Tammi's World

This Makes Me Crazy

Teresa has a post up about some incidents that occured over the weekend. In several different areas, union protesters gathered and made their anti-Bush feelings known. You need to read the post - honestly - then I have a thing or two to say.

I grew up in a "Union" family. Both Daddy and Mama were very involved. In fact, up until a couple of years ago, Mama was still pretty active, as a rep and a local officer. My ex husband was in the IBEW for the entire time I was married to him. Yeah, I know a bit about unions - up close and personal.

I think their time is over. Done. They are now causing more problems than they solve. In the beginning - yes, they served a purpose. I truly believe that. I can't imagine what life would be like now without the improvements in hours, pay and safety that they brought forth. But......now I don't see the purpose.

I've never been a union supporter. Yeah, that made for interesting table talk when I was in high school. Even back then, I felt that most of what the union was focused on wasn't really benefiting the everyday worker. In school I would challenge the teacher that would paint such a rosey picture of all that unions do. Yes, higher wages are good - but are they good if they eventually drive a business away or even out? No, not in the long run. And if the union is so supportive of it's members why is it that every single time I've known anyone to ask for union support in a matter were they left high and dry? I never really got a good answer on either of those.

My ex husband was an ass. We've covered that pretty extensively. However, he was a hard worker. He loved being a lineman. It was who he was. And to be a lineman you had to be in the union. So he joined - at a very early age. He paid his dues, went to the meetings, he did the song and dance. And he was a damn good lineman. Really. Over time he bacame a crew leader. He ran the unground line crew for the county. (Don't Bring Up That Damn Song) Crew leaders did NOT drive the line trucks. Ever. You are required to have a certain number of men (sorry, people) on the crew and the leader used the drive time to plan. So....asshole got his 7th DUI in 5 years and lost his DL for 10 years. Well, shit. We didn't make a big deal of it, We just had to schedule things so that I could drive him around. (I didn't make a deal of it cause I was embarrassed as hell).

Let's fast forward 2 years. New management at the utility company. Some young suit get's hired right out of college to run the line crews - from the office. That really didn't go over well with the guys in the field. Especially my husband. And he wasn't one to mince words. Long story shorter, Hubby pissed off new boss - big time. But...his performance was such that they couldn't touch him. Until they realized he didn't have a DL. Then they fired him.

We called the union - the big wigs (local that is) came over and ate up what little food we had, drank every drop of beer in the house and promised to fight to the end to get him his job back. It never even went to review. Nothing. Not one flippin' meeting, not one phone call. All we got was a damned letter telling us that upon further thought there really wasn't a case. Not one red cent from the union brothers and sisters. Just that flippin' letter. Enter the dark ages of Tammi's life.

I watched my Mom's activities with the union over the years. I saw more and more that she was started to question the purpose, the loyalty. Mama had spent over 30 years in the union and knew some pretty important people. One day in a meeting where they were discussing some inane item, she stood up and told them to kiss her ass. She was over it! Like chinese water torture they had finally wore her down.

I've refused to join a union in a couple of jobs I had. It was my personal choice, I didn't campaign against them, I just voted my heart. I voted based on what I had seen in my life.

The unions are mad because of the changes in OT pay the President Bush is proposing. It's flex time - you have more flexability in your schedule so that if you work 4 10hr days you have more time for family, schooling or what ever. You come in later if you need to and just work your time. It's a scheduling challenge but it can actually have a very postive impact on the work place. I've had that arrangement in the last 3 companies I worked for. But in those instances OT was still available. And I'll admit - I milked it. Everyone did. If I needed extra cash I just worked OT. Did I need to for my job? Sometimes, but usually not. I saw my husbands group milk it big time. They knew exactly how many hours they had to stay on shift so that they could stay on double time, and make it to trip time in short order. They stepped down just long enough to rest and not lose that pay. It was a game, a scam. Yeah - and I was just a guilty as the next person.

Flex time is not a bad thing. It's a life saver. If you have a family or are especially busy it's a God Send. By allowing you flexability you can reduce some of the stress in your life trying to figure out how to gain that balance. Here is a quote from GeorgeWBush.com that explains it better than I do.

Actually, flextime has been around many years as a women's issue. But feminists envisioned moving those 40 hours around — not reducing them. For example, someone might work four 10-hour days, then take a three-day weekend. ...
Many workers who toil long hours already can choose between taking more cash or more time. For nearly a quarter-century, flextime has been available to federal workers. Not a few union contracts offer flextime provisions as a worker benefit. In any case, people aren't complaining that employers have coerced them to take the extra time off and forgo bigger paychecks.

Certainly, there are workers who need or otherwise want that overtime cash. But for so many, especially parents, time has become the most valuable commodity

Read it and make up your own mind. This topic just kind of jerks my chain.

You see - I'm about sick and tired of these damn organizations with tunnel vision. Doesn't anyone look at the bigger picture? Doesn't anyone give a rats ass about the greater good?

Place the blame where it belongs. You pissed off about so many jobs going over seas? Then make that company see that. Take away your business. Send emails, but don't blame the President. The office of President of the United States is the most powerful office in the world. Hands Down. BUT.......the President does not control Corporate America, and please dear Lord - don't let that ever happen.

What happened over the weekend with the protests by the AFL-CIO was wrong. They had no right storming those offices and intimidating those workers. The unions are struggling to maintain the choke-hold they have held in times past. It's not pretty, and it won't get any better until everyday citizens let them know that enough is enough. Look to the Greater Good. Look to the benefits for EVERYONE, not just the select few. I think in order for the unions to survive in the future, they are the ones that need the major overhaul.

Posted by Tammi at October 12, 2004 07:46 AM