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My experiences with unions have all been bad (as in horrific).
As a teacher, I discovered that the National Education Association is yet another institution taken over by Corporate America. After I got laid off, I went to work for UPS and quickly discovered that the Teamsters are a NEA clone.
One of teachers' biggest complaints about the NEA was stagnant salaries; they increased, but very slowly, scarcely keeping up with the rising cost of living, if at all. UPS's record is even worse. Starting salary was $14 some 20-30 years ago - back when $14 was worth a lot more than it is today. When I started, about three years ago, I was paid $8.50 an hour. Our latest contract freezes that salary for the next five years, PLUS, it strips new hires of benefits for their first year. So much for "solidarity."
Another interesting thing is the Central States Pension Fund (I think that's the correct name; I may not have all the details correct). Anyway, it's my understanding that the contract was influenced by the Central States Pension Fund, which had been "mismanaged" by - guess who? - the Teamsters.
I attended a meeting where the new contract was discussed. We were told the union would mail out ballots on a certain date. In fact, they mailed them out TEN DAYS earlier, leaving us little time to discuss or fight the contract.
The president of the Teamsters is Jimmy Hoffa, son of the late Jimmy Hoffa, whose mob connections are no secret.
When I attended an initiates meeting, some idiot said, "Now you've probably heard stories about the Teamsters protecting bad workers. I just want you to know that's not true."
LIAR!
At my workplace, the Teamsters excel at nothing BUT protecting bad workers. I would describe one of my colleagues as the biggest *sshole in the building. He seems to get more protection and special favors than everyone else in my work area combined. Did I mention that he's the shop steward's best friend? The shop steward's other friends are also lazy, stupid and obnoxious. If I had the authority, I'd hire them on the spot, not just because they're lousy workers (when they're working at all), but because they negatively impact their co-workers in many ways.
I was also shocked to learn that we can no longer go on strike; apparently the Teamsters found some clever way to give up our right to strike.
I keep my eyes and ears open and take notes. I could tell you many more stories about the Teamsters. In summary, I and my fellow employees get screwed every day, and the Reamsters do little more than offer lame advice ("Never trust a supervisor," "Don't sign any papers!").
I have nothing good to say about the Teamsters. For the record, I'm not anti-union. I regard unions as a necessary evil, similar to government. But I will never support a corrupt union, and I'm beginning to wonder if there are any major unions that are NOT corrupt these days. I would like to learn more about the Wobblies. They certainly had a good reputation early in the last century.
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