Good luck to the workers on their vote next week. It's time to rebuild unions in the valley. If Vallourec wants to make pipes for fracking,
they might as well pay union wages. If they want to help rebuild Youngstown, help it by paying union wages and rebuild Youngstown's middle class.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/jan/18/vallourec-workers-to-take-union-vote-nex/
Read teh comments, especially this one:
"Being one of the not dumb employees of Vallourec star I wish to set the record straight here for the majority of the star workers. WE do not need nor want a union interfering with the great relationship that we currentjy have here. This union was enticed by a few disenfranchised older mill hands and seen major dollars to fatten the international UE's coffers at our expense, they have divided our workforce and made promises that they could never keep, brought in foreigner's to confuse the misinformed and uneducated. We the majority at Vallourec are in a fierce battle to maintain our great standard of living and allow a world class organization like Vallourec to continue bringing wealth and opportunity to the valley that needs this gem to help make the area great again.. please don't paint us all idiot's. CHRISTOPHER GALLAGHER. Grateful Vallourec Employee"
Hopefully Chris's side will prevail.
Unions helped build the middle class here in the valley. You anti-union folks must be having senior moments.
Always remember what unions gave all of us!
http://www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/36-reasons-thank-union
My friend I had been a union member for 22 years and what did it get me? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. So before you continue to debate consider also what happened to a whole lot of local steel mill workers here when the mills closed down then SHUT UP because you don't know what you are talking about!
Quote from: Billy Mumphrey on January 18, 2014, 11:27:53 PM
Unions helped build the middle class here in the valley. You anti-union folks must be having senior moments.
Always remember what unions gave all of us!
http://www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/36-reasons-thank-union
Billy,
waaaayyyyyy back in the day when the unions first organized in the mills, workers
had unfairly long shifts and low wages...the unions fought (at that time) for
shorter days (8 hours versus 12 or more), benefits, etc - this was in the early part
of the 20th century.
Today's workers have it much better in NON union shops, and as others have
already stated here, today,s unions don't do all that much except collect
union dues.
My union job in the late 80, (before moving to the DC area) was a prime example
of this - they took my money every paycheck and did nothing for me.
In today's economy with only part-time jobs from mega-million companies, unions are needed now more than ever.
Vallourec jobs are not part time. They are full time with good benefits. This is not the same Brier Hill Works of Ed Mann's era. The protections that the union movement fought for have been codified into law, so now we have the NLRB, federal and state law protecting workers. Unions have long ago stopped advocating for the workers best interests and have become a political entity dedicated to supporting the Democrats. Union membership has steadily declined because workers all over the US have said time and time again that the unions do nothing for them and that their dues money is wasted.
History:
Unions were only beneficial when there was a monopoly. Once competition ensued, the winner took that industry; first Japan and others then China today. The Valley, if any community lived thru this phenomenon and suffered tremendously for it, we still suffer from industrial demise today.
Majority in the Valley have been affected by this, me... my father-in-law and most of my in-laws had no industrial jobs in their generation. BILLY BOY knows this, and so does the FRACKPOTS, they are beginning to scare me, because they are the ILK that are brainwashed and will fight for what is WRONG for America today. They are TRAITORS, yes I said it, and we have proved it, they hide behind free speech, but their purpose in life is to KILL free enterprise, debate this Billy!
QUESTIONS:
1. Did Mr. Billy ever hold down a full time job?
2. Did Mr. Billy ever carry a union card? [FYI Billy: "carry a union card" = belong to any union.]
3. Does Mr.Billy have a skilled trade?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbYK5il2qdc
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vZrAKZoEG78/UjMbnNyYMaI/AAAAAAAAYac/fK6Ozea62oA/s1600/Obama+Billy+Mumphrey.png
Make fun of my views. My dad was a union member and I was proud of what he provided for us.
Thats it! Thats all you have to say for yourself? Bringing your Dad into the debate, really!
What are your contributions to our community? Were you a Veteran even, you admit you haven't even been in a Union.
Ron, I thought you told me you changed?
How ya doin' Bobster? Last time I saw you , you said you were coming back.
How's the Radio Gig?
Welcome back my friend ... missed you a whole lot. Hope all is well with the family.
how many of us are enjoying union benefits through our own employment or spouses. past or present?
My husband is a professor at YSU. Last contract negotiations we lost $5000 a year-mostly in insurance benefits.
Because my employer offers insurance I had to switch from YSU to my employers plan-costs more with less coverage. My husband is paying more of his premiums.
I realize how fortunate we were having his insurance when our kids were still at home. We paid no premiums for any family members and had great coverage. It was great with some of the health problems my son and I had.
His union dues have been increasing steadily, and his benefits have been decreasing even faster.
just remember that the unions were huge donors to the party that brought you that wonderful insurance deal.
