Quote Originally Posted by Bill M of NJ View Post
Like everything, there is Pro's and Con's, I used to work for a company that was a "closed" shop, basically you had to be in the union, equal pay for everyone and didn't matter if you were a better toolmaker then the others, on the other hand you were getting yearly raises and benefits were great, very few unions remain. Now in NYC I can go to MSG for a concert and pay $125 for nose bleed seats or see the same band at the Arts Center in NJ for $40, and why, MSG is union everything from sound to lights to security and all adds to ticket price, I see shows at the PNC arts center all the time, same show and better seats for a lot less.
I don't think any company is honest, union or nonunion, I've worked for 5 different companies in my life, and seen where they all crooked, I worked the first 23 years of my adult life for a nonunion company, everyones pay was different, even doing the same job, when a new position came open, everyone that worked there new it would go to a family member of the guy that ran the company, not the man that owned the company but the guy that was over the company. i worked 15 years and stayed 50 cents behind a couple guys that had been there when I started, the boss hired his son and it wasn't long until he was making the same pay as i was, so one day on lunch we were all together and I asked the boss for the other 50 cents to make my pay equal to the other guys that was making top pay, and he said you won't ever get the pay they do, they have been here longer than you have, and that was when I asked him with the whole crowd listening, I said whats the difference between these guys being here longer than me, and I will never get the pay they do, and i have been here about 8 years longer than your son and he makes the same pay I do, he turned and walked off and said as he left, be glad you make what you do. it took another 10 years until that guy was replaced, and the guy that took his place was on the job one day and I got a chance to talk to him, I told him the story and asked if he thought I deserved top pay like the rest, he said it will be on your next check, long story but true, thats one thing I like about a union, if you have been there one week and another guy has been there 10 years and you are doing the same job you get the same pay, and if there is a cut back and a few workers has to go, the ten year guy stays and the one week old guy goes, it don't matter which one does the better job, it's fair to all workers. I have seen a lot of workers done wrong over the years, and I perfer a union ten to one over nonunion, another thing that nonunion company did, it would say it sold out, changing it's name but the click that ran the company never changed, each time the first thing they did was a pay cut, the last time they sold, they asked us to take a 5 bucks an hour cut, so I left and got a job with a company that was in a union, they excepted me and I never looked back, retired with health insurance and a pension, I think most that are against a union, has never worked for one and has no chance to ever work for one, in my opinion a Union protects the employees from the things like, favoritism shown to relatives and friends at the work place, and equal pay to all both male and female.