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Originally posted by Indi+Jul 21 2005, 11:10 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Indi @ Jul 21 2005, 11:10 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
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Originally posted by FireFly@Jul 21 2005, 03:37 PM
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@Jul 21 2005, 06:29 AM
I'm going to relate this to Telus...do you think the Union is fighting for huge raises, large company perks, extended days off....nope, all they want is something close to a cost of living wage. Telus has refused to negotiate for 4 years, essentially telling their employees to p*ss off for 4 years. Now, they are imposing a contract that has never been negotiated, never been presented, zip, nada, zilch.....is that fair? I would never cross that picket line, EVER....when a company chooses to take the hardline stance rather than work with its employees, I will always side with the employees. I've worked in a union for about 12 years at a couple of different employers...contrary to popular belief, alot of contracts have ruled out seniority rights (this one p*sses all non union people off), kept raises at about 3-4%/year, and guaranteed benefit rights......boy does that sound evil huh. Working for Esso in '99, they wanted to freeze salaries for 2 years, after reported record profits for the last 2 years....big business is not in the business to help its employees.
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I don't know where you're getting your information from, but working for Telus myself, I do have some insight into the situation...
I answer a phone for $17.21/hour. I think that's fair. Top wage under the old contract was $20.22. Also fair. It's a damn phone, not rocket science. Sure, we deal with *******, but I've dealt with ******* for $7/hour.
The union is not fighting for cost of living. And it's the union that hasn't been negotiating for almost 5 years now. Telus has come up with a number of offers, that the union will pick apart. Then the union will NOT rewrite them in their own terminology, and hand it back. Instead they hand in what is the current offer, but with huge raises. When Telus turns it down and hands in another offer, the union has come up with the same offer but taking EVEN MORE! How is that bargaining? And how does that not stink of the same shinguard that the NHLPA tried?
The offer in question that is being implemented tomorrow, was given to the union in March, reworked in April, and then again in June. The union has had it since March, and we were not given a chance to look at it until Telus gave it to us. Why? Because the union doesn't want us to see what Telus is offering. I will be getting a 98c raise starting tomorrow. Perhaps even as much as $1.70, due to my missing my last raise. Not presented? By the union to it's members, you're right. But it was absolutely presented to the union.
So now, the union is telling people that we're being bullied into working. I have NEVER been bullied. My management rocks. And yet the union threatened it's own members with fines of up to $1,000 for working overtime, and 'relieving management'.... Those who had such positions that did relieve management were spoken to by management and told that they would be excused from their duties as management relief so they wouldn't have to make that decision. Sounds evil, huh? Telus looking out for it's employees....
Anyways, since you have no idea what you're talking about in this case, I suggest you don't. I on the other hand am proud to be a Telus employee, and will proudly cross the picket line for the company that has treated me well and given me so much while I've been there. I feel sorry for those who are out picketing as when it's all said and done, Telus will win, and they'll just be p*ssed that I was smart enough to be earning a decent living, rather than picket for $250/week. I'm afraid most of our union members are as brainwashed as the NHLPA was in this case, and I'm afraid you are just the kinda member they wish to recruit.
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hey, maybe things are better in the call center. My brother works as a new construction tech for the vaunted telus, so I'm privy to a thing or two....but I appreciate you pointing out that I dont know what I'm talking about...it shows your ignorance my friend.....
When a company presents a contract and says this is what we are going with, the negotiations are slightly one sided...wouldnt you say? The union cannot present this to its members in good faith as there was limited to no union involvement at the table....does this make sense? I'm not trying to be a dick like you were, I'm just trying to explain how a union has to work [/b][/quote]
When a company presents a contract to a union, who does fata all about it, and doesn't show it to their members for months, when said union has said months to have a vote on said contract, and doesn't even show it to the members, how is the company supposed to react? The union can't present ANYTHING to it's members in good faith because it hasn't negotiated! If you go to the TWU website, they have their offer up there. You know what it says? It says "TWU Counter Proposals
Changes proposed to the BCTEL – TWU Collective Agreement dated January 18, 1999 – December 31, 2000 will be indicated by bold print"
That's what they've done. That's it. They've had 4 and a half years to look at Telus's offers... all of them, (and they have been changing,) and all they can do is counter propose the EXACT SAME THING they already have, with raises.
When the BC Tel union was created, BC Tel was a monopoly. This isn't the case anymore, and the union fails to realize it is now a competitive market, and Telus isn't going to bend over for them.
So what does the union do? It supports vandalism against the company. Did you know one of the cables a union memeber cut connected the phone services to a hospital? That's my union. They start a smear campaign through various ads... great job, try to sink the company your members work for, then we're all out of a job. Smart.
You're right. There was no union involvement at the table. They've had four years to work with the many different offers that Telus has given them, and they choose not to. Do you see how I pay them to negotiate and they aren't? Is that how a union is supposed to work?