Words of Wisdumb...

[fatman]

so having a well-paid TSA staff, properly represented and fairly managed, thus attracting more competent staff over time, is a bad thing? Based on what I've seen in construction trades, I'll take Union help over the alternative any day. Right now, the competence level of TSA is low, how can this possibly hurt?

Wow did you type that with a straight face, because i work closely with tradies and i can tell you think not even just a union site but an eba one stuff always runs over time over budget and the quality of work isnt necessarily all that great, and lets not get started on work ethic that is a generalisation but it is a fair call. If i wanted a job done how one would expect it to run i would get a domestic dude to do it even if i had to pay eba rates.

[Wullie]

so having a well-paid TSA staff, properly represented and fairly managed, thus attracting more competent staff over time, is a bad thing? Based on what I've seen in construction trades, I'll take Union help over the alternative any day. Right now, the competence level of TSA is low, how can this possibly hurt?

Wow did you type that with a straight face, because i work closely with tradies and i can tell you think not even just a union site but an eba one stuff always runs over time over budget and the quality of work isnt necessarily all that great, and lets not get started on work ethic that is a generalisation but it is a fair call. If i wanted a job done how one would expect it to run i would get a domestic dude to do it even if i had to pay eba rates.

Of course he supports the unions. SO does the Kenyan. Why do you think the Kenyan bought out GM and shit on the Gulf drilling? How many jobs did the drilling moratorium cost the Gulf states, slick? Before you answer, back it all the way out from the rig hands to the people that build them, supply them, and sell stuff to the families that depended on that industry? Not to mention the fact that the Mid-East has us totally bent over with our pants around our ankles when it comes to oil.
Good job Barry!! EVERYBODY is looking forward to higher priced gas. I'm sure that will fuel the current economic (non) recovery that the left is hailing at the moment.

Productivity is NOT one of the union's objectives. The company I used to do heavy haul stuff for had union operators for their cranes. The trucking department was non-union. We made as much money as the operators, but were paid differently. We made our money by working a lot of hours. The union operators made theirs sitting on their asses. The union hands got over time on a daily basis. We got ours after 50 hours. The company didn't have to pay us overtime at all as we were involved in interstate shipments but they paid it anyway. As we always had a lot of hours, they moved it up to 50 hours rather than the conventionally accepted 40 hours. I was usually on OT by Wednesday anyway, so it was all good for me.

The union didn't like it when the truckers got drafted to help put a big crane together. They filed on the company and made the company pay us union wages while we worked on their cranes. Since it was always BIG cranes, they were required to pay on the high end of the scale. End result? We lost hours and the union hands had to work twice as hard because we weren't allowed to do anything other than unchain our loads and spot the trailers where they were needed, then go "off the clock" and wait to go get our trailers. Another time we got thrown out of the GM plant in OK City because the drivers didn't have a union card. They had to hire union drivers to take the loads into the plant.

Unions were great in the early days of the industrial revolution and the coal mines. They've outlived their usefulness here. Maybe they should go to China, India, Malaysia or Mexico and start helping those people.

I'm with you. I'd pay union rates and hire a non-union hand. Texas is a "right-to work" state and you do not have to join a union to work in a union shop.

[ruggbutt]

Based on what I've seen in construction trades, I'll take Union help over the alternative any day.

You haven't "seen" much then. I've been in the union. It's a joke. We were actually told to slow down because we were getting the job done too fast and under budget. While there are some skilled people in the union for the most part it's passable work for a much higher price. There is no penalty for fucking something up or doing a bad job. Just do it over is the mantra.

If you want to see what kind of people are in the union look at the TSA. Same type. Or look at your local DMV. Or Department of Economic Resources (food stamps). Or the U.S. Post Office. That's the union. Same mentality. No penalty for doing a piss poor job, can't get fired unless you shoot someone.