| Author |
Message |
    
Black9
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 05:41 pm: | 
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Banking crisis, housing!, $4.00 gas, Harley moving! DAMN Unions! evil ,evil Unions..I'm moving to China! |
Loki
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 07:27 pm: |
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Been on both sides of that coin.
Nine years and 355 days and got laid off. You know what. I survived it. It sucks when it happens.
On the flip side of that. Tell me the unions do not protect people the ought to be let go. Might not be by choice, but by circumstance and time on the roster.
I am not bashing the unions with this. Just a simple observation. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 07:36 pm: |
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I guess I am the only one here thats in a union and hates it. I lost my last job because of the union rules. |
Thumper74
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 07:42 pm: |
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I worked at a union shop and hated it too. The people that shouldn't be employed were protected from termination. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 07:51 pm: |
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Oh yea I forgot about that fact too. One guy even made bomb threats, and all they did was shuffle him to a different department. Or the other guy that took a company car without permission to the Bronx, and got busted by police with cocaine and a hooker. But because he was on his 1hr lunch break, he only got suspended for a day for taking the car without permission. |
Ferris_von_bueller
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 08:16 pm: |
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Blue collar males lose more ground
http://www.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idUSN1 450507420090518 |
Court
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 07:00 am: |
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>>>>Isn't Buell a non-union shop?
I doubt the unions have much to do with the big picture, they are a component only. Focusing on the union/non-union issue is myopic.
Buell is indeed "non-union" but in a very different sense. Buell is very similar to a construction company I founded and managed. We had all the union benefits plus much more and wages were 15% higher. We were allowed to pay incentive bonuses, unions were not. I managed based on performance not seniority and, I'd suggest as a result of it, we achieved performance that had us gracing the covers of many business and industry magazines. We were THE construction company you called when you were in a bind . . . . in fact, that's pretty much all we did.
My experience with the last 2006 Mercedes-Benz has been quite good. So good that we ordered a 2009 yesterday. It was a bit of a leap of faith with my wife having spent the last year not working.
I also have the Ford truck which has been nothing but an unmitigated joy to own.
My main reason for being a fan of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche is (and this will ring familiar with Buell owners) is the DEALER EXPERIENCE.
We looked at many other cars . . . my wife had owned 3 Saab 9-3 convertibles prior to the Mercedes-Benz but the dealership experience at Saab and BMW was atrocious.
We went to the local MB dealership and it was an absolute joy.
For the same reason, the quaint little small town Ford dealership I drive 2-1/2 hours to, I'd buy another Ford in a heartbeat.
I would buy ANY car that the government was involved in. That's the formula for disaster.
But it's a personal opinion and their, I realize, are folks who are buying GM products because they have bought them for years. GM and Chrysler are long gone and the feds, to date, are building a really crummy tack record of running a private business. |
Buellgrrrl
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 09:38 am: |
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Loki, did they lay you off because you were about to become vested in a pension at 10 years? My union solved that problem- we have a joint union/company pension plan and health care plan. We had a company that was screwing the people on the bottom of the seniority list out of health insurance by not giving them 5 days of work every week. We changed the eligibility to 120 hours a month to fix that. We had a company close a plant a full year before the city was going to tear it down. Of the 130 employees about 20 were just a few months short of the 10 years needed to vest their pension. Our union changed the pension vesting to 5 years so those workers got pension credit for the years they'd toiled in the bakery. We also lobbied for a dislocated worker program, winning a 6 month extension of unemployment benefits and up to two years of vocational school and college tuition for the laid off workers.
Yep, that's just some of what a union can do for you! |
Spiderman
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 09:39 am: |
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Old_man
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 12:09 pm: |
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Court,
The best way to keep the union out of your business is to treat your workers fairly.
I have to believe that the threat of a union helps to encourage fair treatment. |
Rfischer
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 01:31 pm: |
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If you believe that, both Court and I have a very slightly used bridge to sell you. Great location, in the heart of Brooklyn... |
Court
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 02:16 pm: |
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>>>>The best way to keep the union out of your business is to treat your workers fairly.
You bet.
Greatest compliment, of all the stories written about my business, I have ever had was at my Father's funeral.
An ex-employee walked up to me and told me "I never realized how lucky I was to work with you until I didn't".
Wages. . . and this is a secret most effective managers know . . . are about 7th on people's list of what's "Important" at work.
Okay . . . here we go to give a speech about this very thing . . . . wish me luck.
 |
Old_man
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 02:41 pm: |
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Good luck Court.
When I was the boss, I did my best to be fair, even when it wasn't required by the contract.
Why?
Because it was the right thing to do.
Many retired officers have told my wife that I was the best boss they have ever worked for.
I was not an "easy" boss.
I demanded results.
I always treated my employees as adults and did my best to be fair. |
Ft_bstrd
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 03:05 pm: |
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The idea that the default mode of companies toward their employees is "unfairness" is bogus.
Are there sucky businesses? Yep.
Are there employees trapped in really horrible employment situations with no hope of escape? Doubt it. |
Buelltoys
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 04:37 pm: |
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+1 on the working for a good boss and having a fair boss. As a manager in a maintenance department you deal with many different talents in people. I am fair to all my team members and I expect that they give me 100% of their effort since I am paying them to do that.
I feel that respect is earned and not just given to someone. Working in a non-union plant allows different freedoms on how to treat people and to do it fairly without being told by the letter on how to do it.
IMHO I believe seniority should have nothing to do how you treat a person who works for you. If I worked for a company for 10 years I don't just think that they should give me things. I believe that I earn what I am worth. If I don't like what I earn I would go somewhere else.
Most companies treat their employees fairly and the unions have made it to where the employees that are not fit to do a job still have a job. Job security should not be a given right just because you belong to a union. |
Loki
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 06:15 pm: |
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Had nothing to with getting vested. I was 100% vested from day one.
I won't name names but the company as a whole was unionized. I just happened to work in a division that was not and never would be.
There was a place to transfer me to and a couple others if they wanted. I feel because my boss wasn't doing his job.... I lost my job. A job I excelled at and my peers appreciated what I brought to the table.
That is all water under the bridge now. I took a leap of faith and dove into a new profession. Not going to look back and feel sorry for myself. Yes I lost a lot and am now starting at the bottom of the ladder yet again. I will give it my best and continue my journey. |
Buellinachinashop
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 09:25 pm: |
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Any word on what's happening at York? |
Steveford
| | Posted on Saturday, May 30, 2009 - 05:19 pm: |
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Spoke with a kid this morning whose parents both work at York - still up in the air as far as they know. |
