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Gimmicks
Thursday, April 24, 2003
I am torn on Unions.
My father has always refused to join a union and was, at times, limited to where he could work. He had witnessed unions bullying their little-guy clients. Too often, they didn't help.
Interestingly, my mother's father was staunchly PRO union. He had helped get the union into the then-largest Post Office in the Midwest. My mother often told stories of her childhood about him having to go into hiding, because he had death threats. The FBI came looking for him many times. Their phones were tapped, their house under surveillance.
My husband is in a union. What I don't like about his is how rarely they deal with a SERIOUS contract complaint. In the last 5 years, the guys have basically been told to roll over, or even IGNORED, by the union on many issues. BLAH!
I know many people who are blindly PRO-UNION. They scream about jobs being lost to non-union contractors. They refuse to shop at places like WalMart because WalMart discourages unions. They picket Best Buy for bringing in their own contractors.
Did I miss some CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT that all workers MUST be in a union?
My stepson boasted how THEY no longer shop (this week) at WalMart because "they are anti union" and started in on some speech. I reminded him that his mother didn't care when SHE worked there a few years ago. She got her discount, she worked her 2 days a week. He countered that she never had A CHOICE. "Employees should have A CHOICE."
Sounds like an intelligent argument? Not really. His mother has recently hired two women to work for her. Now SHE is an employer. I tossed that back at him with, "So you think your mom should have to deal with a union if they want to join one?"
He looked at me like *I* was an idiot. "No, she only hired two women."
I asked him to explain why. He said there were only TWO WOMEN. So? Well, that's not enough and they don't need a union to deal with his mom. "When she hired them, she TOLD them what she could pay and when they would work. And they agreed."
Yes, but what about the benefits they might want, like health insurance and vacation time? Hmmm...she doesn't give it. I asked him what if they felt they SHOULD get it? He replied, "But she shouldn't HAVE to, it's just those two women! They don't need a union!"
I threw his words back at him, "Didn't you JUST say, 'Employees should have A CHOICE'? But now, with your mom being the owner, you are saying the exact opposite?"
He knew he was caught. "Well, what union could they even join?"
"Let's see, many nurses belong to a union, most secretaries at schools belong to a union, postal workers have a union...I'm sure the AFL-CIO or somebody would offer them protection."
"They'd be stupid to pay union dues. My mom might just need them for a few months, depending on whether or not she gets The Big Contract. If she doesn't, she is going to let them go."
I laughed. "Sounds like a good case for layoff benefits and unemployment; unions LOVE stuff like that!"
Something tells me that household's hard-nose stance on PRO-UNION would shift quite quickly, too! Sunshine - Walking on Sunshine -
4/24/2003 09:57:00 PM
