Yeah I am interested in this 'cause I've been working for unionized companies all my life. I currently have two jobs, both of which are unionized. Now i don't believe that all unions destroy the companies they deal with. However, I can't beleive that quite a few unions fully support whatever ridiculous demands the workers want, and that they fully defend the lazy assed workers that should've been fired long ago.
I've been on strike twice and both times those have lead to no major improvement. The second strike I was in was completely f**cked up. Read on.
I talked to many of my co-workers the day before we were scheduled to strike. From the conversations I had, I knew that we didn't have alot of support of the workers. There was a last ditch negotiation meeting before we striked the next day. Our bargaining commitee called a meeting the day we were going on strike. I arrived there before my co-workers did. They said that the new changes weren't enough to bring it to a vote and that if a vote was called it wouldn't of made a difference. I told them that we couldn't strike, cause we don't have the support we need, the picket line will be weak because not many people will be there. I told them that I think we made a mistake in rejecting the last proposal and that we should re-vote on it. What came next completely shocked and sickened me. They got very angry with me and were one word away from calling me an outright traitor. The rest of my co-workers were arriving and its obvious that my union leaders and negotiation commitee told them what I said because my co-workers were approaching me asking me why I said that. The meeting started and it was announced that the last ditch negotiations went nowhere. One person asked what those "so called minor changes" were and the negotiation commitee didn't say what the changes were. The question was asked again and still the commitee never devulged the details, and that calling a re-vote is too late and out of the question.
Anywho, the strike came I was a picket captain. Not even half the workers came out to picket at all. Those that did show up were showing up late and several quite picketing alltogether. I was scheduled to have at least ten people on my picket shifts, an average of 5 showed up, 7 showed up on a good day. I had two entrances to maintain picket lines and hardly ever had the manpower for it. Several picketers were going to camp during the weekends, it was a bloody vacation to them. Good thing the strike lasted only two weeks 'cause I was very pissed at my co-workers and union. We voted to accept a contract that was less thanwhat the last ditch negotiation (ie: the so called minor changes my union called it) offer was. Everything I told them before we striked came true. Yet I'm the one who's a "traitor".
That's RWDSU support for ya. And their slogan: "Fighting today for a better tomorrow."
Here's my slogan: F*CK YOU! :angry3:
