Being in an industry where everyone is unionized is great, the most important being that whenever there is a work issue you know exactly who to talk to for help.
Having unions should really become the norm for most industries.
I joined a union, but aside for legal help, they’re probably not ever gonna be of other help in my case. I work for a big international company (~5000 worldwide) and there’s only about 10 of us in the uk. Collective bargaining is going to get us nothing but fired. That’s assuming I can convince my 9 colleagues to do so, which is less than likely. In general I think it’s tough to get anything out of a union in international companies.
Fucking better than the situation I’m running full tilt from:
Company is based in one State in the U.S. ALL their regular employees are unionized in that State. They accrue vacation time faster, get paid more, etc etc than us, who work in a different State and who do the same work. Even their mental healthcare is different, with the company supplying mental health support and help and funds. We get a number which directs us to the healthcare we pay for through the company. Thaaanks.
I’m normally not this blunt a person though: “Lol fuck you guys. Byyye.” is basically my response once I found out.
Depends what you do at your international company, because they can’t really move anything like production or operations very easily and still expect tax benefits, but if they can move your job overseas where the cost of living is considerably less so employees make less money, they’ll do it in an instant whether your in a union or not.
Yes, they’re far from perfect, but I think it’s the only way to start something that matters
I work in big tech, and you would be amazed at how many people will openly decry pure acts of malice against employees - laying off the day before their stocks vest, removing remote working, gaslighting, etc, but who will also openly decry forming a union.
Funny enough, even highly educated people have some weird notions about what a union would do for them. They think it’ll make the workforce weaker, will reduce their salary significantly, and will promote laziness and job losses throughout their teams, with absolutely zero evidence to back it up.
What these people are doing is literally paying for the benefits of a union, without the actual union aspect, and with very little power on their side. All a union needs to be is:
- Collective bargaining for a minimum salary offered
- Access to a union rep for disputes
- Access to a union lawyer that specialises in conflict resolution
That’s it, and all for a small fee every month/year.
I never understood the “promote laziness” thing. A union wouldn’t be able to protect a worker that can’t meet the requirements of the job.
If anything, either management isn’t providing adequate training, or management needs to make better job descriptions.
I’m in construction. The Union absolutely protects the old guard, and some of them are the laziest fucks you’ve ever seen. Guys will work at a snails pace and grieve any and every attempt to train or discipline.
I’m not in the Union, I’m generally in favor of it but there’s absolutely very poor performers being protected.
Because union lawyers are on the side of the employee and thier job is to make sure the dismissal was for cause and procedure was followed. It’s the same mentality that leads to people saying defense attorneys enable criminals. Like no, they’re there to ensure your rights and check the power of the state.
never understood the “promote laziness” thing. A union wouldn’t be able to protect a worker that can’t meet the requirements of the job.
Overachievers get told to stop being better than the lower-quality workers in poorly run unions because “it makes Bob look and feel bad when you do twice the work he can in a day”
It’s not a great reason but if you experience it once it leaves one hell of a sour taste in your mouth, especially since poorly run unions also usually aren’t doing good at protecting workers
Overachievers should be told to stop doing more than they’re paid to do lol. I get it, though. I get bored at work and often spend time building tools and things for myself to work smarter.
The company knows what I’m capable of doing, and are well aware that if they want more from me they could consider rotating me into a better team.
Also when people in the trades work extra hard and extra fast, it’s usually at the expense of their bodies, equipment, safety, and other factors. Just because one dude is sprinting back and forth between the parts window and the shop floor doesn’t mean he should be. Management doesn’t care though, and they say ‘see how Jim finished 3 work orders today? You all need to do that’
Jim gets mad because he is destroying his body to work faster, and others aren’t, everyone else is mad because now the managers think Jim’s behavior should be standard.
All the ‘fast’ mechanics I worked with were always doing dumb shit, like standing too far up on ladders because a taller one wasn’t available, loosening harnesses to get into tighter spots instead of working with a teammate, or carrying two way to heavy items instead of making two trips. Yes all this stuff gets jobs done quicker but at what cost.
So the union tells Jim to slow down, because he isn’t getting paid more for breaking his back, and his behavior will just shift to the new normal, meaning he will have to work even harder to be an ‘overachiver’. Jim construes this as compensating for lazy employees, get propagandized by the xompany and dismantles the union.
Six months later Jim falls off a ladder and can no longer work in that field. Meanwhile everyone else is still held to Jim’s ‘good work ethic’ standard. More injuries, more injuries, more mistakes, employees start to see problems with the company, they form a union, the cycle continues.
That was my experience in aviation at least.
Turns out that “human resources” sees humans as a resource to be used, instead of as people
My mom’s employer calls the department “human capital”.
Somehow, being more open about it makes it feel even worse.
