john deere on strike

[ultrarunner]

I was a short timer in different Union...

First 5 years 1 week paid vacation plus 7 holidays...

Never used medical and employer paid thousands annually on my behalf plus my contribution...

Rules changed later... no more 7 or 10 years for retirement benefits... I believe something starting at 3 now...

Often wonder about all that money paid in by many thousands never reaching eligibility???

I use to get statements but it had been years...

My job was tied to space shuttle and on shop floor when Challenger went down... within a week inspectors at plant... OK to finish nearly complete assemblies but everything else stopped... We had zero to do with the explosion...

 

[Cougsfan]

Unions don't eat their own...

The UAW kind of ate GM into huge financial problems. Unions work great for the workers when business is good, not so much so if it isn't.

 

[arto98607]

The UAW kind of ate GM into huge financial problems. Unions work great for the workers when business is good, not so much so if it isn't.

Poor GM management - they should not have agreed at the time!

 

[TCowner]

...and management loves the union workers getting better pay and benefits because that means they do too.

Great point, and not only that, but when the union workers get better pay and benefits, the non-union workers down the street in the same industry get a bump as well. These employers do this to avoid their employees organizing a union so non-union workers benefit from the work, and sometimes sacrifice, the union workers make. This takes place as the non-union workers tells us, "We don't need no damn union".

 

[Frankenkubota]

The UAW kind of ate GM into huge financial problems. Unions work great for the workers when business is good, not so much so if it isn't.

the uaw demanded and....management gave in. after ww2 the car makers were making so much $ they could afford to agree to almost anything, worry about the future when it gets here and then

along came Toyota

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep… a very seasoned older gentleman said I’ve seen it all before…

WWII employment off the charts but workers with money had little to spend it on… so prices went up…

 

[bmg88201]

I was a union Pipe welder for 30 years, 1973-2003, retired with great pay and good benefits. Then I changed careers and went to nursing school and worked at the VA, joined the union there with great pay and great benefits like 7 weeks of paid vacation per year, 4 weeks of paid sick leave per year, some of the best health/dental/vision insurance in the country. Took an early retirement from the VA now, life is good. Thank you labor unions.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have several that came to nursing later in life…

One is a BMW factory trained mechanic and left as Dealership service writer…

He is very popular with the Docs…

Unions here are mostly public sector with some medical.

Manufacturing all but gone…

 

[MHarryE]

Defense is where real money is. When Allis-Chalmers went belly up mid-80's, future unknown, I began interviewing for another engineering job on mobile equipment. My recruiters set me up with an interview at a defense supplier on the east coast. When they explained the job, it was really not to accomplish anything. The VP with whom I interviewed said Regan threw the doors wide open and this company wanted every bit they could. So my job would be pulling proposals together. Research on cost plus basis and the company for whom I was interviewing said it doesn't get any better than this - they need to get as much of the pie as they can. So my job would be only to create presentations for our contacts to present and collect our piece of the action. I was hired by Deutz when they bought Allis-Chalmers and the transition was seamless. The company with whom I interviewed is now part of BAE, one of the world's largest defense suppliers, and still getting their piece of the action.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

These are the ones that whine the loudest when their job goes south (or far east). As far as robotics go, many of the low skill jobs are replaced with high skilled, good paying jobs that keep those robots humming.

Maintained and operated several different generations of CNC (Computer Numerical Controls) and PLC controls in the, 80's, and 90's. What happened as each new CNC generation came out is that they were much more dependable, requiring less technicians to maintain them. The drive systems and feedback systems also became more dependable. Again needing less labor hours to keep production going.

I agree that the skilled labor positions will pay better, but with technology improving and becoming more dependable, it makes less of these postions available.