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LayYouIn
Taurus



Registered: 09/28/06
Posts: 4,402
Loc: Organ
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Unionization
#7585412 - 11/01/07 08:02 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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i just got a job at Lowes Distribution Center. this one opened up about 6 months ago, very new. inside their employee handbook, they have a section called "Union-Free Philosophy" that starts off by saying "Lowe's is a Union-Free Employer" and then talks about how they believe that a labor union wouldn't be in their employee's best interests due to strikes and union dues. it does say that they recognize that the employees have a right under federal law to organize and join unions.
being a former Teamster(union that UPS and other companies have) i know that unions can greatly help out employees. the Teamsters union i was in helped me out when i was treated unfairly by UPS.
i did a little searching on the net and i found this article that says the Teamsters were trying to unionize the Lowes Distribution Center in California.
right now, it's seems pretty good...decent pay, decent benefits, decent work environment, ect. but i know that if Lowes decided to cut..say pay...or say benefits...there's nothing that i can do without a union.
should i consider contacting the nearest Teamsters office and ask about unionizing Lowes Distribution Center?
is it legal for them to place this "Union-Free Philosophy" section in my employee handbook?
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zoombie
strangler

Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 242
Last seen: 13 years, 16 days
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Re: Unionization [Re: LayYouIn]
#7585432 - 11/01/07 08:09 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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unions will bankrupt america...
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LayYouIn
Taurus



Registered: 09/28/06
Posts: 4,402
Loc: Organ
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Re: Unionization [Re: zoombie]
#7585439 - 11/01/07 08:11 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
zoombie said: unions will bankrupt america...
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CantiSama


Registered: 10/21/04
Posts: 794
Last seen: 4 months, 10 days
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Re: Unionization [Re: LayYouIn]
#7585474 - 11/01/07 08:23 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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unions are poor for the economy. i'm all for social safety nets but unions don't allow the market system to function properly in that industry so you are just making things worse in the long run for everyone. if a firm can choose between union and non-union workers there is no way they are going to choose union workers. why would they want to pay more for that kind of hassle? not to mention the fact that unions lead to less productivity. nothing you can do without a union? you can find another job with benefits since this is a highly competitive system we have here, or make yourself more valuable in the market however you see fit.
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Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.
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DieCommie


Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: Unionization [Re: LayYouIn]
#7585496 - 11/01/07 08:28 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
LayYouIn said:but i know that if Lowes decided to cut..say pay...or say benefits...there's nothing that i can do without a union.
Sure there is. You can get a new job. Lowes is not allowed to monopolize home improvement sales, why should you be able to monopolize home improvement labor?
Unions, which are just monopolies on labor, are only good when there is a monopoly in the industry. ie, only one factory in a town, police department, etc...
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wps
Well-PaidScientist


Registered: 09/22/07
Posts: 579
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Re: Unionization [Re: LayYouIn]
#7586927 - 11/02/07 08:59 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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I'm definitely pro-union.
"Right to work" state? Gimme a break. Thats Orwellian bullshit.
-------------------- "America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve." - Tom Morello
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wps
Well-PaidScientist


Registered: 09/22/07
Posts: 579
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Re: Unionization [Re: DieCommie]
#7586940 - 11/02/07 09:03 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
DieCommie said:
Quote:
LayYouIn said:but i know that if Lowes decided to cut..say pay...or say benefits...there's nothing that i can do without a union.
Sure there is. You can get a new job.
hey, you're right dude.
If I don't agree with a company's drug testing policy, I'll just go work somewhere else.
Except wait a minute, all the companies seem to be in agreement that drug testing is a good idea.
Imagine that, all the companies got together and agreed to drug test everyone. Looks like they exercised their collective bargaining powers and made a policy uniform throughout all the companies. Gee, maybe me and the other disenfranchised workers should do the same!
-------------------- "America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you've lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn't belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don't care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve." - Tom Morello
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DieCommie


Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: Unionization [Re: wps]
#7586978 - 11/02/07 09:18 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have never worked for a company that drug tests I once applied to a place that did, and failed, and didnt get the job. I now work in the community college system, they didnt drug test me either.
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LayYouIn
Taurus



Registered: 09/28/06
Posts: 4,402
Loc: Organ
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Re: Unionization [Re: DieCommie]
#7587511 - 11/02/07 11:53 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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aside from drug testing, im focusing on the benefits and fairness in the workplace.
sure, i could quit and get another job, but then id have to start all over rather than actually having a voice. with a union i would have a way to fight for whatever it is i want.
im afraid that ill get good at a position, ask to be moved up, and then be refused a promotion by management since im productive in that position. if this happens, ill be stuck and either have to stay in that position or quit. with a union, ill be able to fight for what i've worked for. this is what happened at UPS and why i have some faith in the Teamsters union.
it also seems strange that it says the company is against unions due to union dues and strikes. union dues are like a payment for fairness on the job. strikes happen when employers are unfair to employees...like say they cut everyones medical benefits...the union has the employees strike and put the big corporations into check.
i've been told by several very successful relatives that own their own businesses that union is the way to go.
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druqs
ALKALOIDOHOLIC


