right to work

[MONSTERQUEST]

I like my Union fought for wages of over 100k, 5 weeks vac., 100 per year per month retirement pay + great health & dental. If you don’t want to work at a union shop don't apply. Perfect no, but the choice is clear for me.           Thank you Steel workers local 1010

[prosalmonking]

I think local 1776 pays in fish/hour depending on your desired species.

Ok In that case I'll take 5 walleyes and 25 jumbo perch and hour lmao

[Left/Center]

Ok In that case I'll take 5 walleyes and 25 jumbo perch and hour lmao

Yeah but if right to work passes in your state some scab will do it for 1 walleye and 5 perch...

[rico]

LOL fellas...........It has been my experience on the sites, that nothing good ever comes from political or religous chatter.  I know that a majority of you guys are trying to protect your way of life from what you see as a threat.  But it does fall into the political arena.  We are all here to share our love of ice fishing.  I dont want to see any friendships lost over political smack.  It is just one of those hot topics that get people's juices flowing.

[gaddabout]

Teamsters Local 135 ..35 yrs
This is just another way to try to bust our unions. The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer and NO middle class will be left.
How much more government control of our lives can we take. Mitch said only 10 % of the people in our state are unionized.
There is teachers, police, fireman, chrysler, steelworkers, laborers, heavy equipment operators, bricklayers and other autoworkers unions. Just to name a few. The people that are not in the unions had better fight also IT WILL AFFECT YOU.
The government is in a jam and have overspent as usual and now they want to take it out on us. Do you see any of them taken a 1/2 cut in pay.....NOT. They are just stealing more from us.

[bluegillmaster2011]

Hope you get into the apprenticeship, what local?   I am also a union electrician local 697

local 153

[graham]

American Ice Fishing Local 1776.

Hmmm.... lol

An interesting article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120450306595906431.html interesting

[wallin]

LOL If you speak spanish and willing to work for minimum wage-Texas has good jobs, 60 hrs a week promised. Wonder if they pay O. T. or have any benefits.

[graham]

LOL If you speak spanish and willing to work for minimum wage-Texas has good jobs, 60 hrs a week promised. Wonder if they pay O. T. or have any benefits.

The immigrants and low paying jobs are here in Indiana as well.  Quote from the article, "Ohio is a "closed shop" state, which means workers can be forced to join a union whether they wish to or not. Many companies -- especially foreign-owned -- say they will not even consider such locations for new sites."

The point is creating more jobs overall and more competiton for labor among employers, and thus an overall higher per capita income in the state.  Texas' per capita income increased at a rate of 8% higher than Ohio over the period discussed in the article.

[SkeeterJeff]

Hmmm.... lol

An interesting article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120450306595906431.html interesting

It is an interesting article, but I think it is prudent to point out that it was written in March, 2008.

-Jeff

[Hoosier]

LOL If you speak spanish and willing to work for minimum wage-Texas has good jobs, 60 hrs a week promised. Wonder if they pay O. T. or have any benefits.

As the blood drips from my tongue !!!!!

[Mr. gill]

The last state to pass this bill was Oklahoma. Since then they have lost 20% of their manufacturing jobs while Indiana has added 25000. Nevada is a right to work state and has one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. if this is keeping company's from doing bussines in Indiana why don't every state have this to try and get a piece of the pie. A lady in North Dakota wrote o. A web site that since they became write to work she has had her wages lowered so much she qualifies for state assistance.  And she works for the state and is union. If u remember one of the first things Mitch done when elected was cut state workers wages and pension so from jump he has dropped the way of living for tax paying Hoosier's. And if anyone on this site union or non union does not think this will affect you and your family I have news for u "IT WILL". Alot of people don't realize is that unions set the bar for good living wages and benefits. Why should we let a group of egotistical fools ruin what are forfather's fought hard for. I encourage each and everyone to read up on this bill and research what the affects it has made on the states that have sold the tax payers out for corporate greed.

[abishop]

DON'T BE IGNORANT- GET INVOLVED. WE NEED NUMBERS.

