.

Well I guess that's fair. For me it's all about them doing their job, which is to help me earn better wages, have nicer benefits, and more job security. I don't care if they're a bunch of sea otters with yellow skin voting for Trump and dating Hillary on the side. As long as I'm making better wages, I have great benefits, and I won't lose my job because I chewed gum on the wrong side of my mouth then I love yellow sea otters! Bring em on and I'll have the first dance!

AMEN Brett !

Distribution of corporate earnings is up to the shareholders. If they want something to happen with that they'd do it.

What the h*ll kind of statement is that? Are you saying that everything the shareholders decide should be the corporation's bible and the workers who are actually making the profits that pay their salaries should have no say in it whatsoever? If the 1% of us that are executives want to keep all of the money for themselves and give the 99% of us that are workers next to nothing that's just life and the workers should shut up and deal with it?

Where in the world did you get that idea from? Sounds great if you're a corporate shareholder. Sounds like tyranny for the rest of us. And it is.

Who do you think resides on the board at major corporations? CEO's of other major corporations, that's who. They all reside on each other's board so they can all vote on each other's compensation packages which is why they all make millions of dollars a year for sailing yachts and playing golf 4 days a week. It's an insider's club, is it not? Am I wrong about this?

Companies aren't in business for the workers but for the shareholders.

Another ridiculous statement because without workers the company doesn't exist! That's why you need unions or there's no balance of power. The management will take everything for themselves and leave the workers with nothing. It's happened throughout human history. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"......ever heard that one? You have to have a balance of power or you'll almost certainly have abuse.

What's executive compensation for UNION companies?

How does worker compensation at union companies compare with worker compensation at non-union companies? Isn't that the point of this conversation? I don't mind that executives make a ton of money at a profitable company as long as the workers are getting their fair share.

A typical driver:

• Spends thousands of dollars and months of time training for this career
• Earns and protects a CDL license and is held to much higher standards than the general public
• Is subjected to endless scrutiny including drug tests, equipment inspections, fingerprinting, GPS tracking, and a million other things
• Works about 70 hours a week officially, and closer to 100 hours a week unofficially
• Risks his life every day in a job that has proven over the years to be one of the most dangerous job out there
• Leaves behind his home, family, and friends for weeks at a time

So even with all that you just think drivers should shut up and take what they're given?

Do you think it's fair to pay drivers $35,000-$50,000 a year while the average executive makes several millions every year? Does that make sense in your world? Because to me it doesn't seem fair. Considering the fact that drivers are the backbone of the company it seems the drivers should get a bigger cut than they are and executives should get less than they are.

And before you say, "If you don't like it then go somewhere else" - that's not the answer. You can't just tell workers "Love it or leave it" and let management be as selfish and abusive as they'd like to be at companies all over the world. You have to develop a system that's fair and reasonable. There are a lot of laws these days that try to maintain some sort of reasonable fairness in the workplace but they don't deal with the wage issues we're talking about, so it has to be done another way.

And if you think that management can and should be trusted to make all decisions without the input of the workers then tell me why do all of the laws that we have today to protect the workers from abuse even exist? Because absolute power corrupted absolutely and the Government had to step in to put a stop to these abuses.

You can stomp your feet and jump up and down all you want. Bottom line is that unless you're a privately held company you answer to the investors of your company - your shareholders.

The shareholders don't care how you earn them a return. If it means paying your execs nothing and your drivers $150K a year and that makes the company profitable then that's fine.

And why can't workers move? This isn't a communist society where your life is mapped out when you are born. If you don't like where you work - MOVE! No cradle to grave jobs exist anymore unless you're with the government.

Frankly after 50 years on this earth I've learned unions are out for themselves. They don't care about the worker, they care about the money the union can earn OFF the worker.

Last hired first fired is a union promise. The lazy keep their jobs and the eager get screwed.

I love it when people on this site buy their own truck and venture out on their own. Like any other small business the odds are OVERWHELMING that they'll succeed. But you know what? This is America. And they can pursue their dreams and fail or succeed on their own. If they fail they can work for another trucking company or change fields and start programming - or give up the field altogether and start their own website.

Brett, I wouldn't be so skeptical of unions if they didn't endorse politicians from one party ALL THE TIME, or almost all the time.

The AFL-CIO endorses Democrats over Republicans most of the time. Most Democrats are anti-energy and pro-illegal immigration, which is another reason why wages have stagnated and fallen.

Dave

That's right blame illegal immigrants for all the countries problems. 😱

Hate to tell you but the more "illegal immigrants" are allowed into the country and become "legal" what jobs do you think they are going to latch onto? Hint - driving a truck isn't a high-tech job. Their enormous numbers will depress wages, just like they have in every sector of the economy they've infected.

DSH... what the shareholders fail to recognize is that the better their workers are- the quicker the work, the harder the work, the more efficient they work, results in more money in their pockets. You can strip away worker benefits only so long and then you're left with a shell of a workforce. Build them up instead and feed the results back into the workforce and you're only limited by how many physical resources you can acquire and how efficiently they get used and recycled.

DSH... what the shareholders fail to recognize is that the better their workers are- the quicker the work, the harder the work, the more efficient they work, results in more money in their pockets. You can strip away worker benefits only so long and then you're left with a shell of a workforce. Build them up instead and feed the results back into the workforce and you're only limited by how many physical resources you can acquire and how efficiently they get used and recycled.

Shareholders don't care about the minutia. That's why they pay the executives to make those decisions.

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to be on the receiving end of a huge pay raise and bust my ass for a business. However, labor is the largest expense of any business. Where does the trimming end and the rewards begin to make the business thrive? And then you have to pay for government regulations which further restrict your ability to pay your workforce and earn money for the corporation.