God do I hate unions(and septa!)

[Deeko]

Ok, those of you around Philly have heard of the Septa strike, which was just averted. Its ridiculous. They take tokens or drive busses, and they are whining because Septa wants to charge them part of their medical insurance? Give me a break, its not like you have a real job. Yes, its necessary, but it is not skilled at all. They were going to strike because of this, Septa gave them a one year deal where they keep the free benifits, AND get a $1000 bonus. To 4700 employees. And some of the workers are STILL saying that they aren't satisfied! God do i hate unions.

 

[zimu]

damit.

haven't taken septa for a while but i'm in NYC and i want to take NJT/Septa into philly on friday. hope they sort it out by then

 

[Deeko]

Oh, did I mention WHY Septa is doing this? Their budget for next year puts them $75 million in debt. God do i hate unions.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: zimu
damit.

haven't taken septa for a while but i'm in NYC and i want to take NJT/Septa into philly on friday. hope they sort it out by then

The regional rail trains aren't affected, thats a different union. This union only does intracity transportation.

 

[beer]

The campus shuttle bus drivers here are complaining that their $9.75-$13/hr wage for driving college students around in circles all day isn't enough.

If you don't like it then quit.

 

[zimu]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: zimu
damit.

haven't taken septa for a while but i'm in NYC and i want to take NJT/Septa into philly on friday. hope they sort it out by then

The regional rail trains aren't affected, thats a different union. This union only does intracity transportation.

ah, then i couldn't care less. i hate philly subways. i'm only concerned with R5 and R7.

 

[Joker81]

You should work for walmart if you hate unions so much.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Unions suck ass. We just went through a strike here in So Cal with the local supermarket union. Damn bitches were complaining because they were being asked to contribute to their health care costs. WAAAA Fvcking Waaaaa!!! I don't give a fvck about their damned cause...They can go climb a tree. Just give me my damned groceries you ignorant fvcktards. It's not like it takes any fvcking skill to scan bananas for christ sake.

 

[milagro]

Exact same thing is happening in Hawaii related to cement workers. The construction industry here is at a complete standstill and others in related industries that are non union are losing theirjob as a result. There are two companies..Hawaiian Cement and Ameron. The union workers make an avg of 85K a year. Hawaiian cement currently pays all Health care costs and wants its union workers to start paying 20%. Ameron workers already pay 20% and the company wants them to pay 30%. I may have the two companies mixed up but everything else is accurate...

I have nothing personal against united workers but I'd rather opt to let the market work things out...the usefulness of unions these days seems to elude me.. We have labor laws/OSHA regulations and a free market now...this isn't the 19th century..

In short it's very frustrating/aggravating..

 

[faZZter]

PACE here.....deal with it.

 

[SSP]

The teachers are always threatening to strike here. Bastards did it when I started high school I think.

'But... but... 50K is not enough for a single teacher!!' :frown:

Fscking hell.. theres at least one union striking every season in here. :|

 

[Bv3]

How can you blame someone for simply trying to get the best deal they can from their employer?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: faZZter
PACE here.....deal with it.

Hmm, a useless union link ads nothing to the discussion here. Do you actually have something to say?

 

[OutHouse]

I have gotten to know the owner of a Amoco station on my way to work. He used to work for the Budweiser Plant in Fort Collins CO. He cant stand unions. For example he got paid 25.00 an hour to do his job for 8 hours of which he would have it done in 4. So the other 4 hours he would do his time by reading novels or something totally unwork related. When he first got hired he was bored and decided to sweep his area and tidy it up. Well the foreman saw that and repreimanded him on the spot. He was told that he was not to do anything esle besides what he was paid to do. By him sweeping his area he was doing another union members job.

He worked long enough to save enough to buy that Amoco.

 

[milagro]

Originally posted by: Bv3
How can you blame someone for simply trying to get the best deal they can from their employer?

I can't...but I prefer it be made on an individual basis..not corporate wide. If I feel I'm worth more than what I'm currently making and don't feel happy w/ my situation, nothing's stopping me from working for someone else or starting my own company where I could provide jobs and well being for several people and their families, further improving the economy.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Bv3
How can you blame someone for simply trying to get the best deal they can from their employer?

