Married to a Teamster here!

Unions had there use at one time. They now only have 7% of the workers.

Originally Posted by KatzPajamas

Married to a Teamster here!

I've been a Teamster for 40 years and now am retired. The Teamsters afforded me a solid middle class life and a retirement with dignity.

In order to accomplish this, we had to keep the company we worked for solvent and profit bearing.

We are not like public employee unions who have all their benefits regardless of their input or contribution or production. Teamsters had to compete in the marketplace and make their employers profitable in order to survive.

Proud to have done this for so many years.

Originally Posted by villagegolfer

Unions had there use at one time. They now only have 7% of the workers.

We will have to differ here. I don't believe that employers have become any less profit hungry and willing to exploit their workers if they can succeed in doing so. Unions demand a fare share of the profits in conjunction with the value of the employee's contribution in attaining that profit.

The ultimate power in the world is MONEY; the only threat to that money is the WORKERS ORGANIZING. That has not changed, no matter what the power brokers say.

Originally Posted by RichieLion

I've been a Teamster for 40 years and now am retired. The Teamsters afforded me a solid middle class life and a retirement with dignity.

In order to accomplish this, we had to keep the company we worked for solvent and profit bearing.

We are not like public employee unions who have all their benefits regardless of their input or contribution or production. Teamsters had to compete in the marketplace and make their employers profitable in order to survive.

Proud to have done this for so many years.

I agree. I have had the pleasure of managing an assorted group of public employees for the last 3 years, after being the employee in a private sector non-union job for 35years. It has been a real eye opener! I went from an arena where most loved the job that they did and were proud to be among the best to a "that's not my job" mentality. Wow!!

Originally Posted by RichieLion

We will have to differ here. I don't believe that employers have become any less profit hungry and willing to exploit their workers if they can succeed in doing so. Unions demand a fare share of the profits in conjunction with the value of the employee's contribution in attaining that profit.

The ultimate power in the world is MONEY; the only threat to that money is the WORKERS ORGANIZING. That has not changed, no matter what the power brokers say.

At long last........I completely agree with you on this.

Originally Posted by DaleMN

At long last........I completely agree with you on this.

Where we might differ on this subject is when the conversation turns to public unions.

Private sector unions work for companies that must turn a profit to survive, so the union overreaches at it's own ultimate peril. New realities have resulted in private unions to adjust benefits and demands to compensate for the economic decline.

This is not the reality of the public union workforce. It's harder for the public union employee to see an government revenue decline as having any bearing on his renumeration.

Originally Posted by RichieLion

Where we might differ on this subject is when the conversation turns to public unions.

Private sector unions work for companies that must turn a profit to survive, so the union overreaches at it's own ultimate peril. New realities have resulted in private unions to adjust benefits and demands to compensate for the economic decline.

This is not the reality of the public union workforce. It's harder for the public union employee to see an government revenue decline as having any bearing on his renumeration.

Differ? Maybe, maybe not. I was President of our local union, a unit of AFSCME, and later in management in the same public entity. I saw the need for the union in many respects but also did not agree how they would would support and defend employees who were so obviously deficient in their work habits, abilities and attitudes. But even in public entities the employer can sometimes take unfair advantage over workers. Perhaps not for greed, for power or whatever.