Boilermakers Union

baldduck74 · Aug 31, 2017

I work for a large aggregates producer, here in southern Indiana. Some of the younger new hires have brought it on themselves to contact the Union. Myself I'm on the fence about it.
Anybody have any experience with them good or bad. Thanks

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Forbanger · Aug 31, 2017

I think they had their place at one time. But in my experience they have done nothing but **** me over. They have protected the lazy worthless bastards that should be fired (or worse) and hung the good workers out to dry. I was removed from a position and given a $7 cut in pay because I wasn't "in the club".

baldduck74 · Aug 31, 2017

Re:

That's kinda the **** that worries me.

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civicmindedex79 · Aug 31, 2017

I won't get on here to argue with anyone- every union, every local, every member is different. I am a Vice President in my local union. I am not a huge union pusher, I won't be that person that downs you or whatever you wanna call it. I have been union for 14 years first with PACE and now with USW since the merger many years ago. I will give you this advice and anyone who wants to disagree they can do so. I am referring to my local union only and not ALL unions. Just like taking a ****, there are good ones and there are bad ones.

1) The union is what YOU make it. Just like in life if you don't like how something is going get involved.
2)I got involved because I knew nothing about it and knew they was going to have so much influence in my livelihood.
3)The union has a place when there is issues with the big 3. Safety, retirement/wages, benefits.
4)I like the union personally because I have a voice in things that are decided and the company does have to atleast pay attention to what you have to say.
5)Also like it because if someone has a rough patch in their life there is some protection there for them to straighten up before just kicked to the curb. I am not talking about lazy asses that use the union as an excuse or folks that don't show up for work.

edit: There are many threads on here about union discussions search and I promise you will find them.

Zjman · Aug 31, 2017

Fawk a union to hell, my brother was a member of a sheet metal workers union and the company closed and the union took the over 100,000 that was in their local and told em to pound sand, my step dad was a united mine worker most his life, when **** went south in Kentucky and West Virginia in the 70's and 80's the Ohio guys went down and helped, about 1990 they needed help and not one person came to help and the mine closed, I deal with a few union steel mills and let me say that the workers treat a trucker like a piece of garbage and won't even speak if you ask em a question, unions had their place in the day but they are useless now, there's people at the lords town Ohio gm assembly plant that come to work everyday and set in a room and can do whatever they want and are collecting full benefits and salary and some have done it for years. That's one reason cars are so expensive. When the economy **** and almost bankrupt the auto industry there were several hundred people doing the breakroom deal cause union wouldn't allow them to be laid off.

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98TJ · Aug 31, 2017

Forbanger said:
They have protected the lazy worthless bastards that should be fired (or worse) and hung the good workers out to dry.

EXACTLY my experience.

dwa2469 · Aug 31, 2017

I think unions still have a place, people always say they had a use before, but, corporations would have conditions back like they were pre-union, if they could do it. They do it every day in other countries.

DallasBlade · Aug 31, 2017

I work for DOD and we have a union. I've never felt like I needed to have anything to do with it. Haven't seen them accomplish to much...

baldduck74 · Aug 31, 2017

I have been a member of unions before, and believe they have a place. There is so much mud slinging from both sides, and know more about the company I work for, than I do about the boilermakers. was just curious on any ones experiences with them. Thanks for the reply's. I'm thinking I will be voting no. And moving on to another place of employment, only been wheeling once this year cause of work.

Beerj · Aug 31, 2017

baldduck74 said:
I have been a member of unions before, and believe they have a place. There is so much mud slinging from both sides, and know more about the company I work for, than I do about the boilermakers. was just curious on any ones experiences with them. Thanks for the reply's. I'm thinking I will be voting no. And moving on to another place of employment, only been wheeling once this year cause of work.

If you're moving on then why vote? No sense in swaying the outcome if it won't be affecting you either way. Leave that to the guys sticking around.

Elliott · Aug 31, 2017

I know where a union leader is building a new house on a river, his guest house is 7,500 feet if that tells you anything. And his only income is representing members

baldduck74 · Aug 31, 2017

We vote Monday, and until I can find the new place of employment I'm pretty much stuck there.

gottagofast · Aug 31, 2017

I can say this... I'm a member of the operating engineers.... I do pipeline construction... I have also done the same work before joining the union..... you see all types of workers both union and non.... In my line of work some of the best I've seen are union workers.... the union does a lot of training...

That said I'm in the union because without it I would be on my own for health insurance and retirement.... If your company treats it's employees fairly and pays a decent wage for the work performed then maybe you don't need a union.

The whole point of a union is the power to bargain collectively.... If you have a beef then you may get somewhere by sticking together.... If you just want to squeeze a bit more blood out of a radish then you might just succeed in getting the place closed.

baldduck74 · Sep 1, 2017

Re:

Most of my complaints with the company I would consider minor, it's a couple younger and one older fellow who brought them in. Me myself I'm just burnt out, but don't really feel like they could do much for us here. Thanks

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Zjman · Sep 1, 2017

My best friend and my uncle worked for a fiberglass plant. Union told em to take a 1.50 pay cut and shitty insurance or plant was gonna pull out, they signed it and couple years later they pulled out anyway so what good did the union do?

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jeeptj99 · Sep 1, 2017

Just my .02 but everything I have ever heard about unions is they are like SWFDA.... But that's second hand I've never been part of one so that's outside looking in.

gottagofast · Sep 1, 2017

Zjman said:
My best friend and my uncle worked for a fiberglass plant. Union told em to take a 1.50 pay cut and shitty insurance or plant was gonna pull out, they signed it and couple years later they pulled out anyway so what good did the union do?

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Maybe not but it SOUNDS like they maybe got em a couple more years of employment....

Remember, the employees ARE the union and vote on EVERYTHING..... there's no magic.... remember that the voting members are part of the same voting pool in this country thay brought us obummer.... so bad choices can be made with or without a union....

Dirt700 · Sep 1, 2017

I'm a member of a Pipeliners Union in Oklahoma. They way they have theirs set up is pretty good. You are still able to get fired if you don't work, so that keeps some of the lazy out. We have excellent insurance and good pay, especially compared to non Union pipeline.

I did work for the railroad for a very short period and that Union was more like what some of you are talking about, lots of lazy people, and the union rep where more worried about padding their pockets, than the rights of the workers.

yankster · Sep 1, 2017

If you work a non-union job, especially factory work, and you have competitive pay and good benefits it's due to the businesses needing good workers and not wanting a union in place, not because they want you to have nice things. Good non-union jobs exist because of the legwork the union gigs did for years demanding a fair piece of the company pie.

truckbroke · Sep 1, 2017

DallasBlade said:
I work for DOD and we have a union. I've never felt like I needed to have anything to do with it. Haven't seen them accomplish to much...

Yeah DOD here to. I actually joined there union about 2 years ago for some stupid ass reason. They truly accomplish absolutely **** for us here in south GA. There here to protect the **** sorry workers as far as it seems to me. They can`t even get us our damn wellness back.