Would you strike

[Stormchaser]

Although it mainly has to do with the issues that are at stake and each situation is unique, but just for interest sake, would you cross a picket line or be loyal to the union?

I might have some decisions to make soon. I am more of a anti-union type of guy.......I think I will probably cross!

[Clarkey]

I am so sick of unions these days.

They have totally outworn their usefulnes in almost all cases in Canada.

Why does Telus need a union? To protect the worker.. from what exactly?

And I'm sick of their cheap tactics, like condoning vandalism and pulling childish tricks like scheduling phony meetings to miss work.

And how about the useless T**s who get to dog fark under the union with little fear of being fired? What is the incentive to work hard if your DFer coworker can DF aall day and miss work with no penalty?

Good Lord I don't think I could work for a unionized company, and if I do damn rights I would be crossing the line. Which is another thing, what is the deal with threats of physical violence for simply trying to work. I would rather be a scab than a no-good union lackey.

If you look at the leadership of most of these unions, they are being run by a bunch of inbred morons too.

[browna]

I am assuming you're with Telus (or a CBC technician).
Do what's right for you.

If your unions done something for you, or protecting you from some underhanded proposal like making your child work in a coal mine, then stick by them.

If the Unions just getting into a p*ssing contest with the company over trivial (and only you can decide whats trivial) matters, then you have to do what you have to do.

The biggest farce of a union strike I remember was Safeway back in the mid 90's here in town. Those who had been there 10 years or so had some legitmate benefit demands.

But the union spun it that every worker was in danger of being bent over by evil Safeway. This whipped the 15-18 year old part timers into wildcat mode strike, only because it allowed them to give the finger to fellow workers who crossed, yell at them, the freedom to kick their car doors and windshields in, and get on TV for their friends to see. When interviewed on TV, the only response to their actions was because they "were on strike".

[Vulcan]

No, I would never cross a picket line. My take on it is, if you have an issue with your union, get involved and voice your opinion and work to change your unions philosophies. Those who think unions are no longer needed have probably never been involved with a union and don't know the ideals the unions stand for. Most modern unions and employers try to work in a partnership as each likes what the other can bring. The NHL and the NHLPA in their new agreement, is a hard fought example of this. Problems still arise as greed by either party can throw a wrench in this understanding. I would still stand by your union brothers even if you may not agree entirely with their stated objectives. They wil often ask for the moon as a bargaining ploy but will settle for much less. They don't want to see the employer go broke, its not good business.

[Nilson_26]

My job is unionized and it is pretty useless. We have a woman working there who is horrible at her job, just a complete jerk to the customers. A few years ago she told our manager to fata off and got fired, but the union got her her job back.

Our union is also set up to encompass many different types of employees that do very different jobs at very different pay levels. However, we all pay the same union dues every month. Union dues are supposed to be roughly 2 hours of work per month, which they are for some departments. In my department it is closer to four hours worth. Being that part timers work 4 hour shifts, we basically work one free shift per month.

So yeah, I am not a fan of the union, and if I was expected to strike on behalf of my "brothers and sisters" that I don't even work with, I would cross the picket line.

[Indi]

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.

[Cheese]

I am not a Union Lackey by any stretch of the imagination.
Do they have some use? Sure why not...Im positive there is the "odd" business that need them to ensure that employees are treated fairly....but they are few and far between.
One of the toughest things I have had to deal with in moving from Calgary to S. Ontario is dealing with Unions. In Calgary we got the job done period without worrying about silly little things....eg I was Managing the design and build of a Casino down here in the Point Edward area.
The Electrical Contractor had Distribution delivered to site...of course the Teamsters had to deliver it in their vehicles...another Union had to "unload" the vehicle...another Union had to unpackage the assembly....another Union had to "move" the unpackaged assembly into the Electrical room...and then finally the Electrical Union had to connect their product.
In Calgary the Electricals would have handled all of the process and had the connection done in a day. The Point Edward farce took 4 days. Of course when you are on a tight timeline to get a facitlity built this works to a Unions advantage because any work that needs to get caught up on 2nd or 3rd shifts are double or triple time.
I had many "serious discussions" with Union heads and Government officials trying to get this thing built on schedule and on budget. Wasted literally hundreds of hours discussing stupidity with these idiots as opposed to site instruction.

[MarchHare]

When I was a university student, the faculty went on strike in the middle of the year.

