Posted on 02/05/2017 2:00:12 PM PST by mdittmar
I spent 36 years working at the Bridgestone Tire plant in Oklahoma City. The work was hard but rewarding. It afforded me the opportunity to provide for my family, always ensure there was enough food at the table and that my kids were afforded every modest opportunity to grow up in a household that was stable, secure and free from worry. That all changed suddenly in 2006, five years after Oklahoma passed a so-called "right to work" law that was billed by politicians as a job creator. For the 1,400 men and women who worked at the plant, right to work didn’t work as advertised. Not only did the plant close, but the effects of the closing and the chilling effect that right to work has on a state’s economy were felt by everyone.
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Didn't unions kill that off?
And Consolidated Bakeries, or whatever produced "Twinkies"? BHO helped the union kill that company off too.
Unions believe they can get more golden eggs by strangling the goose.
It’s on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature. Will no doubt have some sort of signing ceremony tomorrow or Tuesday. A hard fought issue. Next inline is prevailing wage legislation.
I’ve worked in union shops.
If you have any desire to better yourself, forget it; you’ll never do better than the worst guy on the roster.
Me too,there are a few.
But at my age do I want to work 70 hours a week?
I work for a good non-union company,all the benefits and 7 weeks paid vacation,I'll do something when I retire.
“But at my age do I want to work 70 hours a week?”
I did the 70 hours a week thing for nearly 20 years
Now I grow papayas.
Actually growing specialty fruits and veg is not that hard, doesn’t take a huge outlay of funds and makes decent cash.
SJW types will pay you good money for garden produce!
It’s good for employees ad their families, but it’s bad for unions.
Most unions today don’t care about their members.
My wife paid AFL-CIO union dues for 22 years. When she turned 65 she applied for her union retirement and was told there was no record of her ever belonging to the union. Of the 5 ladies who worked along side her only one ever saw a penny of union retirement. Yep, unions are wonderful things.
I agree! Here’s another story. I live in a Right to Work state, and am a retired blue collar worker. Our factory was the only non Union factory belonging to their corporation. Over the years every single one of the Union factories folded up, while we added jobs.
They paid well, had excellent benefits, and were very strict on attendance. We suffered through three Union drives, and fortunately no Union was ever voted in. Businesses will pay by supply and demand, and this factory was very automated, meaning they need highly skilled labor.
My wages were plenty to support a family, own a home, pay all my bills, and retire debt free. My retirement benefits may not be as high as some that the Unions negotiate, but they are fully funded, and enough, along with my 401K, that I could retire comfortably.
Why pay someone an hour a week to bully you around? (which is what they do) They also foster an attitude among workers that lowers productivity. I had one boss who transferred from a Union plant that was shut down. It was funny how careful he was when he talked to us, until one day someone told him his workers weren’t Union anymore. The guy lightened up, and it wasn’t long before he was just one of us. When your boss is one of the team, you all play better together. It’s a lot more fun, and you get more done.
I’m not saying there may not be some places that need a Union, but workers should think long and hard before they get involved in one. Chances are they are going to cost you a lot more than any raise they may negotiate. The working atmosphere is dismal compared to a non Union shop, and they make your job less secure, not more.
Over the past twenty years, it’s been fascinating to track the growth—yes, growth—of the U.S. auto industry. While American manufacturers have been forced to slash jobs due to bloated union contracts and inept management, foreign makers have opened dozens of plants in right-to-work states like Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.
None of those plants are unionized, and the vast majority of workers have no desire to join the UAW. They turn out a superior product; earn excellent wages and enjoy a full benefits package. And to my knowledge, none of them are facing potential layoffs. Not long ago, the union thugs spent millions trying to get Volkswagen employees in Chattanooga to join the UAW. Once again, the union was voted down.
The Union is your friend. Until it isn’t.
RTW laws forbid requiring employees to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.
Thuggery and coercion always improve SOMEBODY’S life.
.
Total bullshit!
Right to work is just common sense.
Fake news foe sure.
Well put. Several friends say unions have turned the SUNY system into a sanctuary for mediocracy because almost all of the raise money is across the board; there is virtually no merit-based pay.
He didn’t notice that the goose wasn’t heavier than normal?
I worked in Tulsa for years back then, a non-union shop. Right across from us was a Union Shop in which you had to go to the union hall to get hired in.
We did not make quite as much but we were OK. The union shop was on strike several times a year while we were working. Then they closed down permanently years before the Open Shop laws went into effect.
Quite a few times the Union sent “ringers” to get hired on in our shop. Once hired they began to talk Pro-Union and got fired. Then the Union would sue claiming they were fired for being pro-Union. in reality they were fired because their “ringers” were the laziest bunch of people I have ever seen.
My memories are that Oklahoma was always a Union Shop state. Back around 1964 an attempt was made to make it an Open shop state, even showing Cecil B DeMille anti union advertisements every Saturday night. It failed. Oklahoma remained Closed Union Shop until a few years back when those closed shop rules were thrown out.
Well, you have a right to invest your money and your time and your blood sweat and tears to build a business and you can pay each of your employees a hundred kilobucks a year each if you want
Unions have done great things for our country. Our wages went up. Remember when you were earning about $1+ an hour, those days are gone, you now can get a Union job that pays $15+ an hour. Seem Unions helped you increase your salary. When you earned $1+ an hour that $1 bought you 2 hamburgers, french fries and a shake and you got 15 cents change. Unions help you so much that the same meal today only costs you $4+. How about cars? New cars back then $1800, but today they are only $22,000. Yup Unions have done wonders for us all. Tony bent nose thanks you for joining his union.
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