CABL Forum - Re: We Need To Start A Union????

Hey Player, I wrote this response to another Union related post..I believe it belongs here as well..when i was training young guys to try to give them a future i offered some advice then,
since the average age of Techs these days is in the 20s I think these warnings from an "Old School" Tech ( I have been in the field since the C-Band days of the 80s and did everything from home install to building 20+ Dish/50+ Rvcr Earth Stations as well as operating Uplink trucks ) might help save some of you from disaster..not all companies are like the examples i'm about to give you..but the majority are..the owners are out for themselves...

Journeyman,
You are 100% correct. I have been in the field since the 80s and luckily for me I owned a small Business that had Major Broadcast contracts ( also provided Mobile uplink Services and satellite earth station design and building ) Then for fun I became a jump tech for what ended up being a shyster company. After spending months bouncing all over the South just after Katrina ( a group of 5 of us came out from CA to open markets and train new guys ) we were met with constantly having to pay for supplies out of our own pockets to keep working ( the creditors demanded COD due to the owner writing NBA quality checks ) we would return after very long days in need of a shower and clen clothes, only to find out we were locked out of our hotel rooms due to none payment and of course we had many occasions where our checks were late...or the bonus checks for myself and the lead techs would bounce. Upon leaving that company and going to a reputable commercial 2 way company with huge contracts I was soon met with thousands in unpaid expenses and notified ( after payday ) that our checks appeared short because the owner accepted a new rate from GI/Hughes on OUR behalf.
The Bottom line is this - If we had a Union at the time of any of this i would not be writing this response to your post. Wake up guys, you have a future to worry about. i am now retired due to health but at 48 I should not be messing with home installs anyway.
Good luck - and do all the research on a company before you even apply, the guy i worked for had closed 4 companies before I joined and closed 3 more until the Feds started looking for him..oh yea..he also withheld our taxes..but pocketed them and did not report us as having worked for or with him on any way, as a result I have spent the last 3 years in court trying to collect the SSDI I paid Top Rate for. - Offskew in Northern Cali

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Re: We Need To Start A Union????