They were contending that their salary structure was below the national average -- which was true -- but what they weren't telling you was that they were comparing their salaries to large universities in expensive markets like UofT and UBC (I went to a small university in a tiny town in New Brunswick). If you compared their salaries to other small Atlantic Canadian schools, they were paid relatively equal to their peers.

And of course there was no reason at all that they couldn't strike over the Summer break, but they chose to use us students as pawns, forcing the administration to cave (and therefore raise our tuition more to cover the increased cost of faculty salaries) lest the entire semester be cancelled.

In the end we lost over three weeks of classes and they extended the semester for about a month. That's a month I sould have been working at a Summer job. Naturally I didn't receive any compensation for the lost income.

That was six years ago and I'm still bitter about it.

I'll be the first to admit that unions are necessary in countries with developing economies and poor labour laws, but that battle has already been fought here. Unions are now an anachronism in modern, Western nations.

[Bertuzzied]

Unions suck! I would cross in a heart beat. They breed medocrity and laziness. hahahaha.
I'm on long term stress leave right now. If you can take advantage, take advantage.

[Indi]

Originally posted by MarchHare@Jul 21 2005, 02:49 PM
When I was a university student, the faculty went on strike in the middle of the year.

They were contending that their salary structure was below the national average -- which was true -- but what they weren't telling you was that they were comparing their salaries to large universities in expensive markets like UofT and UBC (I went to a small university in a tiny town in New Brunswick). If you compared their salaries to other small Atlantic Canadian schools, they were paid relatively equal to their peers.

And of course there was no reason at all that they couldn't strike over the Summer break, but they chose to use us students as pawns, forcing the administration to cave (and therefore raise our tuition more to cover the increased cost of faculty salaries) lest the entire semester be cancelled.

In the end we lost over three weeks of classes and they extended the semester for about a month. That's a month I sould have been working at a Summer job. Naturally I didn't receive any compensation for the lost income.

That was six years ago and I'm still bitter about it.

I'll be the first to admit that unions are necessary in countries with developing economies and poor labour laws, but that battle has already been fought here. Unions are now an anachronism in modern, Western nations.

no reason not to strike in the summer.....have you ever heard the term leverage?

[Cheese]

Originally posted by Bertuzzied@Jul 21 2005, 11:09 AM
Unions suck! I would cross in a heart beat. They breed medocrity and laziness. hahahaha.
I'm on long term stress leave right now. If you can take advantage, take advantage.

yeeesh...stress leave. Ok Ill bite...please tell us what constitutes stress leave?

[Bertuzzied]

Originally posted by Cheese+Jul 21 2005, 03:12 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Cheese @ Jul 21 2005, 03:12 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Bertuzzied@Jul 21 2005, 11:09 AM
Unions suck! I would cross in a heart beat. They breed medocrity and laziness. hahahaha.
I'm on long term stress leave right now. If you can take advantage, take advantage.

yeeesh...stress leave. Ok Ill bite...please tell us what constitutes stress leave? [/b][/quote]
You know if you have to go on stress leave for your job, you SHOULDN"T work there! how can it get any better once you come back?

I hate Unions!!! Protect the lazy and the old fogies!

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Bertuzzied that is one of the most ignorant comments I have ever read on these boards, I strongly suggest that you spend a week working where my mother works (no fotze not there) teaching children with severe developmental disorders. Every once and a while time is needed in order for the teacher or the teachers aides to stop due to the stress.

Hell I am sure that if you did a study into the matter you would find that stress leaves are also positives for the company as well due to increased employee productivity when the worker is not under a mountain of stress.

But I guess I support unions to a certain degree, and I can understand why they are there and what their use is. You can't have companies such as Telus acting in such an authoritative manner at the expense of the employee. It would be foolish to think that the employers would not walk all over their employees if they were given the chance.

[Cheese]

LOLOL...attack away you silly yunguns!
Ill be sitting in my rocking chair larfing at your silly asses when you hit my age! Thatll be in about 5 years?
Of course this is presuming Ill be alive!

[Sled]

I wouldn't cross.

I don't think I could look the people in the face whose job I'd be taking to fill my own pockets, knowing that they are fighting for a better work place.

