They would jump through the roof! :P :lol:

 

So what you're saying is he had no money saved? Who's fault is that? The union? Is he a "scab"? Yep. The only reason a company wants to break a union is to save money. Money that would pay for better benefits, retirement and salary. So sometimes a worker will need to sacrafice a little in the short term to benefit in the long term. Do you think my brother wanted to strike? No. He has a wife and kids too. He had to make cuts and use money he had saved to get through. But he knew what needed to be done and did it. And now he's set to retire after only 20 years. How many people can do that now? Not many.

I'm not saying every union is perfect. They all have their flaws and one of my biggest complaints is that they keep bad employees around longer. The other complaint is they can ruin an industry if they can't adapt and make concessions, ie the auto makers, airlines. Those guys in the auto workers union got too greedy and lost thier jobs over it. As long as a contract is sensible, like at UPS, then both sides win.

My wife is a teacher here in Texas where public workers are prohibited by law to be unionized. The result is mediocre pay and terrible benefits. Before Texas my wife was a teacher in Nevada where they had representation and the pay and benefits were better. In NV she had myself and our two kids covered under a pretty good PPO health plan for $300 a month. In TX a high deductable HMO is $1000 a month. That's pretty much the standard for the TX school districts and my wife works for one of the most sought after districts.

There's a pretty good reason union jobs are hard to get and that's because nobody leaves. They get good pay, benefits and retirement that they often can't get from non-union employers.

 

Greg about 80% of the truckers in the 70's were Union and the Teamsters had more power than the UAW. However if you ever crossed one of their lines they would make your life a living hell. After my dad did cross that line to FEED US and keep our house and that was his reason not to BREAK THE UNION he had tires slashed windsheilds broken on his truck so he could not move. He refused to let them stop sayng I will not be bullied into submission by a bunch of hardheads. They found the ones doing it and threw the book at them. Turns out it was the LOCALS PRESIDENT AND HIS SHOP STEWARD UNDER ORDERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL. Maybe that has somthing to do with him not getting his pension. At the time he was driving for Artam the LARGEST FLATBED company out there.

 

Well, we already bid runs by seniority, always have. Overnite is history and UPS is the new sherriff in town. UPS has aprox 200,000 union employees compared to about 20,000 at the new UPS Freight. They also have alot of rules. Overnite was very laid back. Face it, its a union company and I'd rather be a part of the majority. I signed my union card. For those who dont know I work at UPSF, which used to be Overnite. I also think the unions and the employers have learned from their mistakes. Unions have found out what happens when they drain the company. They both work harder to avoid labor issues and strikes.

 

IMHO, one would have to be a glutton for punishment and abuse to work in the truckin' biz w/o union representation. Just look at the OTR guys. If you non-union OTR drivers want to keep working for nothing, or working insanely long hours for something, than more power to you. That leaves more spoils for the union guys. And no, non-union shops are NOT bleeding the unions dry. If anything is it's the influx of cheap labor from south of the border.

 

Aaaaaaaah!!! Come on Mugs -----Tell US how ya really feel.

Then explain to the newbie's out there, how come they're going to have to sit at the house, waiting for a phone call from dispatch, because they are bottom of the board, and there isn't work today..or tomorrow..or the day after that...because the senior guys work everyday.

 

Before I came back on OTR with Crete I drove for Walgreens out of Houston as a casual driver. Got good runs and penty of days but hated driving local. The company drivers were Teamsters.

Personally I will do better doing my own retirement with my two 401K's and land I own and other investments than I would of done by relying on a pension. I also have a great rainy day savings built up but I am single with no kids to drain me.

While with Walgreens I talked to the other drivers about the Union there (Teamsters) and was told at that time they planned on going with another Union as they had honored a strike and refused to cross lines. When they then had to go on strike themselves and expected them to reciprocate they did not and picked up the slack at Walgreens. They were not happy and the strike ended quickly because of it. So the Teamsters seem to not really care for all their people.

 

Because seniority has it's privleges. Unlike OTR where the top-rate men get starved out.

I went through the layoffs, waiting by the phone, junk runs, etc. Some guys quit and went back OTR but I stuck it out. After awhile I landed a bid-run and am presently set for life because of my seniority. Start at 0830 everyday and off by 1830 and gross over $1,000 per week with weekends and holidays off. So tell me how the OTR guys have it better pissing in parking lots and living out of a box? :roll:

It's not easy. And it involves a 4-letter word that most steering-wheel holders don't want to hear...WORK. You've got to pay your dues to move up the totem pole. Any other way is non-union abuse of seniorty. Although I'm sure guys like you like it that way.

 

CFM except for one company the LONGER I WAS THERE THE BETTER I WAS TREATED FOR THE SIMPLE REASON I PULLED REEFER AND MY LOADS SHOWED UP NO DAMAGE AND ON TIME. When the new guys are showing late frozen produce claims up the butt and not caring the company will give the loads to those who have proven them like they should.

 

I've worked at UPS for 18 years. There are always pros and cons to being unionized. However, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Cons: Union dues @ 20.50 a week.
Strike possible every 4 to 7 years depending on contract.
Lots of distrust between labor and management.


Pros: $28.17 an hour. Made $74,000 in 2007.
Free health insurance. Yearly deductible of $100 for the
whole family.
$100 dollars a month in pension for every year I work.
25 years = $2,500 a month in pension. 30 years = 3,000 a
month. Plus a 401k and stock plan where I can buy stock at a
%10 discount.
A contract that spells out everything.
Grievance hearings to challenge company breaking contract.
Protection: Not fat guy doing nothing protection, but if you're
wronged you have route to get your job back.
5 weeks of vaction now, 6 weeks in 2 years, and 7 in 7 years.
That's the max.


All in all I like being in a union. I work my butt off and I get paid well to do it. Is it perfect? No, but what is. All I know is that I sure have a lot of people telling me how lucky I am.