What Have Unions Ever Done For You?

[kpete]

For Labor Day:

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[appleannie1943]

1. My husband was a Union Steward. They paid our bills and fed our

family and sent Santa to our house to provide Christmas for our 7 kids when the shop where he worked suspended him for 9 weeks over a labor dispute.

[iamateacher]

2. I have had 2 careers

As a social worker, no retirement, no pension. As a public school teacher, a pension. The difference? A union.

[choie]

4. I'm a social worker...

and agree wholeheartedly...

[iamateacher]

7. Both are very important jobs

They are both low pay, most of the time. Both deserve unions.

[TexasProgresive]

3. All of what the toons show

Fed my family, housed us, enabled me to drive to work, insured us and managed to keep management off our backs so that we could do the work. Oh! pensioned me.

[Stuart G]

5. The presence of the union saved my job..It

It is a long story, but the fact we had a union..(I taught in a high school in a large Midwestern city) saved my job. I caught someone in administration messing with a grade I gave a student. I gave the kid a D (just passing barely) ...and the administration gave the kid an A..(superior). So I made a big deal of it..eventually action was taken.
The fact that the union was there, was enough to keep the administration off my back. I had been rated an excellent teacher at that school. If they had gone after me, tried to fire me for causing trouble...I would have been protected by the union. Without that protection, if I had made a big deal, then as soon as summer came, I would have been fired. (yes I had tenure, but they administrators would have found a way, to get rid of me.) As it was, things worked out as best as they could. Given the union, the administration would have had to prove gross incompetence or negligence on my part...there was none.. The mere presence of the union made it impossible for the administration to take action about the fact that I discovered cheating on the part of the administration..(and made a big deal of that cheating)

...We the teachers had a union contract, and in order to fire someone, procedures had to be followed, and proof of negligence or incompetence had to be given and substantiated. Basically, I was left alone and I kept my job, and the classes that I taught.. A few years later..I got a transfer to high school much closer to where I lived..and a student body with far less difficulties...

[Heartstrings]

6. My husband was a UAW union member for 25 years

during a strike the union supplemented his wages, personally delivered food to our home, often times brought toys or books to my children as well. It wasn't easy, but any grievances my husband had against AMC/Chrysler were always handled swiftly and fairly.

[xmas74]

10. Did you say AMC?

I had uncles who worked for AMC. One stayed with Chrysler for a bit, even relocating.

[Heartstrings]

23. Yes AMC plant in Kenosha, WI

When Renault took over in '85 we relocated to Arkansas....my husband did go back to Kenosha when Daimler-Chrysler took over, and retired quite nicely. Thanks to the union!

[xmas74]

33. I'm originally from Wisconsin.

Kenosha is my hometown.
I miss it.

[Heartstrings]

35. Fond du Lac is my hometown

But both my children were born in Kenosha....

[xmas74]

36. I miss it.

It's changed so much since I was a child. The Spot is still around,as is Tenuda's and Andrea' s so I guess that's something.

[Heartstrings]

37. Don't forget Hungry Head!

[xmas74]

39. Hungry Head is still around? !

Drool

[BigmanPigman]

8. AT&T gave my dad a great job with great benefits. SDEA (San Diego teachers)

saved my life literally and then I was harassed for over 10 years due to it. I tried to unionize Macy's (during my official breaks, off the clock) when I worked there and was harassed for that too. Did it stop me? Fuck NO!

When I had to change careers due to the economy one of the reasons I chose teaching was due to their union protection. San Diego Unified is the 6th largest district in the country. During my 5th year teaching (I was already the Alternate Rep for my site) I became very ill due to a moldy classroom. I had picketed with the teachers before I was hired and was subbing while waiting for an opening. The teachers remembered this and helped me get hired. When I got sick I was coughing up blood at night (so were my students). The principal and district responded to my pleas for help to take care of the sick building by sending in district health inspectors who told me to use Lysol, gave me a fan, told me to keep the door closed (there were no windows) and that there was more mold outside than inside. Meanwhile the ceiling tiles buckled under the weight of the brown, stagnant water from the recently installed A/C. I finally took photos of the classroom and all of my doctors' test results to the teachers union. I was kicked out of school since I was so sick. I had kept working since I had used up all of my sick days in 6 weeks. The union took care of it from there. The second week I was sick at home a fellow teacher called me to tell me that all 8 classrooms that had mold were so infected that they were being torn down and new ones would be dropped in during Winter Break and I could return. Then the principal called and asked which new room I would want. After I returned he harassed me to the point that I tried to get a position at another school but couldn't. After that I had 4 different principals at 3 different schools and was harassed like you couldn't imagine by all of them. I sued the district and won ($3,000) to compensate me for the 17 sick days and out of pocket health care bills. I was told there was a list of 17 other schools with the same problem and to settle for that amount since there was no more money in the district. Meanwhile I was left with permanent lung damage and continued to get very sick ( hospitalized for Pneumonia and for severe Mononucliosis). I finally retired with disability (yet no health insur) 4 years ago since my entire body is now prone to any illness. One year ago I was diagnosed with another disease and this one has no cure and is fatal.

I would not be alive now if it had not been for the union. During my career I went to rallies, meetings, and picketed whenever the district sent out pink slips for 5 straight years due to their budget and the recession. None of the younger, newer teachers who DID get pink slips (some were rescinded) ever did anything except pay their union dues. I had/have no respect for them whatsoever! They do not give a shit about what the union does for them. If I were still teaching and knew I was going to be leaving I would happily tell them to go straight to hell without a pension, health insurance, or any pay increases. Their apathy is killing unions as much as Reagan did.

[mdbl]

9. I work with a bunch of union members

who think voting for moron fascist repuglicans is a good thing all because they listen to right wing hate radio and watch Fux nooze. It's very difficult to foster solidarity within them. Repugs have convinced people to be narcissistic and ignorant at the same time. Like trump, most of them don't give a shit about anyone else unless it is happening to them. They are stupidly allowing everything I have been on strike for in the past, slip away in the name of some weird christian fascist way of thinking which will just make them slaves to the greedy for generations.

[xmas74]

12. I've discovered how to stop it.

Have your state lawmakers enact Right to Work legislation, even though the voters overwhelmingly voted it out. I've never witnessed so many hats, shirts, bumper stickers,etc proudly stating Union,showing up to local democratic meetings, stating they'll vote the GOP out of Jeff City.

Hit em in the pocketbook.

[mdbl]

38. I live in the state that first enacted the orwellian coined 'right to work' laws

Georgia is really backward and stupid that way. Big business loves it, of course.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

11. Proud NEA member

in a state which has shit on teacher's unions.

[Orrex]

13. Unions are responsible for every single thing that doesn't suck about jobs today

The privileges that we take for granted (overtime, minimum wage, paid time off, healthcare, worker's comp, the list goes on) is expressly due to the efforts of unions, often paid for with literal blood.

Anyone who badmouths unions is full of shit.

[trof]

14. Gave me a very nice career. ALPA - Air Line Pilots's Association. AFL/CIO!

AND a pension.
AND medical care until I reached 65.
AND dental care.

[DemoTex]

30. And the safest air transportation system in the world!

Enhanced crew duty/rest rules
TCAS (traffic alert and collision avoidance system)
Cargo compartment fire/smoke detection and suppression
GPWS and E-GPWS (ground proximity warning system and enhanced GPWS)
Smoking ban
ALPA airline accident investigation team is highly respected by US NTSB and in demand worldwide (ALPA's investigation of US Air 427 crash got the blame shifted from the dead pilots, to the real culprit: the Parker-Hannefin rudder actuator)

And the list goes on, and on, and on ..

The US FAA, Air Transport Association, and coordinated airline managements fought these (and many other safety initiatives), tooth-and-nail. ALPA fought back. In many cases, it took body count to bring the government around. Good example: the crash of ValuJet 592 on May 11, 1996, with the deaths of 110, got us cargo compartment fire/smoke detection and supppression. That was something ALPA and APA (Allied Pilots Assoc - American Airlines) had fought for for years.

ALPA - Air Line Pilots's Association, AFL/CIO. Proud member, and proud member of the ALPA Central Air Safety Committee and Airline Accident Investigation Team!

