Right to Work,

ups clerk

Well-Known Member
Okay, I live in Missouri and they are about to instill or at least try to pass the Right to Work clause in the Senate and the House.
Should this thing pass, I am hearing that people are already talking about withdrawing from the union so they won't have to pay union dues.
Those on this forum who live in Right To Work States. How have you handled it and is it true members can do that--withdraw from the union.
Some members say, hey why pay dues when you get representation for nothing.
BTW, that is so wrong that people in RTW states, who don't join unions, still get representation by a shop steward when they get written up.
Anyway, any one who works in RTW states, I would like to hear from you. I got a bad feeling this law may pass. :angry:
 

steward71

Well-Known Member
Live in Va. and our local is small with about 1500 people and it is up and down over the years. 10 years ago I think the local had 1200 and then 5 it was up to 1500 and has stayed that way.
 

av8torntn

Well-Known Member
Until the day there is no union at all. Then you will have plenty to worry about

Just don't get what you are saying. I tried to understand but I honestly do not. I make my own way. I choose to work for UPS because I want to work here. I choose to be a member of the union because I want to. No law is forcing me to join. The union has to offer something of value to get me to give up my wages for membership. I've seen times before when or representatives started getting a little too relaxed in their jobs and local membership declined. This is a positive thing as when we get quality representation membership tends to rise.

If there were a law forcing me to be a member of a union to work for UPS I probably would not be working for UPS as I am opposed to anyone forcing me to do something.
 

bigblu 2 you

Well-Known Member
Just don't get what you are saying. I tried to understand but I honestly do not. I make my own way. I choose to work for UPS because I want to work here. I choose to be a member of the union because I want to. No law is forcing me to join. The union has to offer something of value to get me to give up my wages for membership. I've seen times before when or representatives started getting a little too relaxed in their jobs and local membership declined. This is a positive thing as when we get quality representation membership tends to rise.

If there were a law forcing me to be a member of a union to work for UPS I probably would not be working for UPS as I am opposed to anyone forcing me to do something.
yea right,,you work for ups and you are opposed to anyone forcing you to do something? now go get your shine box.
 

Packmule

Well-Known Member
Ask not what you can do for your union, but what your union can do for you. RTW is--or should be--considered a part of every American's constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. Being forced to buy union representation is completely unconstitutional and means only one thing: unions have absolutely ZERO accountability to anyone--especially to those they are supposed to represent. Do your research. Review 1997 when the Teamsters were stealing our pension blind and telling everybody it was about "part time jobs." I figured I can get lied to for free. That's why I dumped the Teamsters in 1997 and whole heartedly supported the APWA. Unions need to EARN their membership, not coerce it by law or intimidation. Bottom line, trust no one who holds that much power over you. Not the company, not the government--and especially not the union.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
You should have a right to work and a right to decline to pay union dues. You should also have the right to negotiate your own pay and benefit package. We paid for ours.
 

BigUnionGuy

Got the T-Shirt
Some members say, hey why pay dues when you get representation for nothing.

Here's something to think about....

You get what you pay for.


Do you really think you are getting the same quality of representation if you

are not a dues paying member....?

As long as your Local doesn't refuse to represent you....

You get what you get. Or so I hear.



-Bug-
 

PobreCarlos

Well-Known Member
You should have a right to work and a right to decline to pay union dues. You should also have the right to negotiate your own pay and benefit package. We paid for ours.

I agree; that's probably the way it should be. Those in RTW states who choose not to belong to the union are still limited to what the union can negotiate for them; i.e. - they're not allowed, under current "exclusive agency" law to negotiate their own compensations which, in the case of workers who's market value could be perceived as "above average", is a pretty severe limitation.

As for "getting what you pay for", I suspect that negotiating on behalf of those who are NOT members is a lot more beneficial factor to the union than it is to the non-members. Remember, "exclusive" representation gives the union all sorts of power it would NOT have if it chose to represent it's members only, on a "non-exclusive" basis. In fact, I believe that unions COULD choose to be "non-exclusive" representatives of only their members if they so choosed - after all, you don't need elections to be able to join a union, nor do you have to have an election for a union to purport to represent you; one can just announce you're "represented", name that representative, and that's that; you ARE "represented". Athletes and actors and such do it all the time. The devil of THAT detail, however, is that the companies are not obligated to negotiate with those representatives if they don't want...and those who didn't have much market value to begin with would quickly see what their true market value was when a company wasn't FORCED to "negotiate" for their services.

Think that's the reason why, even in RTW states, unions are MORE than ready to take on "exclusive representation" duties...and why if they fail to represent adequately the NON-members, they quickly run into problems. The biggest source of power the unions have is the compulsory aspects of the law which favor them unnaturally...and they don't for a minute want to give that form of subsidy up.
 

ups clerk

Well-Known Member
Just don't get what you are saying. I tried to understand but I honestly do not. I make my own way. I choose to work for UPS because I want to work here. I choose to be a member of the union because I want to. No law is forcing me to join. The union has to offer something of value to get me to give up my wages for membership. I've seen times before when or representatives started getting a little too relaxed in their jobs and local membership declined. This is a positive thing as when we get quality representation membership tends to rise.

If there were a law forcing me to be a member of a union to work for UPS I probably would not be working for UPS as I am opposed to anyone forcing me to do something.

Actually that is what Right to Work is, at least that is what Missouri is saying--that people shouldn't be forced to join a union in order to work. In Missouri UPS and other companies that have unions, is what is called a closed shop which means you join a union or not work at UPS. The RTW advocates say this is wrong, that people should not be allowed to be forced to join a union.
What the RTW advocates are NOT saying is that they want to weaken the union. They say that with Missouri not being a right to work state, companies don't want to move in MO because of unions. RTW advocates say the state is losing money because it won't put people to work becasue companies wont come in to the state.
If this bill is passed, and companies move into the state, they can hire people with lower wages, little or no benefits and probably shoddy work.
 

bigblu 2 you

Well-Known Member
UPS does not force me to do anything. They do however pay me to do many things.
yes sir ,i see your type hanging around the fronts and parking lots of home depots,free spirits,do it their way,their own boss,union free. .go for it ,you sound like you can make your own way in life without the representation/negotiation of a large and powerful yet evil union.
 

satellitedriver

Moderator
It is. It is free for you to NOT get a union pension or healthcare, also. All the more for me.
The union does not give you a pension, they only control the money given by the companies.
The union has never contributed one red cent to any pension fund.
The union has never spent a dime on your health care.
You are free to believe as you wish.
Being under the control of Central States, what little pension I will get will be guaranteed by UPS, when CS defaults.
The so called health care I can buy through CS when I retire is pathetic.
$150,000.00 max on yearly claims, one hospital stay can wipe that out.
$780.00 a month for the privilege.
Ironically,
I can independently buy insurance from the same company that CS uses for $100 less a month and get better coverage.
Only 9% of all workers in the USA are union members and the majority of them are in civil service or government work.
Roughly, 90% of non union Americans are paying taxes to pay union workers salaries and benefits to run our government agency's.
Too much power in too little hands.



 
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