United Way/Good or Bad/pros or cons

5030 · Oct 19, 2003

Murph:

Lets try not to get on the pro-union anti-union bandwagon again.

All I have to say for unions is that they may have outlived their usefulness in these times but....
If it wasn't for the unions, you'd be working for minimum wage, probably 70+ hours a week at straight time and with no benefits.
You have the unions, the UAW, UMWA and the USWA, AFL-CIO to thank for the wage scale you earn today as well as the fringe benefits you receive.
People tend to forget that, I don't and I never will.

thcri · Oct 19, 2003

Daryl,

I'm not getting on the unions. If I pay taxes as a business owner I should have the right to bid on Municipal projects. That is unfair to kick my business out of these projects. This is something the city did but I am sure the union pushed for it. Maybe I should be exempt from paying taxes then. I don't have a problem with any union. I just think they should do their business and leave other business's alone.

Also we don't know what kind of money we would be making if it wasn't for the unions. There is so many other programs in place by our government that probably had just as much of a change in our wages. And our wages may have been less but we would still be paying less than a buck for a gallon of gas too.

I will stop here and say no more.

murph

dieselsmoke1 · Oct 19, 2003

Here is why my wife and I no longer contribute to our local UW, and have no plans to do so again.

Alan L. · Oct 19, 2003

Diesel smoke, thats definitely a good reason to avoid UW. Funny, I have never contributed to UW and have never been approached by them.

MossRoad · Oct 20, 2003

The link that you gave goes to an article that deals with why United Way won't support the Boy Scouts if they won't sign and anti-dicsrimination clause.

Lets' please don't take this thread any further down that path as it goes into the specifics of each individual organization that may or may not get support from United Way.

I think what has been said so far, that I've read here, is that many people agree that, while United Way may do some real good in gathering and distributing money to certain organizations, it could be done better for less money. Many of us do not like the overhead that is associated with United Way, and the sometimes seemingly strong arm tactics taken at some workplaces when gathering pledges for United Way puts undue pressure on an employee to contribute. Many of us also do not care to contribute to some of the organizations that United Way supports.

Anybody got anything more to say about this issue?

fivestring · Oct 20, 2003

Eliminate United Way; give directly to charities of your choosing.
United Way is an organization for big-shots to pat each other on the back.

fivestring · Oct 20, 2003

"Apparently you can specify where you want some of your money to go and the UCLA is one of the "partners" that you can specify." 

Don't be fooled by that blanket statement, read the fine print.
It states that once an organization gets their share or goal, the leftover goes into the general fund of which ALL of their pet projects get a share. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

PitbullMidwest · Oct 20, 2003

My mother worked for the Boy Scouts as a paid employee for 23 years so I know how important UW support is. When you are solisited to contribute to our local UW you are given a pledge card that lists all agencies that receive support, 100% of funds raised stay local. If you have a favorite charity (the Boy Scouts for example) you can give none, some or all your support to that charity.

For those giving directly to the charity to bypass the UW you actually might be hurting the charities. If fewer and fewer people support the Boy Scouts through the UW, then their percentage of total undesignated funds will decline.

No one should be forced to give to a charity they do not believe in, of course the same could be said about union dues supporting a particular political party. My company pushes for that all important 100% participation, we know that not everyone is willing or even able to give so we hold fund raising lunches then give the procedes on behalf of XYZ's employees. The UW gets their funds, our company gets 100% participation and our Corporation looks like the most caring business in the country.

I'm sure the United Way operates differently depending on how large or small of market you find yourself in but over all I believe it is a worthy cause.

Just my 2 1/2 cents worth.

dieselsmoke1 · Oct 20, 2003

( Lets' please don't take this thread any further down that path as it goes into the specifics of each individual organization that may or may not get support from United Way. )

Point taken. My opinion on this matter has nothing to do with the original post question.

mountain_man · Oct 20, 2003

I've been hesitant to post on this subject, but here it goes. As an IT consultant, I've had the opportunity to work in-depth with several large charitable and religious organizations (including UW many years ago). On the basis of this past experience, I no longer contribute to any of them (nor do I work with them anymore either).

Instead I have chosen to volunteer my TIME. I've volunteered my time to work with the Habitat for Humanity folks, the local volunteer Fire Protection and my local church. At least I can see the direct results of my efforts, rather than seeing my money being used for purposes I didn't intend.