Union workers

[97cobra...]

So I just got laid off and had to find a new job but I had to take a significant pay cut and I don't like it at all and have been really looking to join the local labor union in hopes of finding a higher paying and more secure job. Are any of you guys in any unions what's the best way to get my foot in the door ? Any input helps thanks guys

 

[ff500]

Try going to the union hall and talking with a business agent or going to a union shop and talking with someone from there.

 

[Coiled03]

So, you want to join a group that promotes mediocrity and laziness?

Good luck with that.

 

[dajohu]

So, you want to join a group that promotes mediocrity and laziness?

Good luck with that.

This. I don't know of anyone in a union that makes more than non-union folks doing similar jobs. They usually make a good percentage less, plus they have all these rules that waste company time and money.

I love being able to walk into my bosses office and work out issues, and if the results are not to my liking, I can choose to go get a better job. I would not want a third party in between my boss and I. If I do at good job a work then I'll get rewarded for it. I would not want the guys that don't pull their weight to get paid the same or more than me regardless of time in position. You want to get paid better, do a better than average job and expect better than average pay. Do minimum job and you get minimum pay.

 

[SNCBOOM]

Welcome to the real world.

 

[STROKER_BILL]

This. I don't know of anyone in a union that makes more than non-union folks doing similar jobs. They usually make a good percentage less, plus they have all these rules that waste company time and money.

I love being able to walk into my bosses office and work out issues, and if the results are not to my liking, I can choose to go get a better job. I would not want a third party in between my boss and I. If I do at good job a work then I'll get rewarded for it. I would not want the guys that don't pull their weight to get paid the same or more than me regardless of time in position. You want to get paid better, do a better than average job and expect better than average pay. Do minimum job and you get minimum pay.

this can be seen as a flawed statement. I work in the railroad industry an can say with 100% confidence that I make considerably more as a union member then privately owns RR workers make. I also have better insurance and retirement then my own doctor has.
there are pros an cons to everything. I can openly discuss my problems with supervision and know that I have a legal binding contract that keeps power tripping supervisors off my back.

 

[97cobra...]

I don't care much for any of that stuff honestly I like my old job where I could talk with the owner and figure stuff out this is more just for find a job then anything else and hard work dosent always pay off if It did I wouldn't be laid off lol but that's the way things go so now I just want to find a good direction to start over again

 

[SNCBOOM]

I don't care much for any of that stuff honestly I like my old job where I could talk with the owner and figure stuff out this is more just for find a job then anything else and hard work dosent always pay off if It did I wouldn't be laid off lol but that's the way things go so now I just want to find a good direction to start over again

Hard work does pay off.

 

[Adamn]

This. I don't know of anyone in a union that makes more than non-union folks doing similar jobs. They usually make a good percentage less, plus they have all these rules that waste company time and money.

I love being able to walk into my bosses office and work out issues, and if the results are not to my liking, I can choose to go get a better job. I would not want a third party in between my boss and I. If I do at good job a work then I'll get rewarded for it. I would not want the guys that don't pull their weight to get paid the same or more than me regardless of time in position. You want to get paid better, do a better than average job and expect better than average pay. Do minimum job and you get minimum pay.

Do u know anyone in a union? I have worked the same occupation both as a union member and as a non union member and there is a considerable difference in pay, health insurance and retirement. Not every issue you may have with your superiors has to be worked out through a union Stewart or buisness agent. The pay scale set by the union is only the minimum amount they r required to pay employees, if you are valuable enough to your employer they can pay you whatever they want or whatever it takes to keep you.

OP do you have any experience in any fields that you are considering joining their union? If you are thinking about construction trades I would suggest electrician or plumber/pipe fitter and your best bet to get in is to go to the union hall and talk to a buisness agent.

 

[D's01Snake]

I heard the UAW isn't lazy, uneducated, over payed, or anything.

 

[97cobra...]

Do u know anyone in a union? I have worked the same occupation both as a union member and as a non union member and there is a considerable difference in pay, health insurance and retirement. Not every issue you may have with your superiors has to be worked out through a union Stewart or buisness agent. The pay scale set by the union is only the minimum amount they r required to pay employees, if you are valuable enough to your employer they can pay you whatever they want or whatever it takes to keep you.

OP do you have any experience in any fields that you are considering joining their union? If you are thinking about construction trades I would suggest electrician or plumber/pipe fitter and your best bet to get in is to go to the union hall and talk to a buisness agent.