This argument makes no sense whatsoever. The reason this is happening on such a massive scale is because of the rising cost of healthcare. The company's income is not going up but their healthcare costs are doubling and tripling every year. Do the math. If the workers don't foot some of the bill (like the rest of us working slobs) they won't have a job in a few years anyway because the company will decide that the cost of doing business is too great and some non-union store will come in and do it for less. It is simple economics. Truth is at least 90% of us pay some percentage of our healthcare costs. Hell, I pay over $200 a month for medical and dental insurance for my family. Yes it is very expensive but it is far less than what my employer pays for my healthcare.

There isn't an instrument made that could measure my indifference to the union's cause.

 

[faZZter]

Yeah I do have something to say........

I don't always like what my union does either, but if it wasn't for the protection we get from them the powers that be would try to take away all our benefits. They do try anyway and we have to grieve the situation to force them to comply with the contract that they agreed to.

I didn't like the grocery strike any more than the rest of you did in SoCal, but I sure didn't cross the picket line to shop at any of the affected stores either. These greedy corporations will take away anything they can from their workers to make more money, they don't care about the families involved.

Anyway I support the union and am glad I am in a union, even though I don't always agree with them on everything. I'd make half as much money if it wasn't for the workers banding together and operating the union.

BTW, the link was just there so you would know what PACE was........but I guess you already knew right?

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: SSP
The teachers are always threatening to strike here. Bastards did it when I started high school I think.

Heh, I dunno how old you are, but during my time in TO's schools we had (IIRC) 3 strikes. 2 for the teachers and one for the janitors.

 

[SSP]

Originally posted by: MartyTheManiak

Originally posted by: SSP
The teachers are always threatening to strike here. Bastards did it when I started high school I think.

Heh, I dunno how old you are, but during my time in TO's schools we had (IIRC) 3 strikes. 2 for the teachers and one for the janitors.

This is how bad it is I guess... I can only remember 1 strike. I am 20 btw.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: beer
The campus shuttle bus drivers here are complaining that their $9.75-$13/hr wage for driving college students around in circles all day isn't enough.

If you don't like it then quit.

It's a mind numbing job.

 

[Bv3]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Bv3
How can you blame someone for simply trying to get the best deal they can from their employer?

This argument makes no sense whatsoever. The reason this is happening on such a massive scale is because of the rising cost of healthcare. The company's income is not going up but their healthcare costs are doubling and tripling every year. Do the math. If the workers don't foot some of the bill (like the rest of us working slobs) they won't have a job in a few years anyway because the company will decide that the cost of doing business is too great and some non-union store will come in and do it for less. It is simple economics. Truth is at least 90% of us pay some percentage of our healthcare costs. Hell, I pay over $200 a month for medical and dental insurance for my family. Yes it is very expensive but it is far less than what my employer pays for my healthcare.

There isn't an instrument made that could measure my indifference to the union's cause.

First, I understand that rising healthcare costs are a problem for everyone, employers and employees. However, with very few exceptions, your employer is not your friend. They will take advantage of you at every available opportunity. In order for the employees to have any leverage againt the company they need to band together. If the employees simply accepted every proposal the company offered they would be screwed. Instead they give a counter offer and eventually a compromise is reached. All these people are trying to do is get as much as they can for the work that they do, and by forming a union they are able to be much more successful. Nobody in their right mind is going to work for $10 an hour if they think they can get $15 just so they can help the company's bottom line.

 

[Xede]

However, with very few exceptions, your employer is not your friend. They will take advantage of you at every available opportunity.

As an employee, no employer can "take advantage" of me. If I don't like what they offer me, I quit and look for a different job.

Unions are inefficient. They artificially inflate wages and provide havens for workers unable or unwilling to earn those same wages based on individual accomplishment and productivity. In the long run, artificially high union wages just raise prices for us all.

 

[HappyPuppy]

All of you pubescent wankers badmouthing unions should try educating yourselves about labor/management relations. If not for the unions you wouldn't be looking at the wages or salaries you hope to garner some day.

 

[dartworth]

All you anti union people need to quit whining. Most of you have no idea what goes on in a union or what they even stand for.

Also, you cannot lump all unions in the the same category. That is just ignorance, of course many of you just talk out of your ass anyways.

 

[hdeck]

Originally posted by: beer
The campus shuttle bus drivers here are complaining that their $9.75-$13/hr wage for driving college students around in circles all day isn't enough.

If you don't like it then quit.

meh, they're just bitching because the regular metro drivers get paid more.