They are self destructing because leadership no longer represents the "total" of the membership....
While there are still plenty of diehard died in the wool leftists in the ranks....there are plenty of libertarian minded and even a few conservatives....
A lot of vets are union guys....and they dont like the venom being spewed at the troops..OR the commander and chief...
I would remind people of that 2004 UAW vote for political endorsement...
Bush came in SECOND....IE..he beat 8 of the dems hands down...
Trust me...such a thing is HUGE...
A lot of us are pushing for our unions to be NON-political in matters that dont directly effect workers...
And remember please....not all unions are created equal....
It might surprise some to find out that my local has a no strike clause in our contract...becuase interuption of major projects and literally put a contractor out of bussiness...and thus..workers out of work...
Shoddy Electrical work kills people....bad workers are shown the door...we maintian high standards and expect people to meet them...I Maintain 3 state licenses and several OSHA recognized licenses for heavy equipment operation including Forklift , all terrain forklift ,articulated booms and lifts...
Remember...the bedrock of this country was set by union men and women...we do...
You can hire someone who barely speaks english ,if at all...or you can hire someone who will re-invest in America and American products...
You get what you pay for...
Now if we could only get the teachers union to follow the same damn example...because the next time they hold my local town hostage for double digit raises...I'll cross the picket myself...
Member in good standing, local 8 , International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)...Closet conservative...
From your lips to God's ear, Crim! Thank you so very much for your true and excellent insights, from "inside" the IBEW! May God ever bless you.
Yes, to what you said. Unions are NECESSARY when you have BAD Management....that's why they were started......and we still, in some cases, have BAD Management.....BUT, when union bosses get the money THEY GET, and play politics with the workers money, THAT'S BAD MANAGEMENT, too.
(I'm a former HR Management type)