Union Myths

[Forever_frost]

FreightTrain...my union fights for my benefits and pay....for the life i put on the line every day i go to work....i agree 100% with what unions fight for.

Using this logic, the military should be union. could you see us striking for better pay?

[slow99]

Unions are inefficient, there's no arguing that. That being said, I would certainly expect the value-maximizing utility seeker, ceteris paribus, to desire a job for which they're overpaid. Just don't try and justify it with some bullshit.

[TexasDevilDog]

What I don't think a lot of the people that voted for it isthat yes they can help fight for your job against some bullshit but if the employers paperwork is right and you have been late to work three times and it's documented the union has to agree to you being fired. Most all that voted for it would be fired quickly.

Paper work is a little more with the union but yes people can be fired. But lazy managers won't do the job to document the problem people.

[FreightTrain]

Unions are inefficient, there's no arguing that. That being said, I would certainly expect the value-maximizing utility seeker, ceteris paribus, to desire a job for which they're overpaid. Just don't try and justify it with some bullshit.

If unions are so inefficent how did my industry which is over 150 years old and 100% union have its most profitable year ever in 2009 and 2010 when the rest of the country and world was melting down. No two unions are alike so stop lumping all unions and union workers together.

On another note I care as much about Government union workers as I do about the lazy bastards that stand in the unemployment line instead of getting a job which isn't much.
Just like I give two shits about anyone that posts in these threads. Ive got a fucking job and I have real healthcare so yall be sure to let me know how social security works out for yall.

[Bassics]

Anyone who thinks unions do any good ought to try working in a unionized data processing center.

Yes, there is a very large one here in DFW. AAFES. It is an experience to say the least.

Of course the union protects them from getting sued for killing people with their data, I'm sure. LOL!

Hey Freighttrain, you ever wonder why those very lawyers are not unionized?

[SMEGMA STENCH]

If unions are so inefficent how did my industry which is over 150 years old and 100% union have its most profitable year ever in 2009 and 2010 when the rest of the country and world was melting down. No two unions are alike so stop lumping all unions and union workers together.

On another note I care as much about Government union workers as I do about the lazy bastards that stand in the unemployment line instead of getting a job which isn't much.
Just like I give two shits about anyone that posts in these threads. Ive got a fucking job and I have real healthcare so yall be sure to let me know how social security works out for yall.

Well, I'd have to ask you if you actually think that you do enough work (or sacrifice enough) to earn the pay that you do. To figure out if you are overpaid, anyway. You seem to have something against those that stand in the unemployment line, while at the same time, you are doing the exact same thing in expecting pay that you aren't worth. Do you have some kind of education? Is there something that makes you truly qualified for higher pay? Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to be a dick or anything, I'm just saying that if you look at all other jobs that are comparable to yours, that don't have unions, you'll find that they make a lot less. And for good reason. Simply put, the job isn't worth more than they're getting paid. If it were, they'd be getting paid more.

Now I'm not opposed to someone getting paid a little more than they are worth, if they are a good employee and the company wants to be good to its people in order to keep them around. Nothing wrong with that. But drastically overpaying their employees? When they can look out the window and see comparable things going on that pay much less? How is that fair to the company? Do they deserve to take a dick in the ass for some reason? Give some kind of explanation other than "I likes moneyz" please. Your bills aren't eligible to be a reason cause you never would have incurred such bills on normal pay.

[slow84lx]

If unions are so inefficent how did my industry which is over 150 years old and 100% union have its most profitable year ever in 2009 and 2010 when the rest of the country and world was melting down.

Maybe because rail is almost a monopoly and there are few competing rail lines servicing the same cities?

[The King]

If unions are so inefficent how did my industry which is over 150 years old and 100% union have its most profitable year ever in 2009 and 2010 when the rest of the country and world was melting down. No two unions are alike so stop lumping all unions and union workers together.

On another note I care as much about Government union workers as I do about the lazy bastards that stand in the unemployment line instead of getting a job which isn't much.
Just like I give two shits about anyone that posts in these threads. Ive got a fucking job and I have real healthcare so yall be sure to let me know how social security works out for yall.

LOL at the smug choo-choo boy.

[FreightTrain]

Maybe because rail is almost a monopoly and there are few competing rail lines servicing the same cities?

We have to compete with a million trucking companies that are willing to haul freight for pennies on the dollar and pay slave wages to their drivers. So no its not a walk in the park. Also railroads have to pay for their own infrastructure and not ride the coat tails of the general public like truckers do. This year my company is spending 3 billion on infrastructure.

[big_tiger]

We have to compete with a million trucking companies that are willing to haul freight for pennies on the dollar and pay slave wages to their drivers. So no its not a walk in the park. Also railroads have to pay for their own infrastructure and not ride the coat tails of the general public like truckers do. This year my company is spending 3 billion on infrastructure.

Gas tax??? State taxes??? Property taxes???