I don't have any experience so I'm going to start as a apprentice as far as my last job experience I worked for a masonry products company make retaining wall blocks and General contractor blocks I did learn a few things there though like welding, hand grinders , cutting torch and driving some heavy machinery so I'm not sure what would suit me best

 

[01GTB]

Friend of mine got in with Disney as mechanic last year. His first stop was the union hall. Happened pretty quick too.

 

[slow306stang]

This. I don't know of anyone in a union that makes more than non-union folks doing similar jobs. They usually make a good percentage less, plus they have all these rules that waste company time and money.

I love being able to walk into my bosses office and work out issues, and if the results are not to my liking, I can choose to go get a better job. I would not want a third party in between my boss and I. If I do at good job a work then I'll get rewarded for it. I would not want the guys that don't pull their weight to get paid the same or more than me regardless of time in position. You want to get paid better, do a better than average job and expect better than average pay. Do minimum job and you get minimum pay.

Your post shows you know absolutely nothing about unions. I work hard and I receive well above the base rate...which is $10+ an hour over any non union person in my same spot and thats not including benefits. Make stupid decisions in a trade and you make stupid money. I can tell my boss anything that's on my mind. If it doesnt work out my union will have me a job the next day.

if I dont work hard I get canned just as fast as a non union person. If I got canned I go on the out of work list. The next company picks me up for a job and if I suck...guess what happens. Im now back on the list and out of work. I work in skilled trades so im not talking about supermarket unions.

 

[usmotox]

Millwright is a very good way to go with your skills but the job may be anywhere for any length of time.
You have to put out to make it through. Electricians are also good way to go. The reason people still make good money mostly is due to Unions and setting the bar some years ago. I make more than the people that live around me and most of my friend network. I have done so for 39.5 years And if you are lazy you will not make it.

 

[dajohu]

Do u know anyone in a union? I have worked the same occupation both as a union member and as a non union member and there is a considerable difference in pay, health insurance and retirement. Not every issue you may have with your superiors has to be worked out through a union Stewart or buisness agent. The pay scale set by the union is only the minimum amount they r required to pay employees, if you are valuable enough to your employer they can pay you whatever they want or whatever it takes to keep you.

Yes I have family and friends in unions. I guess I've seen and heard nothing but bad things, so I can only speak about those things I've been exposed to.

Brother in law that has been on layoff many times over the years, one time I asked him if he would choose to go back to work rather than stay on layoff, his response was "why would I want to do that?" He is a great father and husband, but I lost a lot of respect for him that day. I was thinking, you know, provide for your family and put something into society rather than sitting at home. He is 10 years older than me and has only a small percentage in retirement as I do.

Brother that was in management and cussed the unions for years, and when he left that job he went to a union job at the railroad, took a huge pay cut, plus he can't help others or cross certain lines in the sand. Companies I've worked for actively encourage cross training and backing each other up as much as possible. He will get paid to just sit on his ass in a hotel room, talk about wasted company money, and brags about it like it's something to be proud of lol. He also has been on layoff, and they put people back to work based on time, which is crazy stupid. Put the most skilled, best performers back to work first!

Step brother that was in a state union, was not allowed to do anything other than install radios. He couldn't test them, troubleshoot them, help out at the radio tower sites or with any consoles. He was a fresh out of college kid who's brain was wanting to soak up as much knowledge as possible. He was paid to do that one thing, and when work was slow he couldn't do anything else. He now works for my company and is allowed to do anything in our dept, we hired him at more per hour reg time now than he made on OT with the state.

Guy that I used to work with went to another city doing same sort of job. Money was the same (higher hourly pay but also higher taxes and cost of living). But there he would go to a communications site and see an alarm, which he was familiar with and could log into equipment and find out the issue, but wasn't allowed. That was another persons job. So he would have to call it in, drive back to the office while the other guy would drive to the same site to do what my friend could have done. Also he got yelled at for coming to work and trying to get started a few minutes early. The old farts told him he needs to wait until 1 minute till then start work. For crying out loud, we encourage our folks to arrive early and get coffee, cleanup desk, go through emails etc rather than walking in at the last second. **Forgot to mention that he left the union job (technician) and moved into engineering (non-union). He still can get into trouble tho doing things like moving a phone because that is "robbing" the unions folks work from them, even tho the only reason he does things like that is because no one is around certain days to get that work done.

