Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why? Because it's true. I've worked with unionized government workers. They are lazy slugs.
Inputting a little bit of data and clicking on the mouse for a few minutes every couple of hours just so they could claim they did something, then getting back to chatting? That's what I saw, and they had awful attitudes to boot.
I feel silly posting this, since it’s been over a year since the last post...but I found this thread by searching for why union workers are lazy, and I want the next person searching that topic to find my comment.
I’m AFL-CIO and I’m a very hard worker who doesn’t have a problem following the rules. I have coworkers who work hard like I do. But a couple of my coworkers have no work ethic whatsoever. We work in a safety sensitive position, but they take as long as possible to respond to notifications of emergencies (and sometimes just don’t pass along notifications to others at all). They hardly ever answer the phones like we all are required to, and even brag about how cool they think they are for putting in minimal effort on the job. They’ve called me “dork” for going above and beyond to ensure problems were resolved. Yet management makes a decision they don’t agree with, and they get self-righteous and refuse to let it go.
I end up having to do more work because this one person in particular just doesn’t feel like doing a quarter of her own work. In the interest of public safety, and to support the employees we work with in the field, I & other coworkers regularly pick up her slack. I am eternally grateful for the pay and benefits the union has set up for us, and I work hard in earning those things. But some employees think the company’s job is to cradle them, and they throw mini tantrums when they don’t get their way. I’m not exaggerating...a coworker would talk back anytime the assistant to the supervisor would ask her to do anything - or even ask her a question, just as this assistant asks everyone else. I questioned this employee about this and her very angry answer was, and I quote: “I just don’t like it when she asks me to do things!!” I’m like, “Uh, yeah...it’s her JOB to ask us to do things...”
Of course the expected reply to this will be that there are corrupt workers, union and non-union. Sure. But the non-union employees have to suffer repercussions for their bad actions, up to and including termination. These employees in our union can barely be touched, and boy, do some of them know it!
Yes, but the flip side of that would also be true in the private sector. Some employees would either be too much of an EEOC risk if you fired them, they'd know someone, etc, and you'd be stuck picking up the slack for them, and if you couldn't do the work of three people, you could still get fired for "not doing your job". At least a union would better protect you from being canned for not being able to handle and complete in a timely fashion all the work of slackers thrown onto you than a non-union private sector job would.
I was in the electrical trade for about 10 years as both a union and non-union employee. Really wasn't a huge difference to me as I made the same money in each. While I realize that unions are different from union to union, but what I saw in my union definitely did sour the taste in my mouth.
I was told a few times to "slow down, you're making the rest of us look bad" by a few different contractors.
I witnessed non-union employees having their tools thrown in the dumpster or personal property vandalized.
As a non-union employee on a union jobsite, I had my tools go missing or work sabotaged.
Witnessed a grown man take a non-union workers lunch when he hit the head and rubbed it on his genitals.
And lots of other childish behaviors. I'm sure there are good unions out there but mine sucked. I left that career path and am now an non-union engineer.
I've worked with a lot of unionized government employees. There are some who are fantastic. There are a whole bunch who are just like anyone else... they put on their pants one leg at a time, sometimes make a mistake or do something dumb, but generally just try to get through the day. And there are some who do the absolute minimum necessary, secure in the knowledge that they can't be fired. There are more of those than among contractors, because those crumbs can be fired.
Unionization is just a bad idea for everyone. For the employee, you're forever tied to the lowest common denominator. For the employer, you can't get rid of the bad apples. And for everyone else, it really sucks to see leeches just plodding along while the majority of the workforce has no incentive to take any risks or do better. IMO, anyone who "needs" a union should be summarily fired. If you're any good at your job at all, you do not need a gang of thugs "protecting" you.
Because conservative bilionaires have been footing the bill for anti-union propaganda for decades. They want nothing more than to make workers believe they are better off with fewer rights and that union workers are lazier than non-union, and that without that dead union weight hanging around your neck you'll be able to achieve your full potential.
I went over and over this in my working life. I am on the verge of retirement. Here is my take. No matter what BS people hand you about unions, they are a democratizing force in the workplace. They have good and bad points. But they give workers a seat at the table, and the ability to bargain as a unit. Why do you think companies spend so much time and effort to keep unions out? They are not concerned about employees welfare, that is for sure. What companies want is every person out for themselves. They want every person walking in alone, asking for a raise. Unless you have some awesome skill, the result is usually a mixed bag. Some get a raise, others don't, and it often has nothing to do with work performance. You don't know how many times I heard the "I do a good job, I show up on time, I don't need a union" - then when it was their time in the barrel they changed their tune. Look at the teachers strikes. Think they could get anywhere without bargaining together? But sadly most workplaces are "like it or get out" - and that's the truth. There is not much you can do in most workplaces. Welcome to capitalism in America.
Lazy workers are in every job. Unions are a very important source of middle class jobs. Helped boost the middle class. People against unions usually want workers to work for cheap.
If unions actually spent as much effort supporting the good workers as they do the slugs, then unions would have a better reputation. Even solid blue collar workers are moving away from unions because they see first hand what happens when the union becomes run for the sole benefit of the slugs who make their work harder.
Imagine all the people that could be put to work if we stopped paying american workers what they think they are worth but rather what they really are worth. Sure cap the corporate executive salaries but do it across the broad, No more $50,000+ a year salary for some IT bozo, No, cut their salaries to $40,000 max and imagine how many more people that company can hire if that was the max salary for all employees. Yep, no single CEO should make millions, but imagine the money available to hire people if we cut all american salaries in half. The millions upon millions of workers who will be contributing to their fellow person;s ability to have a job.
But that's not what or how the CEO's want. They only want to cut employees's salary in half so they can put the other half into their pockets. That's how they can become millionaires or billionaires. They don't care about who's out of work. They just care to think how to make the people who work for them have to work harder with less pay than before.
Change the laws to make more employee owned companies, or coops, or similar.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
