Quote:
Originally Posted by JUREK
Richielion: My thoughts exactly. There is a difference in Public and private unions. I know when we ask for too much in the private unions I may just be out of a job. I remember some 15 years ago there was a chance that we would have to give up concessions or possibly have our plant close.
It never came to that point but I couldn't believe how many members were against concessions.
|
In the company I worked for the workers agreed to wage givebacks, and temporary suspension of pension credits, coupled with severely reduced pension contributions by the company, when they do resume. This was done so that the company could have a chance to recover and continue in the business which supports 25,000 families with another 11,000 on lay-off hoping to come back.
We can't go to the keepers of the public treasury and demand our compensation remains the same; while the house of cards is tumbling around us, like the workers in the public sector unions have long expected. Like you said, we had to work with the company to come to a solution with no relief coming from anyone but us.
The Democrats have long made promises to the Teamster's Union and almost never come through when it counts. The biggest one was former President Bill Clinton's arm twisting and back room dealing to get NAFTA passed, after promising us he would do the exact opposite while campaigning.
Now Democrat President Barack Obama has agreed to give Mexico the unlimited access of our roads for their trucking industry. Again a major blow to the transportation workers in America, and Teamsters in particular, who'll have to compete with vastly underpaid Mexican truckers.
I'm not arguing the merits of either affront to the Unions; only that it happened, and that it perpetrated against us by our so called "friends".