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: What will a union get you that you can't get for yourself? Every
: business has their dumb, incompent managers but people are always
: allowed to speak up and go to higher ups -- even at McDonald's. Not so, unless you have a contract you can be fired for any whim of managment. That includes speaking up or going over your managers heads. It happens all the time.
: Face it, unions are a business, interested in money -- yours and : mine. Their income is from your dues and fines.
There are unions and then there are unions. The IWW has minimal dues. As an organization we are made up of rank and file volunteers. We keep our expenses low, and half of your dues stay at your local for whatever the local wants to do with them. The other half are budgeted by the union at large.
: Sure they promise more of this and less of that, but they eventually : price the organization right out of business.
Unions can't promise you anything. Infact in most cases they are legally barred from doing it. However, a union should be viewed as some outside entity... the union is the workers. Or atleast thats how it should be. The more your union is democratic and accountable to the rank and file, the stronger that union is.
: Look at GM -- thousands of workers out of work, even none GM workers : -- and all they get is strike pay. That's not even a living wage.
: If they really want to make a difference, go back to work, work with : the company to make a profit and they will have secure jobs and more : money. If not, they get what they got!
For years now, most of the AFL-CIO affiliates have been practicing cooperation with the employers instead of adversarial positions. What have they got... they lost wages, benefits and jobs. They've watched factories moved across the border where wages are cheaper, safety conditions lax and unions busted. Its about time unions have decided to start fighting again.
: My advise, if you wife truly loves working at McDonald's, she should : set up a meeting with the owner or manager and demonstrate her : abilities to show she is worth more money. This is a buyer's market.
What do you mean by buyer's market? Are you talking about how dropping unemployment make workers more valuable? Well... as long as there is more labor available than capital wishes to uses, there will be scabs waiting to take your job.
Mainly a union can get for you what you can't get by yourself, because it represents people coming together. Alone we are easily fired, together we are strong. Collective barganing agreements get much more in the way of benfits for those employees that have them versus those that don't.
Solid,
Flint
None.