[ispoman]

 Heres a non union opinion.I tried to stay out of this but can no longer. RTW will not help any worker. It really is a union busting tactic thats all it is. Crappie66 said it best' if you dont want to work at a union shop then dont apply to one. Alot of people are uneducated about this type of thing. They take a political side with this. IF you want to talk about some problems then lets talk about UNEARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT. Dont associate unions with hand outs. Maybe some exist but like everything doesnt mean that all are bad. Politicians DO NOT care about us. Democrat?Republican? They dont care about the very people who made them wealthy, they never will. Why do the American workers always have to lose our jobs and get laid off forced to foreclosures and repos, while our govt continues to FAIL and they get to keep on trucking without any consequences? Alot of it is because of political lines in the sand. I can tell you that if you arent a millionare right now and you work for a pay check then RTW will directly affect you. It will drive down the local economy which will slowly trickle down to you. Sometimes I do hope all of this happens, bust all the unions. Pay everyone less wages. Just to show people the domino effect. I hope gas hits $10 a gal too. Sometimes people have to suffer personally before they can appreciate the situation.

[wallin]

LOL Don't bite your tongue. Thats the great thing about this country-we can all voice our own opinions.
I just know 1 thing-I'm smart enough to go where the money is, and thats all that counts to me.

As the blood drips from my tongue !!!!!

[Mr. gill]

Wallin you hit the nail on the head. When your wages drop you seek out a better place to live to make a livable income. The very question was asked to the house. What do they have planned if the wages drop and people move out of Indiana to find better paying jobs. The answer was "we don't have an answer".I don't think 2/3 of the people voting this bill in know what it will do or not do. It has been pushed through so fast they have not had the time to dig deep into this or else they don't care about you or I because they will still get their high dollar paychecks.

[iceangler82]

LOCAL 103... Ditch Mitch!!!! Nuff said

[teardrop]

Worked in a nonunion auto manufacturing wheel  plant for twenty years, voted down union drive three times. Company had four plants in the States. Closed down union plant in Michigan 2004, told the employees at my plant we had nothing  to worry about since we were nonunion! nothing to worry about. Wrong! closed us in 2006, sent jobs to china after they got their plant there built. Oh! I forgot the union employees at Michigan plant got $1800-2000 per year severance pay. My nonunion fellow workers and myself got A total of $1200-$1800 total. I watched the bosses protect their lazy buddies and ride the productive workers for years so when I hear the comments about unions protecting the lazy workers I just can't help thinking as opposed to what? Businesses have trade unions AKA Chamber of Commerce, Just one that comes to mind. Unions have made this country great because it allowed the common man or women to have protection and and voice in their work place. Are they prefect NO. But If our State legislature's have their way it will be in our lifetimes just the way it was for our grandparents before the turn of the century and that includes child labor laws be changed. Safety in the work place. Indiana should never become a right to work State and give the business community free will to break the common union workers back. Because if they break the unions back it won't be long before they break everyones back who does manual labor.  I   

[ice dawg]

Interesting thread. Out of a thirty six year career in a union job I was a Steward, Chief Steward, Local Vice President and Local President. I worked the last twenty seven years in a right to work state. In that time we had one non union person in my local and three in the whole state. The person in my local dropped out of the union because we lost some benefits during contract negotiations. We gave up benefits because the company said it was struggling. No union employee wants to see the company he or she works for to fail no matter what nonunion folks say. He got the same benefits of the dues paying members with the exception of respect from the membership. I think the work ethics of the work force in an area has a lot to due with people joining a union in a right to work state. Threads like this make me glad to be retired because I believe when the unions are gone it will go back to the way things were before unions came on the scene. No matter what you believe, employers don't give workers benefits to be nice and won't when unions are gone either.

[Indiananimal]

Local 395 Ironworkers Hammond, In.
 All i have to say is that I went down to Indy and walked the halls of the state house and told them how i felt. Almost made the front page of the Times on Wed. the 4th. But anyone can sit here and type all day about how they feel, you need to stand up for what you believe in. look at the numbers folks, do your homework. I havnt seen one benefit yet that would come from passing this bill.  Ditch Mitch! RTW? **censored**?

[theangling1]

I have never worked for a union shop and honestly don't understand what benefits they provide... Hopefully someone can help me understand.

Not to single anyone out or say anything negative about unions....but this was posted earlier "In Building trade Unions there is no seniority, one man lay offs happen all the time. If I don't carry my load I will be unemployed no questions asked. There are no paid days off, no sick days, no holiday pay. If I don't work I am not paid. We pay all of the cost to train our apprentices. We do recieve a fair wage with good benefits that allow me to live a lower middle class life without relying on the government for assistance." Sorry to whomever posted this, again, not singling you out, just don't understand the benefit here....

I can relate as I don't get paid if I don't work either (other than benefits of my employment) and glad to hear you're a hard working individual not looking for a handout and to live off other people's taxes.... Me too!!!!

