Our local reached a new labor agreement not a bad contract fifty cents an hour raise every year for the next four years. Minor health care increases minor work rule changes. We voted it down two times until we got a better deal first two proposals were backwards with the health care cost increase. We also got our pension increased.

America works best when we say Union YES!

Oh yes and a sweet signing bonus too

Unions are not dead despite the awful economy and sometimes they are the only answer to corporate greed.

enjoy while it lasts!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrxiDogzUjc

Yep,you wish in one Hand..............................as the old saying goes!

It will last four more years for sure and that is better than what most can be guaranteed.

ah the labor unions, putting american workers out of a job,,,
starting back with the auto unions, demanding more money than
they were worth, putting out inferior products in more time,
opening the door for all the japanese car manufacturers
who paid a fair wage, put out higher quality, longer lasting
cars with better warranties.
name a union and i'll show you some of the worst leaders,
sucking off the union employees and protecting those employees
even though they are some of the laziest workers in america.
a project that doubles or triples in cost before it's
even completed. S.O.P. for them all. good old american greed.
alas, there is no respect for the american worker anymore,,,
just my opinion, and opinions are like azzholes,
everybody has one,,,

The real answer is an education and/or a desired skill. US is moving away from manufacturing. As our society advances we will need more degreed people and higher and higher percentages if available jobs will require them.

Oh yes and I agree about opinions.........

Union members do not design the product or make decisions in that regard.

I would however challenge you to spend a week working with my 18 year old son who started there a week after graduation.

Our union believes in paying your dues.......many do not make it past probation cant handle it.

Sometimes yes but many graduates I know wait my table because the job market is so poor. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you make your own luck.

A union member comes over and works for me three days a week. Yesterday, he told me how some of the guys can stretch one hour of work to as much as ten.

http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/guests/s_778775.html

Worker rights vs. union thuggery

By Rick Berman

Published: Sunday, January 29, 2012

Pittsburgh was once a city of industry with U.S. Steel controlling 67 percent of the U.S. market in 1901 -- its first year in operation. A century later, despite countless advancements and innovations, U.S. Steel only produces 8 percent more than it did in its first year.

As a labor lawyer at Bethlehem Steel, I witnessed the collapse of the steel industry firsthand after greed and inflexibility from the United Steelworkers -- who chose union power over employee welfare -- made it impossible to compete in a global market. Unfortunately, the city's story is not necessarily unique and echoes throughout the rust belt.

Recently the AFL-CIO chose Pittsburgh as one of two cities to debut a $1.5 million national ad campaign designed to clean up the union image. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler told The Washington Post that the campaign "showcases the values that America's unions share with all working people: hard work, quality work and how every one of us is connected."

What the ads don't show, however, is that union bosses are hard at work fighting important new labor reforms, including measures supported overwhelmingly by union and nonunion households alike. As labor leaders test-drive their slick new campaign, Pittsburgh has a unique opportunity to shoot back a popular, commonsense message: It's time for reform.

Spearheading efforts to empower employees, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) introduced the Employee Rights Act (ERA). The ERA would bring long-overdue changes to labor law -- including greater freedom of choice for employees, greater accountability for union leaders, an end to workplace coercion and more employees' control of their own money.

Contrast the status quo with the ERA's reforms. For starters, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 90 percent of union members are represented by unions they didn't vote for. Seventy-eight percent of respondents to ORC International's polling in nonunion households support the right to a secret-ballot election when deciding to join a union.

Joining a union is a choice that shouldn't be subject to intimidation and manipulation from management or labor bosses.

The ERA also would increase accountability, requiring unions to recertify every three years by secret ballot -- a provision backed by commanding majorities, including 83 percent of respondents in union households. As Americans, we vote for our government representatives for set terms and choose whether to re-elect them based on their previous performance. Shouldn't union members have the same rights regarding whether they want representation from a particular union? Or any union?

Additionally, the ERA would ensure that unions secure the approval of their members before spending dues money for the benefit of specific candidates or political parties.

Pittsburgh has radically evolved from the days of Carnegie and Frick, investing heavily in medicine and innovation. It's time for labor laws to evolve as well and place power back in the hands of employees, where it belongs.

