No Labor Unions in Georgia (Atlanta, Ila: 2015, hotel, house)

[Harmony200]

As a native northener who are used to labor unions protesting, why doesn't Georgia have any unions? I heard it is a union free state. Isnt this detrimental?
I would love to hear your thoughts........

[southgeorgia]

there are unions here

[OhioNative]

I am not an expert on unions, but from what I understand Georgia is a "right to work" state, meaning that a person cannot be forced to join a union as in a closed shop type of system. There are union workers down here, but nowhere near the number in some northern states.

[theATLien]

Yeah there are unions here... As a matter of fact Atlanta is the regional capital for most of the unions.

GA is not a union free state. It is a right to work state. So there are unions they just aren't popular, and for 2 really good reason.

1.) The cost advantages of not being heavily unionized is what has conviced a lot of companies to relocate here. Thus is responisble for the prosperity GA has experienced recently by providing low cost labor

2.) By law unions have to fight for benifets for union and non-union members. So think about from our perspective. If you can get all the union benifets without joining a union and paying union dues... why join the union? Basically right to work states free ride. In non right to work state you must join a union in order to work somewhere. Here you don't that is the only diffrence.

[waronxmas]

Seriously, this is 2010 and this information can be googled.

Georgia has 526 unions with 265,036 members. All of the major national unions are represented.

Georgia Union : Union Members - Union,Labor Union, Union Members, Union Directory, Union Member Discounts

» AFGE - American Federation Of Government Employees
» AFL-CIO - AFL-CIO
» AFM - American Federation of Musicians
» AFSCME - American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
» AFT - American Federation of Teachers
» AFTRA - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
» ANA - American Nurses Association
» APWU - American Postal Workers Union
» ATU - Amalgamated Transit Union
» BAC - International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers
» BCTGM - Bakery Confectionery Tobacco and Grain Millers International Union
» BLE - Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
» BMWE - Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
» CWA - Communication Workers of America
» FOP - Fraternal Order Of Police
» GCIU - Graphics Communication International Union
» IAFF - International Association of Fire Fighters
» IATSE - International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
» IBB - International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
» IBEW - International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
» IBT - International Brotherhood of Teamsters
» ILA - International Longshoremen's Association
» IUEC - International Union of Elevator Constructors
» IUOE - International Union of Operating Engineers
» IUPAT - International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
» IW - Iron Workers
» LIUNA - Laborers International Union of North America
» NALC - National Association of Letter Carriers
» NPMHU - National Postal Mail Handlers Union
» OPCMIA - Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association
» SEIU - Service Employees International Union
» UA - United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry
» UAW - United Auto Workers
» UFCW - United Food and Commercial Workers
» UNITE HERE - Union of Needle trades, Industrial and Textile Employees and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
» UPIU - United Paper Workers International Union
» USWA - United Steel Workers
» UTU - United Transportation Union

[EastCoast2GA]

I guess be glad its not heavily unionized, especially the public sector. Thats part of the reason why taxes in the northern states are so high- contractual obligations such as pay increases, free medical, generous pensions.

*Please do not turn this into a union/non-union bashing message chain. My dad was a union member for over 30 years so I can see both sides of the argument.

[axemanjoe]

People are misled by the right to work phrase, all it means is that a person has the right to work without union membership being a condition of employment.

The teachers are probably the most in need of some kind of unionization or at least forming an advocacy orgainzation. Their PAGE group is pretty worthless. My wife and daughter both teach in a local emementary school. The last proposed contract I looked at would be summarily thrown in the trash if it were proposed in many other states in this country. Teachers should surely be covered under the FLSA, thei government employees wh owork for elected officials

Law enforcement and fire service are both also in dire need of a union of stronger organization.

There are dvantages to unions and drawbacks, one gets what one pays for almost every time.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by axemanjoe

People are misled by the right to work phrase, all it means is that a person has the right to work without union membership being a condition of employment.

The teachers are probably the most in need of some kind of unionization or at least forming an advocacy orgainzation. Their PAGE group is pretty worthless. My wife and daughter both teach in a local emementary school. The last proposed contract I looked at would be summarily thrown in the trash if it were proposed in many other states in this country. Teachers should surely be covered under the FLSA, thei government employees wh owork for elected officials

Law enforcement and fire service are both also in dire need of a union of stronger organization.

There are dvantages to unions and drawbacks, one gets what one pays for almost every time.

Hmmm...yes....let's unionize the teachers, police and firefighters, so I can go back to paying $8k/year in property taxes for a 1,000 sf, 50 y/o house like I was in NJ. Let's make sure they get pay increases regardless of performance, get pay increases even in a down economy, get their benefits paid for fully (and paid for life once they retire), get to accrue sick time and retire with $200k of sick time built up, etc.

Ohh, and while you're at it, can you unionize my profession too, and all of the other private sector industries that don't get any of those perks? We'd like to get on that gravy train too.......

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Hmmm...yes....let's unionize the teachers, police and firefighters, so I can go back to paying $8k/year in property taxes for a 1,000 sf, 50 y/o house like I was in NJ. Let's make sure they get pay increases regardless of performance, get pay increases even in a down economy, get their benefits paid for fully (and paid for life once they retire), get to accrue sick time and retire with $200k of sick time built up, etc.

People always being up the northeast US as a counterexample ... however, some areas of the country (e.g., the Twin Cities) have been able to work with unionized teachers, fire, police, etc., in what appears to be a much more commonsense way, and they seem to have been able to avoid having local property taxes go through the roof.

Maybe the folks in NJ just don't know how to do it properly?

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

People always being up the northeast US as a counterexample ... however, some areas of the country (e.g., the Twin Cities) have been able to work with unionized teachers, fire, police, etc., in what appears to be a much more commonsense way, and they seem to have been able to avoid having local property taxes go through the roof.

Maybe the folks in NJ just don't know how to do it properly?

Or NY, CT, MA, RI, and many other places.

How about the auto industry as another example? Michigan isn't in the northeast last I checked. Why is it that companies that build non-union plants in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and other states seem to prosper, while the big three have been up against the wall for years. Remember the "jobs bank" where the UAW negotiated that laid off workers could sit around and play cards for a year and get full pay and benefits?

Many unions started out 100+ years ago as a way for establishing equity and safety for the worker. They have morphed in many cases into enforced mediocrity and a legal shakedown, many times influenced by organized crime.

Georgia is a "right to work state" where no one can be forced to pay dues and to join a union as a condition of employment. If workers want to organize, they can, but it's funny how many choose not to do so.