That's one of the funniest things I've heard in quite a while.

Thanks

Union member, 20 years Fed, clothed, provided a roof and medical care for my family.

Yes, I have seen the bad side of Unions, but I have also seen hard working people prosper in environments that otherwise would have been less than promising.

I think that Unions are like everything, useful for making change where change was and is needed and then are abused by power, money hungry people, and given a bad name.

I don't know what the prevailing wage to living cost ratio is else where but in Utah it sucks.

Some of the working conditions I see honest, hard working people, just trying to put food on the table and provide a decent life for their families, are the reason Unions were formed and makes me believe that Unions have a place and a responsibility to the working class Man/Woman.

She went home, and isn't a Plimate. I would have liked to share it with her when she was here and seen her reaction. It would have amused me.

I've been contemplating this issue over the last few days, and in light of my last trip to the US last week, I'm shifting my stance.

I still think the Autoworker's union guys need to get off their high horses, but -ZOMG- if we have unions to thank for OH&S laws, the US might need some more union power.

I saw guys on a drilling rig wearing shorts and boots... no shirt, no heavy pants, no hardhat, no gloves, no goggles, no fall restraints, etc. Yikes!

I don't think it would be fair to leave it up to the company to enforce safety, as if only one company did it their costs would increase and business decrease and that's not good.

I assume that in the US unions would have more lobbying power than the average citizen, and if that's the case then I still see unions very, very necessary to advocate for the health and safety of workers.

I want to avoid talking about the union subject since it can go on forever. The real answer is that "Yes" Unions are necessary, and "Yes" Unions are completely unnecessary.

But on the subject of workers safety, it is "everyone's" responsibility. If you have knowledge of proper workplace safety and you see a violation in a workplace you say something...period.

Just this week I pulled over when I saw a painter with two ladders tied together and told him to get down off of the ladder and don't return to work until he has the proper equipment. I do this all the time.
I work many union jobs and see just as many violations as I do on private jobs. The bottom line though is that anyone can shut almost any job down if workplace safety violations are posing a danger.

Here in the U.S. the key word, and place to inform, is OSHA

/threadjack

I understand why you're doing that, Hoosker....but sometimes I really want to let those trying to win a Darwin Award succeed.

Everything would be fine if they would progress with improvement in technology and everything else. Mentality of "this is not my job so I don't care" causes failure of many companies. Entitelment of some sort of makes people less creative or even care less. It is killing creativity.

Change is good and so are labor unions. However, everyone should understand that labor unions work in order to protect the employees from profit minded employers. Oftentimes, company owners neglect the rights of employees thus, they implement absurd policies, to the detriment of employees. For me, this practice needs to stop and this can only be countered by a proactive labor union.

I agree. I'm in the US and they have past their time. I've worked with some of these people and they don't try and help the workers any more. They seem to steal as much as they can from the workers and the companies a like. They're doing more harm then good right now.

I think you are very optimistic too

My husband is employed by the state of Pennsylvania as a parole agent, and I couldn't be more pleased with the work his union does for him. AFSCME (Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees, I think) has successfully petitioned the state for better health insurance coverage as well as up-to-date safety equipment for agents. Some of you may have heard about our budget crisis that kept state employees from being paid for over a month. The union was an integral part of pressuring the governor to approve payroll spending, thus saving my family from going further into debt just to put food on the table.

That being said, I have to wonder about the role of the autoworkers union in the current crisis. It seems that they went beyond their original aim of protecting workers and began taking advantage of their position of power to get wages and benefits that put too much strain on the car companies. I think they need to recognize their share in the responsibility for the financial health of the manufacturers and look for ways to compromise. Bargaining goes both ways.

I agree, this is optimistic.