Registered: 09/11/06
Posts: 8,862
Last seen: 4 months, 6 days
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Re: Unionization [Re: LayYouIn]
#7587537 - 11/02/07 11:58 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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some old guy asked me if i wanted a to be in the union, bit freaky when i did't actally have a job.
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Gr8fulJ420
strange but nota stranger



Registered: 02/17/01
Posts: 2,778
Loc: 0 moco
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Re: Unionization [Re: LayYouIn]
#7587593 - 11/02/07 12:14 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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In the service/consumer-based economy, if you try to Unionize it's just as cost effective to get rid of you and hire high-schools or mexicans.
Trade unions are a way to ensure that a skilled professionals doesn't get taken advantage of by the suits/owners, etc.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is an increase in union membership/activity in the next few years as our dollar becomes worth less and less while more and more work is demanded from us to continue the lifestyle we've become accustomed to.
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CantiSama


Registered: 10/21/04
Posts: 794
Last seen: 4 months, 10 days
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Quote:
Gr8fulJ420 said: I wouldn't be surprised if there is an increase in union membership/activity in the next few years as our dollar becomes worth less and less while more and more work is demanded from us to continue the lifestyle we've become accustomed to.
you do realize that higher wages makes goods and services cost more, right? so demanding higher wages really does nothing.
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Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.
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Gr8fulJ420
strange but nota stranger



Registered: 02/17/01
Posts: 2,778
Loc: 0 moco
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Re: Unionization [Re: CantiSama]
#7587722 - 11/02/07 12:51 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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And when the costs of goods, services, housing and healthcare keep rising and rising.... faster than your real wages increase, who is going to be looking out for you?
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Nickio
Authority


Registered: 03/14/07
Posts: 321
Last seen: 13 years, 5 months
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Re: Unionization [Re: LayYouIn]
#7587795 - 11/02/07 01:07 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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I dont know if this contributes anything but at target you have to watch a video that is anti union and it depicts a guy in a black trench coat peeking from behind some clothes asking some innocent lookin girl if she wants to join the union and she basically tells him to go fuck himself lol it was great, target rules
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CantiSama


Registered: 10/21/04
Posts: 794
Last seen: 4 months, 10 days
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if by "look out for you" you mean increase your wage then it is futile because firms have to get that extra money from somewhere, being the consumers (you, union or not) so they raise the cost of goods. where are you then? in the same place you started.
the longer you artificially influence the labor market the longer you are going to have problems. if you leave it alone it will adjust on its own.
you don't need a union in a highly competitive market.
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Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.
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disturbed
Poutine andSodomy



Registered: 10/15/02
Posts: 1,877
Loc: O-H-I-O
Last seen: 14 years, 3 months
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Re: Unionization [Re: CantiSama]
#7587941 - 11/02/07 01:42 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Ok let me say first off I am seriously anti-union. I am a manager for Genaral Motors plant (I am non union but employees are) I can see the unions having a place back in the day when people were getting 20 cents an hour to mine coal but I don't think they have a place in todays economy.
You guys wouldn't believe some of the shit I have seen the guys pull before. One time there was an air hose that was leaking behind a wall and I had to have a plumbers union guy come look at it. He took one look at it then said he'd have to come back tomorrow because he had to get a guy from the carpenters union over to remove 2 screws from the moulding on the bottom of the wall so he could get to it (this would have taken 10 seconds to do himself). I ended up just doing it myself because it was annoying and it took me about 10 min total to figure out what was wrong and fix it. I can tell you right now that I don't think my plant will be closed in the next 5 years mainly due to the union, they are retarded they are going to end up screwing themselves out of jobs.
That being said I worked at lowes all through college and found it to be a pretty cool place to work. I can tell you right now a union won't happen there though, I wouldn't even bother.
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11/25/07 first time entrant ban lottery champion
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LayYouIn
Taurus



Registered: 09/28/06
Posts: 4,402
Loc: Organ
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Re: Unionization [Re: disturbed]
#7588863 - 11/02/07 06:18 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
disturbed said: That being said I worked at lowes all through college and found it to be a pretty cool place to work. I can tell you right now a union won't happen there though, I wouldn't even bother.
well that sounds good. since i've only been there for one week, i cant really say if a labor union is needed or not, but at UPS, a union was definitely needed.
im kindof in-between on unions. i know that they can hurt the economy by causing prices to go up due to lack of production, but on the other hand, i know that they can and will help out innocent laborers that are trying to make a living.
so basically, it's either the whole economy pays a little bit, or, individual after individual will have there lives distraught.
it's kindof sad that some of the multi-millionaires are willing to do that to people and the economy just to pocket more money for themselves.
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