Ron, why bash Billy over his dad? If his positive views of unions is based on the fact it allowed for a proper roof over his head, why ridicule him?
The reason unions are still a benefit is because with the decline of unions we have headed back into a world of monopolies....where life for employees is returning
to lower pay, no benefits, no pensions, no nothing. If we had unions in the retail industry anyone would be working on Thanksgiving?
Sorry Joly, but do you really think your husband would have gotten a better package deal without a union? If so, you drink from the same well of mind-bending Kool-Aid as the
rest of the conservatives on this page.....
Thanks Mr. Bobcat. You're Batman!
When I lived in Kansas City I worked for a non union company. We got bought out by a union company. The first thing the new owners did - THEY BROUGHT OUR PAY AND BENEFITS DOWN TO UNION LEVELS! That's rights a non-union company with better pay and benefits than a union company.
My cousin used to work for a union manufacturing plant. Took an early retirement buyout. Went to work across town for the non-union plant for a 25% pay cut. But he took home more money because he didn't have to pay union dues and he never went on strike. He also had better benefits at the non-union plant.
Don't tell me people are better off with unions. The only people helped by unions are their leaders.
joly your husband lost five grd but you and your children can attend ysu free for a degree, not a bad payoff.
Joly....Kansas City is not Youngstown......Unless you and your family has been here since the turn of the 20th century don't lecture me with your
red state conservative rhetoric......you had no industry out there in the farms fields with Dorothy and Toto.....you are clueless.....
Where is the working middle class family today? It's no more! Because no unions are left to fight! We are now either the 99% or 1%...and from the sounds of your cushy
husband's job at YSU.....you are not in the 99%......
Yeah Baby! You go Bobster, with your blogger bad ass persona, must be venting today all those months you've been absent here, pent up anger, let it rip!
Truth is, Dennis is really a puppy in real life, he just plays an evil communist here.
"Unions have been the only powerful and effective voice working people have ever had in this country"-Bruce Springsteen
Don't mess with the boss....
Ron, maybe I'm Norman Bates????????
ORGANIZE YOUR WORKPLACE!!!!!
http://ohaflcio.org/organize-your-workplace/
Quote from: Billy Mumphrey on January 19, 2014, 04:08:08 PM
Make fun of my views. My dad was a union member and I was proud of what he provided for us.
Billy, sounds like your father took good care of his family - the question is: what did his UNION
provide for you that he otherwise would not have had?
As far as union membership versus part time jobs - if I were already working a part time only
job, I would probably not have the money to throw away on union dues.
The vote failed, and it was not even close!
367 voted against it, 148 voted for the union. And this was after a YEAR LONG organizing effort.
Youngstown is finally shedding its reputation for being a union stronghold!
http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/jan/23/vallourec-workers-reject-unionization-effort/?nw
many of us on this forum benefited from the union influence. watch what you wish for during your lifetime.
Quote from: iwasthere on January 23, 2014, 05:43:16 PM
many of us on this forum benefited from the union influence. watch what you wish for during your lifetime.
It would be interesting to see the number of - and level of - benefits provided by many of the oldest unions
in the area "then" versus "now", along with a history of the cost of union membership for each.
I'm in my fifties - and for us older people, many of the rights and protections that unions have fought
for in MY lifetme have (as Rick pointed out) laws and government agencies to advocate for them now.
examples: Labor relations , Occupational Health and Safety Administration, Equal Opportunity
Employment, HEALTHCARE (even though, I.m.h.o. the government is not doing a very good job -
it had to start somewhere and I have no doubt that it will change and evolve over time)
There IS such a thing as "pricing yourself out of a job" . If a union is asking too much, some businesses
have to cut hours, reduce staff, or consider outsourcing as a cost cutting measure. I would prefer to
work full time at my current wage, versus having a union negotiate a wage increase that causes any
of the above situations to occur.
Here is a perfect example of a union vote resulting in the closing of a facility in Warren, and the loss
of jobs that resulted from the union's actions. The company even offered to bring the manufacture
of other products to the factory to keep it open ( incandescent bulbs being obsoleted and such...)
http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/jan/24/lights-out-at-ge-lamp-plant-in-warren/
Very well written Allan, Unions now are the abusers of other workers, as they morphed into protecting the few in that fiefdom.
That situation up in Warren is a great example of the hypocrisy of unions. The older workers voted to close the plant down and throw their younger "brothers" under the bus for their own benefit. All that talk of solidarity and looking out for one another is just BS. Union "brothers" will turn on their "family" in a heartbeat. Where is the shared sacrifice for the greater good? Or is that all just sloganeering?
Every major advancement that the labor unions fought for have been codified into law. What the unions do now, aside from pumping money into the Democrat party, is create archaic work rules that make no sense and increase costs for an employer. Employees now do a multitude of tasks. The rigid work structures of old just no longer make any sense.