what’s the diffrence between SEIU and SEIU local 2000? http://www.pubdef.net/2008/06/12/seiu-local-2000-for-hubbard/

local 2000 is run by some thugs who think they are gangsters and can make slick deals with others gangsters like Hubbard. The state council is filled with dedicated union activists who actually do what is best for the membership, instead of what is best for themselves.

“St. Louis is blessed to have one of the highest unionization rates in the country, and unions continue to give workers the ability to bargain for a living wage and benefits.”

As the economy continues to be in a downhill trend, will the unions adjust or stand firm? Has the union ever accepted a pay reduction in order to support a company’s need to stay in business?

The unions seem to always refer to themselves as “working families”, but most working families are void of union members. Why is that?

Jim,
Yes unions do adjust to the issues that affect the companies whose workers they represent. There have been concessions many times in order to help the company/corporation. It is not a new thing.

Your statement that “The unions seem to always refer to themselves as “working families”, but most working families are void of union members. Why is that?” would be a shock to my little brother (operating engineers, my brother in law (electricians), my father (electrician), my sister and her husband (Teachers union, my grandfather (pipefitter) and to myself. I guess more supprised than us would be our familes!

If you don’t think we need unions then look no further than nations that do not have unions and tell me their standard of living is better than ours.

In fact look back in history before there were unions here in the USA. Child labor, no 40 hour work week, no overtime, no safety, no vacations and no pensions. Wait, I do believe that during the last eight years we have seen an erosion of the above mentioned issues!

Bubba Union…

When I refer to working family, I generally think of a household, not an extended family. When it comes to my household and extended family, all of the same people don’t belong to a union. (Maybe it has to do with how you are raised -not that there is anything wrong with it.)

The overwhelming majority of households in the U.S. do not contain a union member. None of my friends belong to a union. Some of them have in the past. Some of them still have a union card. None of them are pro-union. They didn’t like being forced into having their union dues support a political party. They say “forced political alliances are kind of un-American”.

I’m self-employed, so union or not really isn’t a choice that I need to make.

Comparing the U.S. to other countries, based solely on union vs. non-union, is like comparing apples to peanuts. Sure, you can eat both, but that’s about as far as you can take the comparison.

I do agree that their was a time where the union played a significant role in labor relations for this country. Then again, the outhouse did alot to improve sanitary conditions for many years.

Are unions really needed today, like they were in the past?

What is the difference between “collective bargaining” and “extortion”?

“Yes unions do adjust to the issues that affect the companies whose workers they represent. There have been concessions many times in order to help the company/corporation. It is not a new thing.”

I hate to put you on the spot, but can you give me an example of union members taking a pay-cut so that a business could continue to operate?

Jim,
An easy local example is the UAW at GM. You should ask yourself if the CEO’s did a similar thing?
So far as union dues being used to support a party, that is simply not true. There are extensive laws that regulate how unions can spend dues money and using it for partisan election materials is outlawed. I can understand how you would have this misunderstanding since you have never been a union member, but I would be wary of what information you trust. The money unions use comes from PAC’s or more typically ’COPE’ funds and by law a union member can not be forced to contribute to them.
So far as what the difference is between collective bargaining and extortion, that is easy. Unions are elected as are union officers. Contracts have to be ratified by the membership before they go into effect. Do you offer your own employees this option? Unions bring democracy to the workplace, anything else can be seen as extortion or just bullying.

Jim,
Thank you for the intelligent discussions about unions.
Nearly every family I know has at least one union member in it’s household. I guess it does depend on your back ground.

It may be a comparison between apples and peanuts as you say but nations without unions are typically a reflection of what the USA looked like before unions here. Child labor, no enforceable health or safety regulations, etc.

When a union negotiates a contract they are not holding a gun to anyone’s head. The only threat that unions have is the threat of a strike and strikes make up a very small portion of all union negotiated contracts. When you asked about extortion the first thing I thought of was GM’s CEO’s pay increase (a mere 64% in 2007). If he is doing such a wonderful job to earn that type of a pay increase why is GM on the brink of bankruptcy?

American Axle earned a profit of $37 million and told the UAW members that workded for them that their pay would be cut from $28 per hour to $14 per hour. The UAW went on strike and eventually settled for the lower wage with deferred compensation to help their members adjust. American Axle CEO Richard Dauch was awarded an $8.5 million bonus for defeating the three-month strike by 3,650 auto workers and successfully imposing deep wage and benefit cuts on the company’s hourly workforce, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last Friday.

In addition to the bonus Dauch received $1.5 million salary, stock awards and other compensation, which brought his total to $18.7 million in 2007, more than double his compensation in 2006. Dauch, one of the highest paid auto industry executives, has pocketed over $300 million since leading a group of private investors who took over several auto parts factories from General Motors in 1994.

Jim, who extorted who? Could you imagine going home and telling your family that you had to sell your home because your pay was cut in half?

Richard and Bubba Union…

I have a pretty hectic schedule today, so I probably won’t be able to digest your comments and get back to you until tomorrow.

I wanted to make sure that you knew how much I, and I’m sure the other readers, truly appreciate your candor and respectful exchange of information.

I can tell you this.- When a CEO makes millions and a corporation files for bankruptcy, I find that to be disgusting. We do need to do something about corporate piracy in this country.