If the above statement is true, then exactly what is it that this union is providing? I've worked in my trade for 24 years, make over 70K/yr, have never been laid off, have 3 weeks paid vacation, 7 paid holidays, 10 flex days per year, company matching 401K.. Medical, dental, vision insurance and am provided with a company vehicle to drive back and forth to work and for company business when required to travel.... I don't have to pay membership dues for someone else to "represent" me in contract negotiations that are what they tell me is in my best interest... I take care of my own negotiations and in the end if things aren't satisfactory to me I can "strike" by submitting my resume and application to other companies and send the message to my current employer by leaving and going to where I am treated fairly. I don't need someone else to do it for me.

All companies are in business to make money and turn a profit... survival of the fittest... if they mistreat their work force and their talented, strong performing workers leave and go to work for their competitors due to being treated unfairly,  they won't be in business very long. It's in the companies best interest to treat their work force fairly and keep them happy. I'd say the shops that get away with treating their employees poorly and have unsafe work conditions probably don't employ the hard working, top performing skilled workers in that field. Oh, and the trade I work in the company pays to train all the apprentices / rookies, not the work force thru union membership dues which come out of and take away from the very reason we are all working in the first place... to earn money to support our families.

Why is it that a shop couldn't have both union and non-union workers... union workers follow the unions rules, pay their dues and let their union represent them. Non-union workers follow company guidelines, don't pay dues, work with management to ensure a safe working environment and get compensated fairly or have the right to go work where they are. Keep in mind, if a company knowingly maintains an unsafe work environment and someone gets hurt, they are open to being sued... Nowadays smart companies have lawyers on staff ensuring they abide by all workforce related laws ensuring this doesn't happen.

Do unions insist that if the majority in that shop or trade vote for the union to represent them, that everyone that works there or in that trade is required to pay their dues even if they wish to not be represented by them? If so, why is that, just so the union can collect more dues? For what, to not have any vacation days, sick days, any paid days off, no retirement ...

Again, I don't nor have I ever worked in a union shop so I may be naive here, but I really don't see what benefit the unions provide.  If you are a talented, trustworthy, hard working, skilled worker.... Employment options are plenty with good employers that believe in treating their workers fairly and taking care of them as they understand that their workforce is the most important asset they have....

Sorry for the book and again, not trying to put unions or anyone who is a member down.... I just don't understand the benefit.

[wax_worm]

Can't wait to see the responses.   

[BIGKAT9]

Sounds like you work for a great company that values it's employees ,if all were this way you wouldn't need unions but theres quite a few that  put profits above people.With the union you have a signed contract .In the trades you put your 30-35 years in an get a pension  till you die ,the money you put in to apprentices guarentees the  future of the local . most of the unions also have annunitys .I have never worked in a shop but i think that mgt. would use the friction between union an nonunion to their advantage If you look at the polls,facts an surveys by both sides each say their side is right all that i can say is who backs the Chamber of Commerce  ,National Right toWork  ;    business big an small An where does the GOP get alot of their money from, big business ,the DEMOCRAT get a lot of theirs from labor   ,In INDIANA unions are 9.5to 10 %of the workforce so why is RTW needed they have 90 but they want it all.RTW is a 2 for 1 it gets rid of labor an cuts off major funding to dems .

[high_flags]

      Well Wax let me respond to this,  Union- non union  every job and situation is different.  I'm glad for angling 1. This is what most of the unions fight for.  Better wage packages and a safe work place. If the company you work for takes care of you and you don't feel the need to be represented then good for you. But its not that way for everyone.
 
  I work in the building trades unions(SKILLED LABOR) , as stated before we don't get all the benefits that everyone else in different unions get. We do tend to earn more per hour and our healthcare is excellent.  We do have a pension and a 401k plan.  We train our own workforce with 5 years of schooling. The contractors know this and expect top quality workmanship and they get it.

   I worked Non -Union doing the same thing I do now for 8 years when I was younger.  I worked for less $$$ and had no insurance and no pension. I looked for a better job.  So with that said ,getting everything that my union offered is well worth the dues I pay, plus I don't have to go beg my owner or company for a raise.  We have people to negotiate a contract in my best interest and they represent me well.  I have never been on strike. 

  I think the right to work laws are not in the best interest of the working man. Even if it affects the unions the most.  Down the road, you will be hurt by this to.    I just hope we won't have to find this out the hard way.   

[pna iceman]

hey High flags, I think you and I need to have a beer sometime,you took the words right out of my mouth. not bad, even for a fitter.

