Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Highlights:

16.9M Workers in 2009 had union represenation

There are more public sector (gov employees) than private sector union members.

New York has more union members; South Carolina has the fewest

Among full time salary workers, union members had median usual weekly earnings of $908, while those who were not represented by unions had median weekly earnings of $710.

By age, the union membership rate was highest among workers 55 to 64 years old (16.6 percent). The lowest union membership rate occurred among those ages 16 to 24 (4.7 percent).

Is that $908 before or after the mandatory union dues are sucked out?

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MB-less

More likely it is the gross wage before any deductions.

A very wise man once taught what a Union is.

A union is a business, the purpose of that business is to keep the union EMPLOYEEs, NOT the union Members Employed.

Here is a real interesting article about how the Union Employee pension fund compares to the Union Members pension fund.
Both in investments made, and funding level.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0803/private-equity-why-several-unions-invested-in-one-fund.html

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KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

That is partly true, and partly anti union propaganda.

At the very least, uninformed painting with a broad brush.

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Unions are closed shop and open shop. Open shops allow workers to join or not.

For many years in the 1980's and 1990's I was a shop steward (unpaid) for the SEIU local #290 that represented city workers employed in the City and County of San Francisco's Municipal and Superior courts.


It was a closed shop, meaning that whether or not you chose to be a MEMBER of the union, your union dues WERE deducted from your paycheck.


What infuriated me most, about Union duties that devolved to me, was that I had to advocate for ALL members of the Union with grievances, even for members CLEARLY lazy, or that had NO valid grievance, along for good workers that had very valid grievances, that I saw.

And believe me, clueless, and abusive managers and supervisors committed managerial sins on a daily basis, and for this, the Union really had a purpose and raison d' etre.

Likewise, working hours, vacation, sick pay, benefits, comparable salary surveys, and pay step increases and overtime/compensatory time, layoff and discipline and non discriminatory practices, policies and retirement benefits, were *ALL* on the table in Contract negotiations, which occurred every two years in San Francisco, and I personally attended several, as a Union bargaining agent (also for no pay - I never received a cent for anything I did for the Union). Sometimes they went on for weeks and weeks, all day every day, in search of a fair collective bargaining outcome fair in light of all extrinsic and intrinsic circumstances.

Contract negotiations with the City of SF (representives for the City of SF, and management were from the mayor's office) were supposed to be fair, and based on economic conditions, but usually were contentious.

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Based on my experiences firsthand in about 20 years,....

I think some of the remarks made above border on ignorance of union activity and frankly sound defamatory and ignorant, and ONLY focus on Union abuse and instances of fraud and criminal activity, but generally this is a miniscule fraction of Union activity in general.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Just look at the trend in union membership over the last 30 years and you can tell where things are going.

Ah yes, somemore anti-union nonsense from people who have no clue what their talking about. I pay about $2000 a year for excellent medical, dental, vision , excellent pension and not to bad of a hourly wage. How

about you I have no problems paying union dues

I worked at a union shop as summer help so I was non-union and got yelled at my first day by the union shift representative for working too hard and trying to take everyone's job.

I found that the union kept fighting for lazy and worthless workers who didn't do their jobs. But the management couldn't fire them because the union wouldn't let them.

Yeah, right never heard that story before

Not to sat all unions are bad, or that most are bad, but ...
On the jobs where I have done inspections of masonry, the union guys were always complaining about how many pieces they had to place an hour--not too many--not too few. Complaining about the union, or the non union workers. Whatever the subject, it seemed they always were negative and ready to complain. They could not even agree among themselves how to lay split-faeced block--some said even at the front edge, others said even at the back edge, still others said to split the difference.

Maybe that was not typical, but it has been my experience.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Two clients of mine are commercial electrical contractors. One got so fed up with bucking the unions, he left the state & moved to SC and started up a EC business there. Done very well over the last 10 years. The other guy fights with the union (IBEW?) from time to time over union intimidation and work place damage by union *******s.
Destroying tools, switches, panels, pouring concrete in conduits. Things like that.

Funny how many times do you have to hear a story before you start to belive it?

Unions are not so great if you aren't in them or have to deal with them from a management perspective.

I pay $792 a year for my self and wife with no union. What's your point?

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

I think Jim has a very valid point and it was one that I dealt with on a regular basis when I worded for the airline. The union had to represent the worst of the employees and fight for them to keep their job. Unfortunately they were usually successful. We had flight attendants who committed all types of aggreious acts, and weaseled their way out. No one could figure out how since they were in obvious violation of the contract.

I think as with most group, a majority of the people in said group are fairly normal. There seem to be groups with in the group that are very militant. I still keep up with the chat rooms and there are several on there who are all set to strike in this economy. They want all their original pay and benefits back.

Personally I have no interest in being in a union. I know management is out to screw me. That's a given. I do not feel like paying a union to do the same thing. We no longer have sweat shops, we have child labor laws in place. I think the time for unions is over.

One other thing I have noticed that has been mentioned here already is that a union is motivated to keep as many members as possible due to their survival is dependent on the dues. The unions fought tooth and nail against lay offs or furloughs every time.

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

Judging from what I have been seeing and hearing in school that number may be a bit high and will probably drop to 1-2 percent in the next 20 years.


Unions are a thing of the past in this country, the writing is on the wall.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200