CABL Forum - Re: Union?

You anti-unionites need to get a new line of BS because the "fat cat in the office", "unions are only for the lazy" lines are getting tired.

Admittedly the auto unions are filled with unskilled workers, and most auto workers are highly overpaid for what they do. I don't mean to offend anyone but many factory assembly workers (in auto & other industries) could be replaced by trained apes or robots. They are jobs that while requiring the workers' consentration, do not require much creative thought to be performed.
The trade unions are a different story. A skilled trade such as Pipefitter, Millwright, Carpenter, Ironworker, Plumber, Electrician, Lineman and Installer (power, telephone, cable & satellite) are professions which require special training and a creative thought process. If you look at the trades unions that cover these professions you will find that they require that you have been through either an apprenticeship program to learn the profession, attended vocational school for the specific profession or receive progressive training via the employer. A trade union doesn't just take anyone in. With a trade union a company who finds itself in need of workers can simply call the union and ask for the number of workers they need. The union would then locate members who need work and send them out on the job. The union assures the employer that these people are properly trained, if the employer feels otherwise he sends that worker home and asks for another in his place. Workers came more easily be brought in on a as needed basis, thus reducing the number of workers the employer needs to carry on the books year round. The union would also make sure the workers got paid, no more of this working for one or two months and being cheated out of your pay by a non-paying fly-by-night contractor. If we had a trade union in place industry wide it would be a win-win deal for all.

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Re: Union?