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0 pointssevenf0ur6y ago0 comments

Losing that much per paycheck with nothing guaranteed in return would chaff me after awhile. I hope it works out for them.

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6 comments · 3 top-level

johnpowell6y ago· 3 in thread

I was a union HVAC guy for a few years. And one very nice thing was that there were union shops and they went through the union to find employees. So if work dried up at one place the union would take care of getting my unemployment going and then when work came up they would call and say that I was needed elsewhere.

This probably wouldn't translate well to software. But it works great if you are installing ducts. Same goes for plumbers and electricians. My sisters first husband was a union electrician. That is why I looked into getting a union gig. I hate job hunting.

In the years I did it I worked for five different companies. I didn't have to run around dropping off resumes and doing practice tests. I just got a call from the union and was told where to go to work. And I made significantly more than my non-union counterparts. Easily more than the dues I had to pay.

fiter6y ago

Is this one of the angles that unions use to sell themselves to companies? They can help by providing a well of valuable resources to draw on in an as-needed basis. When both hiring and firing would be an easier proposition, I could see more activity occurring as a result. These people would have experience at different companies and could provide their knowledge like many say is the benefit of people rotating jobs a lot in the SF Bay Area.

dragonwriter6y ago

> Is this one of the angles that unions use to sell themselves to companies?

Unions don't sell themselves to companies in the first place.

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johnpowell6y ago

There is a reason it is called the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)..

If you try to UBER union electricians you are probably going to be in for a rude awakening.

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einpoklum6y ago

If your union is actually _your union_, i.e. yourself and your co-workers, organizing together to do something - then you're not paying to get a "return". You're participating in your own collective effort. Pecuniary union achievements are an added bonus (though a frequent one).

Unfortunately, with larger unions, or those with weaker consciousness and mis-perceptions of what a union is supposed to be - there's alienation between the member worker on one hand and the union and its operatives on the other, and then dues payment seems to be something transactional: "What will you get me in exchange for what I pay you?"

hinkley6y ago

How much of a paycut would you take for getting a guaranteed max 40 (or say, 45) hour work week with no retribution from management?

Put it this way, when I worked at startups that owed me a raise they couldn't afford, I've offered several times to take a 0% raise in exchange for a 10% reduction in hours. Not a single company has taken that offer and several thought I was trying to be funny.

I was not.

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