Unions threatened to come into one of our plants, even got a few (maybe 3 or 4 out of 800) to sign up. They would have made a lot less money by the time the costs for the union figured in, or our costs would have went up, or both. It just didn't make sense for our company and luckily that all went away after a while. Every few years the try to come back.

I guess I just wouldn't survive a union environment. If things were slow I would help out where ever I could and I'm sure I'd be pissing people off and/or constantly breaking the "rules". It's just not for me.

 

[01cobravortech]

I worked for a union for years.

Don't listen to all the jealous and envious clowns who think you have to embrace mediocrity ro be unionized. In fact, many union employees who work for the government, work far harder than anyone that is in the private sector. But don't tell that to those self righteous idiots who think private sector = harder worker.

I have quite a few friends who work for private sector Fortune 500 companies...and what they can get away with...would easily convince you that many government employees, are hardly lazy or putting their feet on the desk.

All that matters is what industry you are in and what your responsibility load is.

This idea that government or state worker = lazy and private sector worker = HARD WORKER and ENTREPENEUR...is the greatest myth ever perpetuated to the anyone coming out of college or leaving another industry. Been on both ends and you have MYTHS working on each side.

 

[usmotox]

Northern people don't seem to have a very good union

 

[alex3610]

Unions can vary greatly depending on the trade or business involved. If conditions were good, benefits and pay were fair, and management treated everyone right, unions would disappear quickly. If you are talking about getting a job in the building trades with a union, typically they will advertise in the paper when they are taking applications and running a test. It's an aptitude test of sorts and be prepared for lots of competition for very few spots. Prior experience/training/certifications can factor in depending on the trade.

This site tends to have a lot of conservatives, and a lot of which (not all) seem to be easily brainwashed by the anti-union sentiment that is pushed in this country right now through a lot of the right wing media outlets. Follow the funding of these groups (billionaires like the Koch brothers), and it's pretty easy to see if you don't like paying and taking care of employees and rather see them as a necessary evil rather than people, you will hate unions. Don't get me wrong, there are some corrupt people running some unions like anything else in this world, but by and large I believe in organized labor. If you end up in a union, go to the meetings, ask questions, and stay involved. I used to work at a union plumbing & heating shop. The guys there were well paid, had decent insurance, and a realistic retirement. Most importantly, the company will still competitive with the non-union shops. Currently I'm a union member in the public sector working for a fire department in a Right To Work (for less) state, and the union is absolutely essential here, especially in this ultra anti labor environment that I'm in.

What line of work are you in?

 

[Adamn]

Northern people don't seem to have a very good union

Unions differ from state to state and even different areas of the same state can have different unions. Not to mention unions are completely different from each other depending on what line of work you are in so to make a comment like that is ignorant. A friend of mine was a union electrician in Florida and only made a little over $18 per hour and union electricians where I live make around $35 per hour so it seems to me like "Northern people" are doing alright compared to southern people.
I have worked at power plants during shutdowns which usually brings in out of town workers (travelers) and most of them are from the south.

 

[97cobra...]

Unions can vary greatly depending on the trade or business involved. If conditions were good, benefits and pay were fair, and management treated everyone right, unions would disappear quickly. If you are talking about getting a job in the building trades with a union, typically they will advertise in the paper when they are taking applications and running a test. It's an aptitude test of sorts and be prepared for lots of competition for very few spots. Prior experience/training/certifications can factor in depending on the trade.

This site tends to have a lot of conservatives, and a lot of which (not all) seem to be easily brainwashed by the anti-union sentiment that is pushed in this country right now through a lot of the right wing media outlets. Follow the funding of these groups (billionaires like the Koch brothers), and it's pretty easy to see if you don't like paying and taking care of employees and rather see them as a necessary evil rather than people, you will hate unions. Don't get me wrong, there are some corrupt people running some unions like anything else in this world, but by and large I believe in organized labor. If you end up in a union, go to the meetings, ask questions, and stay involved. I used to work at a union plumbing & heating shop. The guys there were well paid, had decent insurance, and a realistic retirement. Most importantly, the company will still competitive with the non-union shops. Currently I'm a union member in the public sector working for a fire department in a Right To Work (for less) state, and the union is absolutely essential here, especially in this ultra anti labor environment that I'm in.

What line of work are you in?

Currently I'm doing an assembly job and to be honest it's just for lack of better way to describe it but it's to easy just not the way I was thought to work and the pay isn't what I want or need. But for now it's at least paying my bills. I'm open to do any work I'm only 21 so I know I have some time to figure out what's right for me but I wanna figure it out ASAP