barelynangel
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I worked for a employment labor law firm for 5 years, mostly for outdoor advertising and newspapers for management. In the course of 5 years, the employees got ride of at least 5 unions which is a big number since the only time you can decert a union is when a contract is not in effect so the margin of time to do so can be fairly few and far between as most labor contracts are a year to three years on average. I have seen the management side and whether employees agree or not many times the employers DO work to give the employees the best deal possible without shooting themselves OR their non-union employees in the foot. I have seen unions refuse to allow employees a secret ballot vote on contracts that offer a partial raise every year of mandatory 3% and then an additional peecent based on performance (with an option to appeal if the employee doesn't think its fair) as well as a $7000 signing bonus, in exchange for no union security and no direct pay of union due to the union from the employees check. The union in the desperation for themselves lost the employees this agreement because they demanded union security and direct pay and the employees ended up with no bonus a raise of 3% 1st year, 4 and 5 the next two years. I have seen communication lost between employees and employers because the employer really can't help an employee anymore because of the union on an individual basis the employee has to go to the union. Most unions had no clue what the jobs of the people they worked for entailed, one union went on strike and what many employees don't know is when a union goes on strike and the company hires replacement workers, when the strike ends, if the union workers job has been filled by a replacement worker, that union worker may find him/herself on a waiting list to return to work or may not get their actual job back. Many union workers don't realize this just so you know. Employees dont get that they also lose their benefits along with their pay while on strike and the pay of the union (even though most union could afford to pay employees their salaries but don't because god forbid you take money away from the union). They think they go on strike the company will just fold because no one will do their jobs, that is not true, the company is allowed to hire replacement workers by law and union workers are not guaranteed their jobs back.
Most people don't realize that grievances and which ones need to actually be taken all the way to mediation is decided upon by the union not the employer. Many times i have seen unions choose not to take the grievances of people who don't play by the unions wants to arbitration when the case clearly could have been won. I have also seen how much of the employees money actually goes to their union chapter from their dues and how much goes to polticial affiliation donations, how much goes to the headquarters to pay all their exorbinant salaries, travel, gifts, bonuses etc. I have seen union give into employers on things in negotiations because they can get union security into the contract no other way, (for those who don't know union security in a contract is if a person doesn't want to be a part of the union or doesn't pay his dues -- unless he is a Beck Objector (and i believe there can be only 1 of those in a union in a company at a time) the have to be fired by the employer.) Yeah its always nice to know that union s many times don't get something for the employees because of their want of that clause in the contract. In the contracts we actually have been able to negotiate that clause out (which usually happened when the Company communicated to the employees what was really going on in negotiations and the employees started questioning the union) after the contract expired the union was usually voted out. Just so you know any person can look up the annual reports of their union because they are public record if they are curious about how much money their union actually pulls in, how its distributed and to what chapters, and other things. grins, you should ask your union for a copy, i am sure they will be over eager to give you a copy lol. Also, during elections as many people know the company cannot promise employees anything its against the law, however, there is no law with regard to what the union can promise you and most of the time they are talking out their asses when they state they can guarantee you something if you elect them. However, we always find it interesting when we give the employees "Guarantee Certificates" for the union to sign, and these guarantees are very specific as to what the union is promising employees and tell the employees to ask the union to sign these guarantees before a notary that would make the union liable if they failed to accomplish those guarantees and be held to them. In the 5 years we used them, not one union signed those --- why? Because they know they can't guarantee employees anything but ONE thing -- the fact that a union member will pay union dues.
I am not saying in some places the unions aren't helpful with snarky employers but in most cases, i haven't seen a union really improve anything but keep something in the company that had already been status quo in working conditions (because most places we dealt with the employees were treated pretty fairly) and i have seen the communication betweem employee and employer diminish because there is now an ee rep. Which in turns puts a huge gap between knowledge being exchanged between ees and employers.
Most companies now don't need unions -- the company rarely agrees to give union employees things non-union employees don't have or get, they don't really give them more money etc. People don't realize that unions are a business out for keeping themselves up and running based on a premise that no longer really exists when unions first started.
There are a lot of things employees don't know about the unions and what "power" it really has. It really don't have any as in the end -- the company has final say on what is agreed to in negotiations. If there is impass, many employees don't realize that the company can impliment the contract based on their demands of the basics legally required subjects of negotiations, as is, and if the union chooses to go out on strike the employee may not have a job when they get back.
I always find it interesting when people think they really know their unions and they really think the union is out there to protect the employees and have things fair for the employees and don't want to believe that the unions are a big if not bigger business than many corporations on Wall Street as well as the company's they go in and try and organize. They are there to make money JUST like the company is. However, employees don't see this part of the union usually so they remain blissfully ignorant that the union is there for the good of the employees. While sometimes you get good union representation -- mostly, the union is there to keep their business afloat.
I am not saying people should or should not like them, it doesn't matter one way or another to me, but i usually see union employees state stuff about their unions that if they dig a little deeper into the whole, they may find some interesting things they
didn't know.
angel
< Message edited by barelynangel -- 12/14/2008 6:13:06 AM >
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What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
R.W. Emerson
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