[FreightTrain]

Stanley


To answer your question the only other job like mine is an airline pilot. Im on call 24/7 and I never know when Im going to work. When the phone rings I have 2 hrs to show up to work. I have no set days off. Last year I spent 145 days in a hotel away from my family. On average I see my family about 15 waking hrs a week. On top of that Im licensed by the federal government and Im required to know thousands of rules and regulations that Im tested on all the time and if I dont pass I dont have a job. Lets not forget Im responsible for a train that can be over a mile and a half long and can weigh up to 20000 tons that travels at 70 mph. It aint easy starting and stopping that bitch. Im responsible for over 100 million dollars worth of equipment and cargo everytime I get on a train not to mention the liability to the railroad if I screw up. Plus we are forced to ship the nastiest chemicals on earth because they are banded on highways. So yes Im worth every penny I get paid and I wouldnt do this job for one dollar less.

I'm not a uaw member that tightens nuts all day nor am I a garbage man that works for the city.

[slow99]

If unions are so inefficent how did my industry which is over 150 years old and 100% union have its most profitable year ever in 2009 and 2010 when the rest of the country and world was melting down.

Flawed reasoning... you don't measure efficiency with a gross nominal measurement.

This is all very basic Economics...price floors, deadweight losses, etc.

[4.6coupe]

Stanley


To answer your question the only other job like mine is an airline pilot. Im on call 24/7 and I never know when Im going to work. When the phone rings I have 2 hrs to show up to work. I have no set days off. Last year I spent 145 days in a hotel away from my family. On average I see my family about 15 waking hrs a week. On top of that Im licensed by the federal government and Im required to know thousands of rules and regulations that Im tested on all the time and if I dont pass I dont have a job. Lets not forget Im responsible for a train that can be over a mile and a half long and can weigh up to 20000 tons that travels at 70 mph. It aint easy starting and stopping that bitch. Im responsible for over 100 million dollars worth of equipment and cargo everytime I get on a train not to mention the liability to the railroad if I screw up. Plus we are forced to ship the nastiest chemicals on earth because they are banded on highways. So yes Im worth every penny I get paid and I wouldnt do this job for one dollar less.

I'm not a uaw member that tightens nuts all day nor am I a garbage man that works for the city.

The Elevator Union is the same way... and we deserve every penny we make. If anybody else was on the other side of the fence making what we make and have all the health benefits, nobody else would be griping either. To each his own.

[SMEGMA STENCH]

We have to compete with a million trucking companies that are willing to haul freight for pennies on the dollar and pay slave wages to their drivers. So no its not a walk in the park. Also railroads have to pay for their own infrastructure and not ride the coat tails of the general public like truckers do. This year my company is spending 3 billion on infrastructure.

Ok but have you looked at what your exact counterparts make in other countries that work for other companies? I don't doubt that your job is worth a pretty penny, I'm just not sure its worth quite what the union charges for you. If the job itself is actually worth the money that you make, then the absence of a union wouldn't make any difference. Cause as you probably know, the job would level off at the pay that people would accept for it. Ain't no illegal wetback ever going to get that job.

As for the truck drivers, I got a buddy that is one. Now he doesn't make near as much as you I'm sure, but he told me he brings home about 64K a year. Judging by the type of house he lives in, the cars he drives, and the kind of toys he buys, I'd say that he was probly telling the truth. Not great, but not freaking awful either. He hasn't been doing it long, just around 4 years. Long haul half the time, short haul the other half. But I can't claim to know all that much about unions. If there is a union somewhere that doesn't have corruption, I'd say its probably an ok deal. But I have never heard of one.

[Forever_frost]

Stanley


To answer your question the only other job like mine is an airline pilot. Im on call 24/7 and I never know when Im going to work. When the phone rings I have 2 hrs to show up to work. I have no set days off. Last year I spent 145 days in a hotel away from my family. On average I see my family about 15 waking hrs a week. On top of that Im licensed by the federal government and Im required to know thousands of rules and regulations that Im tested on all the time and if I dont pass I dont have a job. Lets not forget Im responsible for a train that can be over a mile and a half long and can weigh up to 20000 tons that travels at 70 mph. It aint easy starting and stopping that bitch. Im responsible for over 100 million dollars worth of equipment and cargo everytime I get on a train not to mention the liability to the railroad if I screw up. Plus we are forced to ship the nastiest chemicals on earth because they are banded on highways. So yes Im worth every penny I get paid and I wouldnt do this job for one dollar less.

I'm not a uaw member that tightens nuts all day nor am I a garbage man that works for the city.

Really? Because as part of the military, I'm on call 24/7 and am often required to spend 12-18 months from my family. I've seen months where I saw my family a total of 10 hours in a month and that was to come in and get new supplies for a field exercise. On top of that, I'm required to know and understand the Geneva 3, understand what IS a lawful order and who can give one and if I don't pass, I get charged with a war crime. I'm also in charge of guarding multi-million dollar structures and discerning between civilian and insurgent DURING a firefight.

Cry me a river. Should the military be unionized?