"Schedule with Safety"

[blueinredohio]

15. A proud UAW member. If not for a union I wouldn't have half of what I.have now

Always a union supporter

[burrowowl]

16. Great Collection!

[hunter]

17. My dad and a sister-in-law are hard core union.

I've my dad and two grandparents who retired with good union pensions.

I've had union jobs, and jobs that paid well because of unions.

Happy Labor Day.

[GulfCoast66]

18. I am a manager thus not a union member, but...

My employees are unionized even in right to work Florida. I figure they being unionized nets me 30-40K more per year since they make better than 15K more than nonunion workers. Not to mention actually being paid for every hour work and that they can not be fired because one of them pissed me off. Not that I would ever do so but hopefully you get my point.

I have good relationships with our union reps and we normally handle disagreements in a respectful manner.

I would not want to manage in a nonunion company.

[Srkdqltr]

19. Proud Union Member

My husband is a Boilermaker, member of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths and Helpers. He joined in 1965. Now retired with a good pension he enjoyed working in the steel industry and power plants all over Michigan.
He is first and foremost a Boilermaker.
Soon after joining the union he and his brothers stood up for health insurance, retirement (they got $25 a month at the time) vacation pay and many other things that the members need.
Unions are necessary and needed.

[shanti]

20. Accepting a union job

almost 30 years ago, was the best financial decision I EVER made in my life. As the direct result of my union, I've been retired with a pension for over 6 years.

[GeoWilliam750]

21. Don't forget OSHA

And that the US was never more prosperous than when Unions were at their strongest

[Danmel]

22. My family was in the rag trade.

They were Holocaust survivors who came to NY in the late 1940s. They were tailors in Poland and came here, penniless and barely literate in English. My uncle and father, the sole survivors in their family, joined the ILGWU, the international ladies garment workers Union, and through the union, attended school, learned English, made solid middle class salaries, were able to buy homes, send their children to college and have good lives.
We lose this at our peril.
Solidarity forever!

[Willie Pep]

24. Yeah even if you were not a union member unions made life better for most workers.

Back when unions were strong many companies would give concessions to their employees in terms of pay and benefits in order to prevent them from organizing, so even the mere threat of a union organizing was enough to get companies to give concessions. Now that unions are weak employers feel like they can push workers around more and give lousier terms of employment.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

25. Provided me with skilled craftsmen

Working for many years as a field engineer, union construction and maintenance trades people were always the best on our jobs due to very strict apprenticeship programs they go through to become journeymen. Their training and skill levels are high, and reasonably consistent across the USA. They can be a pain in the ass to work with at times, especially when they have a grievance but once you learn their union's rules, work goes very smooth.

There are plenty of highly skilled non-union tradesmen around the country, but you have no guarantee of skill level, training level, or consistency. When you call in a crew off the street or with a small contractor, you never know what you're getting. Often, it takes a lot of hiring and firing to get it right. Getting crews to pass drug testing is another story.

Also, the union journeymen take a lot of pride in helping apprentices learn and advance.

[TEB]

26. Great cash good medical and pension

Only way to work with a CDL hold a Union card

[GreenEyedLefty]

27. Higher prevailing wages, guaranteed benefits.

My dad was a UAW member and the son of a 1937 Sit-downer. We were not wealthy by any means but thanks to decent wages my parents owned a home and were able to buy a new car or two when I was growing up.

[doc03]

28. Most people today think companies just gave workes those things

out of the goodness of their heart.

[doc03]

29. I am retired and have a decent income from a defined benefit pension

because we fought for it. We went on strike twice to keep our pension. In 1985 we went out for 100 days and again in 1994 we went out
for 10 1/2 months. They are still working on taking my pension even after being retired for 8 years. We get a statement on our
pension plan every year and every year the funding percentage drops, as of 2016 we were at 73%. Eventually the plan will be dumped
on the PBGC which is also underfunded. How does that work? The stock market where the pension is invested has gone up 300% since 2009 and the company is also supposed to be putting money in and the pension plan assets go down every year.

[niyad]

31. k and r for truth

[Omaha Steve]

32. I got here a little late

K&R!

OS

[xmas74]

34. I was ASFCME

Back when I worked for the state-and I was damn proud to sign my card.