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Old 10-05-2024, 12:15 PM
OrangeBlossomBaby OrangeBlossomBaby is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuervo View Post
I've negotiated contracts as a union rep.
When I sat at the table even though I knew my members were asking for something I would never get I would put it on the table. Sometimes this back and forth would last days other times it would last months, but at the end of the day I tried to get the best deal I could for the membership. I represented people, not profits, my goal was to get as much as I could without killing the golden goose.
Did I dislike the people across the table, the answer is no. The people across the table were not the employers most were from H&R and a lawyer. Were they putting something on the table much less than the real employer was willing to offer yes. But it was all part of the game.
See I was trying to get as much as I could for the members and the H&R people were trying to make their employer happy and protect their own job.
I still have a copy of the last contract I negotiated, there are 27 signatures on it 26 were representing the employer and the single one is mine.
Though this ends up being a tennis match, I was the one sitting at the table concerned with people lives. Financially I was not going to gain from whatever we agreed to, the only thing I would get is the respect from the membership.
If the employees were already getting great benefits, great retirement packages, great pay, a great working environment, and great company support - and then the company said "this next contract year we're going to offer the same, plus a 1% increase above the expected cost of living increase across the board" why would you try to fight for more? For every thing you demand from them, you have to sacrifice something. Negotiations are a give and take.

I'd rather my union rep say, "y'know what kids? This year, the union doesn't have to do a thing. The company is top-notch and treats us like the valued members of our company that we have always expected. So this year, we're reducing your union dues by 50%, since we really don't have to do much other than arbitrate disputes, which hardly ever happens anyway."

That'd be swell, in an environment where the company already treats their employees with the respect they deserve in all ways.