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Just so you know,union members who choose to not have their union dues spent on labor friendly politicians can opt out of having that particular portion of their dues spent in that manner.
It's against the law for any part of union dues to go to political causes in the first place. To get around that, unions have separate funds for political purposes for union members to give to voluntarily. If someone disagrees, then it must be from long ago when that law did not exist.
I was assaulted by a carpenters union from Los Angeles at my job in Irvine (Orange County Ca.). It was a horrible beating and I thought I was being stabbed as they thrust their picket sign handles in to my side and punched and kicked me. As I pulled myself on to the tractor I was operating they pulled me back to the ground, tearing my shoulder out.
This union traveled from another county to harass a company on our job that previousely used them on their Los Angeles jobs. My crew did not "steal" their jobs, we started the job from the beginning. IT WAS OURS! we supported our families by working on this job. We were happy to work there and were happy with our pay.
I am now in a law suit with the union and am experiencing "first hand" the Despicable tactics that their lawyers use to protect the thugs that physically abused (much to their pleasure) me.
I have it all on video from cell phones and even the unions own cameras. I am looking for advice or just a similar story from anyone who may have experienced anything like this. I am also looking for any other forums that discuss similar occurrences. Thank You in advance.
Watch this video. Yes, they are all union workers and make on average twice per hour than that of their American counterparts. So why is VW such a success? They have the best engineers, marketing people and designers. In other words, it's the non-union management that is much smarter in Germany than ours. They pay their workers a good wage and benefits because they are smart.
And don't tell me Americans cannot do as good a job as these guys. We invented the automobile industry and mass production. It has nothing to do with the union workers. Anyone who blames workers for the challenges of the American Auto Industry is ignorant of the facts.
I don't hate unions. I simply think that one should join a union, because they want to, not because the have to.
I currently am not in a union. I make an excellent wage, health, dental, life and vision insurance, short and long term disability, 401K with company match, AND a pension. I earn 18 hours a month for paid vacation time. (For the mathematically challenged, that's 27 days a year). I also get 10 paid holidays in addition to my vacation time. At the end of every year, I can sell 40 hours of vacation time, and carry over to the next year 40 hours of vacation time, which I find necessary, because I still haven't taken all of my vacation time.
As of 8/9/2013 Max Hours Allowed* 216.00 Prior Year Carry Over Hours 39.45 Hours Earned YTD 144.00 Hours Taken YTD 59.00 Adjusted Hours 0.00 YTD Balance 124.45
Yup, that's right, I have over 3 weeks of vacation time, and even with my up and coming 2 weeks vacation I will still HAVE to take some time off so that at the end of the year, I only have 80 hours left, 40 to carry over and 40 to take in pay.
So tell me again, WHY would I want to be in a union? WHY would I want to PAY a union, just to receive the benefits I already get?
That Volkswagen you see on the road in the US was likely made in Chattanooga by one of their almost 3000 non-union employees that start at about $15/hour.
Also:
Volkswagen to Build Factory in Eastern China in Move to Double Production - Bloomberg Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker, will build an assembly plant in eastern China as part of a plan to double capacity in the world’s biggest auto market within four years. The factory in Yizheng, Jiansu province, will have a capacity to build 300,000 vehicles and will begin production in 2013, Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen said in a statement today. VW announced plans last month to build a factory in Foshan in the southern province of Guangdong. The two factories will increase VW’s production sites in China to 11 and give the carmaker an annual capacity in the country of 3 million vehicles. VW is investing 6 billion euros ($7.7 billion) to expand in the country as vehicle sales boom.
Good wage and benefits indeed.
The main reason every auto maker has set up factories in China isn't because Chinese workers make such great cars, they don't, but because China has a massive 200% tariff on all imported cars. Thus, due to Chinese protectionism, you either set up a factory in China or you don't sell cars in China.
No one is "forced" into a union, on the contrary, most all that are union want to join them. Having fair pay and benefits is a good thing.
I have worked in a "closed shop": Union membership REQUIRED to work there.
I have worked in an "Open Shop": Employees may choose to join or not to join.
I have worked in a "right to work" state: No union, the employees did not want one.
I have worked in a non-union shop in a "closed shop" state.
I have been "Salaried Exempt" in a closed shop. I still hold the union withdrawal card from that promotion.
I made a good living in all of those jobs. Union membership (IAM&AW) did nothing for me.
Sorry, but in a CLOSED SHOP, if you want to work there you ARE forced to join the union!
In fact, in some OPEN shops, where union membership is not mandatory, the contract specifies that non-union employees must pay an "Agency Fee" to the union.
VW's largest factory outside of Germany is in Mexico - where they make Jetta and Golf cars. In the US they have a non union factory in Tennessee.
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