Comments on: Union Employees of the World, Unite! (Whaaaa?)

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:39:36 +0000

I was recently let go from my place of work and my union,Unite Here,denied me my right to an arbitration which I would have easily won.Now I’m going after both by filing an unfair labor dispute.Fuck em

By: Jannah

Jannah — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:02:51 +0000

I’d defintely vote for a Union Oversight Committee as watchdog nowadays. Woody Guthrie was right about workers needing representation, and unions were good at first, but they are more like organized crime now.

Some of the European unions aren’t so bad, oddly enough, they saved their people (Germany in particular) from a lot of the rampant IBM firings in the recent past after the Cookie Monster took over…so more non-unionized American workers got axed instead to make up the slack.

By: Jill

Jill — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:22:16 +0000

I hate unions. I see the point of them, but I really think they shouldn’t be official bureaucratic organizations – they should be formed when needed and disbanded when not.

By: GlossLip » All Around The Blogosphere

GlossLip » All Around The Blogosphere — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:12:45 +0000

[...] Union employees have filed an Unfair Labor Practice suit because their employer, the Union of Union Representatives, is allegedly engaged in unfair practices like outsourcing workers (and if you understand that, cookie for you) – Deceiver [...]

By: Nati

Nati — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:33:05 +0000

My experience with unions is limited to the movie F.I.S.T. I didn’t even know unions still existed…I’d probably sign up, but…I can’t find the bells.

By: Rocko

Rocko — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:19:29 +0000

I didn’t even know there was such a thing as the Union of Union Representatives. That’s kinda like the Department of Redundancy Department.

That’s what I was thinking. I wonder when they are going to form the United Association of the Union of Union Representatives? They have to protect themselves right?

Anyway, let me go vote.

By: Ani

Ani — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:31:12 +0000

I was pretty much forced to join the UFCW when I took a job at a “big box store”, I was 20, my job options limited. Well, they prattled on and on and on about how the protect worker’s rights. I was severely injured on the job by another coworker who was horsing around, he basically shattered my ankle. Long story short… company was self-insured and refusing to pay for proper medical treatment or compensate lost wages. The union refused to help me, and basically said “sucks to be you, guess you need to hire a lawyer”. I paid $50 a month for them to “protect my rights” and when I needed those protected, they ran. I quit that job and the union. My attorney helped me win the case, and even helped me get reimbursed for those union dues that did me no good.

Years later, the UFCW called and asked if I would be interested in rejoining. That poor chap received an earful about what I thought of their union and where they could stick the free month they were offering me and why!

By: bigmama

bigmama — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:58:29 +0000

The only thing the union I belonged to did was take money out of my check. If you had a problem with a coworker or a supervisor, the union just stood around with their hands in their pockets. People had their hours or positions cut with union approval. No unions for me.

By: Queen Bee

Queen Bee — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:10:30 +0000

I have a friend who works HR for a large hospital. Recently, they have had to major layoffs. Most of you would say, “Great! Way to cull the dead weight.” You would be wrong. What it means is, because of the union, the last person on board is the one who is fired. Performance? Eh. Losers can stay on the job for years, protected by the union hierarchy while decent, even stellar performers are the first to lose their jobs. That’s one of many reasons why unions are going to die a slow, painful death.

By: Elle

Elle — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:25:57 +0000

The best thing that could happen too Detroit is for the car companies to declare bankruptcy. In bankruptcy the reorganize their company structures, kick out the unions, and go back to the “pick the car you want and order it and it’ll be here in 4 weeks” model as opposed to holding huge amounts of unsold inventory.