[h2.0shaver]

Some unions are weaker then others. Union isnt for every company. If the company I work had no union when I hired in then fine. Fact is the union was already there. Now Im 15 years into it working towards a pension and I have people who are non union who are worried about "MY" job that I got on my OWN. Why are non union people obsessed with unions. I care less about what non union people do. So until someone gives me an explanation as to why they are so afraid of unions then I will only assume as usual it comes down to one word that I wont mention out of decency. To each their own. Union or not you definetly will get lower wages as a result. If every company was just rosy then I guess it wouldnt matter.

theangling1=  You are correct and I appreciate you asking questions instead of judging  like most.One example that I will give you is job security. We sign contracts based on lengths of time. If my company had no union then what they would do is this
1. work people 65 hours a week for 2-3 months and then lay them off for them to collect unemployment benefits...Union helps prevent this Via a contract based on a business outlook.
2. dis regard safety rules that have been put in place because of unsafe work conditions. Alot of our rules were written from past members blood. thats how we learned safety through death in many cases

A few examples for you. We dont work at the very safest places like offices and cubicles, the company that I work at has had over 500 fatalities in 100+ years in business theres a place for unions in this country and always will be

[Mr. gill]

Good post high flags and the angling one. I am glad your company takes care of you. But I have a ? For u are you 100% sure that everyday your wages pension or health care will not be taken? I can because I am union and have a contract.  Are u 100%  sure you won't be replaced Monday at work because if you realize we are an at will state u can be fired for looking at your boss wrong. I can because their steps the company has to go through. As stated before if you don't do your job the I work for has ways to get you fired as in write ups. And as far as accidents in the work place. A year and a half ago I fell of a dock plate 5ft. I went to the company and ask them to look into putting up hand rails and the answer I got was the union has to realize accidents happen. So I got the union involved after giving the company a chance to fix it. The union made them correct it and osha cited them for being out of code. And mind u I am on my second operation from the.fall. I have.a.metal bone.in my elbow and.nerve damage for life. So pretty much the company don't give a.rats behind about the safety of there worker's. And if this bill passes it will only get worse because the union will not have a say so and push good safety practice by the company. My general manager has already said if we go right to work the workers are in for a big awakening. So the bill has not been set and we are already being threatened. This is just a few examples of why unions are important. A bussines owner from Oklahoma moved his shop to Indiana and they are union. But he stated at the state house that it was the best thing for his company because the dues his workers pay they are traininged well and very safe and his bussines is making more $  because people he does work for get a good product and his work comp claims are not as high because the union pays for classes that for safety training.

[theangling1]

Well.... I've been In my field since I was 18 and will be the first to admit I'm lucky and just dumb luck to have stumbled into it... Again, I'm not saying anything for or against unions... The more stuff like this I read the more I learn and try and understand.

As for having guaranteed pension, benefits and so forth Gill... No, i don't believe anything in life is guaranteed. What happens if the shop or plant you may work in closes up due to not being able to make enough money to keep the doors open? What good is that guarantee in the contract then?? I wonder if the auto workers thought their wages and or benefits we're guaranteed thru their union contract prior to the economy taking the hit and them paying their union to negotiate their reduction in pay and benefits.
Sorry to hear of your accident and lingering affects... Can't blame you for being upset... I would be too.

Thanks for responding and answering a few questions and helping me better understand guys... I'm sure you had better things to be doing with your time.. If you're union and feel they've represented you well and been a benefit for you and yours hats off to ya... Again, I've had a limited scope of experience with being in this same field since such a young age and the more I read the more I realize how blessed I've been.

God bless and tight lines....

COME ON ICE!!!

If anyone would like another fishing partner here in NE IN pm me.... Always interested in making new friends.

[Bronzeback5]

Pour it on guy's. As long as you are on top of the pyramid then who cares about the underfunded pensions or the burden it will place on the taxpayers. Skilled workers lol. Tell me about the laborer or carpenter who is leaning on a shovel or building water jug stands in BP for 100g's a year. Unions have a stranglehold on the taxpayer and represent the same waste we see in our government every day. No doubt things in this country are going to have to change and this includes the lowly working class like us. If you think the union will hide you from these changes in this country that are sure to come, i believe you are just kidding yourself.

[BIGKAT9]

Company pensions may be underfunded because companys look at it as a piggybank . I know my union  took drastic  steps so it would not  go into the red cause if the gov. takes over, you  dont get squat, If fRright toWork passes the state  should change it's name to MissisippiNorth.