Your not only helping the company whose workers are on strike, continue to allow unfair practices (unless you work there you can not claim that these people are not being treated unfairly) but it also impacts that workers family. If that person is working to put their child through school, making money that is key to their financial well being or working to support people who cannot support themselves. I know of all three cases happening at TELUS right now.

Look those people in the eye as well and say well I'm just in it for the money.

Nobody wants to strike, for those that have families to support and mortgages to pay the last thing you want to do is risk it all.

I worked at Telus for several years and left just recently and know how bad of a working environment it is and the people are trapped as they have little to no post secondary education and are within 5 years of retirement (they started working at TELUS when they were 17 or 18) and are not willing to lose what they worked so long for. I fortunately had a choice and made it on the advise of one of these people just trying to get to the point were they can retire.

Unless you have walked a mile in these people shoes the comments that they "do not work hard" or "I'd cross the line" goes a long way to show your ignorance of the situation.

I'm also of the opinion that the workers of TELUS have not always been completely hard done by. It was a great place to work and most people want it to go back to how good it was. I think that there was a solution to this problem that could have been reached on several occasions it's unfortunate that there are militants at the head of both sides that have little to lose regardless of a Strike or Lockout.

[FireFly]

Originally posted by Indi@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.

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.

[FireFly]

Perhaps I should also clarify... If I believe in what the union was doing, and what it was saying, and it's cause, I would absolutely strike as well. However, since I don't believe the union is right, I believe the prez is just trying to keep his job longer, and is fataing us over to do it, I am absolutely crossing the picket line.

If it was just about the money, but I believe in the union's cause, I'd suck it up, picket, and get a shinguardty second job, which is hard because I'm also a student. However, I'll be happy to take your calls while everyone else fights for a losing cause that doesn't make any damn sense!

[habernac]

IMO, unions are mostly bullshinguard in this day and age. There are obviously some places that work, but for the most part, they end up like the NHLPA, a bunch of spoiled babies trying to squeeze every last buck out of the employer. I can't stand the protection that useless, lazy workers get. Too many idiots abuse the system and have ruined it.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally posted by Mean Mr. Mustard@Jul 21 2005, 03:27 PM
Bertuzzied that is one of the most ignorant comments I have ever read on these boards, I strongly suggest that you spend a week working where my mother works (no fotze not there) teaching children with severe developmental disorders. Every once and a while time is needed in order for the teacher or the teachers aides to stop due to the stress.

Hell I am sure that if you did a study into the matter you would find that stress leaves are also positives for the company as well due to increased employee productivity when the worker is not under a mountain of stress.

But I guess I support unions to a certain degree, and I can understand why they are there and what their use is. You can't have companies such as Telus acting in such an authoritative manner at the expense of the employee. It would be foolish to think that the employers would not walk all over their employees if they were given the chance.

sorry if i offended you, but i should have mentioned it in an office environment. i'm sure teaching disabled children is very stressful.

A telus worker complains of Migraines because she had an old crt monitor, so they give her a new 19inch LCD monitor. Well the migraines pop up again 2 days later. Now she is on stress leave for 3 months.

Another telus worker is on stress leave because she had 3 angry calls in a row and can't sleep at nite.

Is this real?

[Cube Inmate]

Originally posted by browna@Jul 20 2005, 11:10 PM
The biggest farce of a union strike I remember was Safeway back in the mid 90's here in town. Those who had been there 10 years or so had some legitmate benefit demands.

But the union spun it that every worker was in danger of being bent over by evil Safeway. This whipped the 15-18 year old part timers into wildcat mode strike, only because it allowed them to give the finger to fellow workers who crossed, yell at them, the freedom to kick their car doors and windshields in, and get on TV for their friends to see. When interviewed on TV, the only response to their actions was because they "were on strike".

My brother crossed the line during that one and received more than a few threats to his safety and his car.

I stupidly ended up working there a few years after that, and got my own taste of how the union works. Apparently I wasn't fast enough at my job (unpacking boxes in the middle of the night) so they decided it wasn't worth giving me shifts. They *couldn't* fire me because of the union, but they were fine with cutting me back to 0 hours. I just quit at the point, because I realized that the union (that's UFCW Local something-or-other) was good for nothing more than breeding incompetence and laziness, and I was disgusted to be associated with them.

Unions were once necessary to prevent exploitation of workers. Now, the unions themselves ARE a form of worker exploitation. Cross the line, and give them the finger while you're doing it.