On Aug 20, 8:45*am, George > wrote:
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> > "Lou Decruss" > wrote in message
> >> People who have never worked in a union job think it's just one big
> >> corrupt organization. *I learned about unions in 7th grade along with
> >> how the US government operates. *Most kids snored through all that
> >> boring stuff. *Unions are far less corrupt than the US government and
> >> people who bitch about them should remember that if there wasn't any
> >> there would be no middle class.
>
> >> Lou
>
> > I don't know what percentage of unions are corrupt, but the one I used to
> > negotiate with was. *All they wanted was the dues and "health and welfare"
> > contributions. *As for the workers, they did not care one bit. *We actually
> > paid more than the contract called for because we had to in order to attract
> > workers. * I can tell you stories about how the contract was "negotiated"
> > and settled long before we sat down at the bargaining table.
>
> > If you go back to the turn of the last century, unions did help the worker
> > and did gain much for the welfare of society and helped form the middle
> > class. *Unfortunately, many went to far sometime in the 70's or so. *Some
> > are now finding they lost many members and are finally working with
> > management to train workers in the trades. *This is especially true with
> > some New York construction worker's unions.
>
> It seems to be a human thing where we have to slide into one direction
> or the other. I have never been a union member but I do understand the
> purpose.
>
> I think what a lot of people forget is how they got started. I grew up
> in an area noted for coal. One of the things we learned about was the
> history of the area. A few coal barons owned everything (and outside the
> area a few families owned everything else). People were essentially
> owned by the coal barons and worked really long hours in dangerous
> conditions for tiny wages that they were paid in scrip so it only be
> spent at the high priced company store. The government was corrupt and
> owned by the coal barons. In a well documented incident in the early
> days when the miners were organizing the local sheriff and his deputies
> who were owned by the coal barons stopped a protest by simply shooting
> and killing the miners.
>
> Concepts such as a 40 hour work week, pay scales, the creation of the
> middle class etc all came about because of unions

I remember seeing a documentary about the Depression in Canada in the
1930's. General Motors (Canada) declared the third successive year of
record high profits and then declared that its employees were going to
have to take a cut in pay. (Lots of unemployeed out there ).
Strangely enough GM was unionized that year.

John Kane Kingston ON Canada