The Employee Rights Act isn't about Big Business versus Big Labor. It's about employee rights versus union power. That's a message Pittsburgh can help send loud and clear. The whole country is listening.

Rick Berman is executive director of the Center for Union Facts (UnionFacts.com)


just a little sample !!


http://mises.org/daily/6117/Is-There-a-Right-to-Unionize

Your sample is absurd american workers cannot compete with slave labor and never should.

Many factors contributed to the decline of US steel environmental laws had a huge impact.

Yes in China you can pay labor nothing and pollute at will much like US Steel did before environmental laws.


Funny though Germany still remains a manufacturing power house even with Unions and environmental laws.

Peddle your anti worker rubbish to someone who will buy it.

The Battle of Blair Mountain – read the story, it depicts what life without unions was like.

It wasn’t the unions that caused industries to leave this country or for products to have a limited life span – it was greed that caused them to leave and it’s greed that causes corporations to fight unions down today. You can believe all the corporate propaganda you want – it may give you some peace of mind as you continue consuming their wares – often on the backs (and graves) of those whose pay and working conditions are like Blair Mountain use to be – those poor people who took the jobs we’ve lost when greed called to the corporate kings.

Now the pawns can’t wait to throw their money into the coffers of the empires trove – take your trinkets, your gmo foods and stuff them all in the plastic bags, then save your .10 a gallon on gas using the complementary empires reward card - as you drive to the next palace of perpetual consumerist joy… (non-union of course & proud of it)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain

I'm sure that .50 an hour will not even cover the costs of the rising food prices - but I'm glad that it offers a decent padding to offset, at least some of it.

If we continue to work for the corporate kings, who will really served in the end?

Not to mention that the latest in unemployment news is that some 25% of minimum wage jobs, that used to go to high school kids, are now manned by college educated poeple - and that's on top of the 40% of college graduates who are unemployed.

Your words of wisdom are so 1970.

mmm sounds like a management problem.

The following stems from corporate rule - I'll explain but first

from a previous post.

There has recently been a LOT of political activity attempting to break the unions - here are some of the scams

"no one can be coerced to join the union"

I totally agree but I don't agree with what follows the statment

"non-union workers in a unions environment must still have to right to vote for union official AND to recieve all the benefits whic union workers negotiate for" BULL ONY

Now back to the quote: Here's my gripe "CITIZENS UNITED"

Not only are corporate funds unlimited but they are PRIVATE as well.
REALLY maybe I don't want to work for a corporation who supports fossil fuel or DOMA or Mit Romney but I'm not allowed to know if my corporation supports any of the things that offend my sense of values EVEN POLITICAL CANDIDATES.

So what's with the bullcrap that unions have to notify employees of outlays for political activity AND to reimburse the portion of those funds that a person would not have contributed --- IT'S NOT A DAMN DONATION - the union votes JUST LIKE CORPORATIONS (with the power of their money) - for the party that is sympathetic to its needs.

Any union member who doesn't understand that is probably buying into the corporate propaganda.

Corporations do not want unions - they are competition to the ownership of government.

yep,just look at the US-Labor-Landscape!
Yes,and look at your Union-Fatcats,in bed with Corporations and Government!
Screwing the Worker at every turn!
But you'll wise up eventually!
After you see the difference of Unionism between the US and Europe!

I agree its not a great contract but the signing bonus helped.

Not many are keeping up with inflation, most are going backwards.

At the end of this contract I will be making 25 an hour and some change and its hard to complain when I know many adults making far less.

He went into detail how it is a union problem of lazy workers that the management can't do anything about. Since he is union and a hard worker, he was embarrassed by the situation. He also went into detail about how certain areas are worse than others. Newark was the worse, Chicago somewhat less, LA somewhat less, and Houston having the most reliable workforce. Although Texas is a "right to work" state, all employees in his company are union with one of the strongest "locks" on the work.

That's Why I said a degree and/or a useful skill. Lots of people graduate with useless degrees. Some of my friends graduated with theater degrees. One is doing nothing but living at home. Another went to a technical school because now he is married and has a kid. There are jobs if you are in a good field and willing to relocate to where the work is. College graduates have about half the unemployment rate as the rest of the country.