Nathan W. Collier wrote:

> fair enough.Â*Â*iÂ*hadÂ*aÂ*unionÂ*shopÂ*solicitÂ*meÂ*fo rÂ*employmentÂ*recently
> offering $26 an hour and the look on his face suggested that he thought
> that was a tremendous offer.Â*Â*whenÂ*iÂ*toldÂ*themÂ*imÂ*alreadyÂ*earnin gÂ*more
> thanÂ*that,Â*andÂ*i dont have to subtract union dues from it plus im getting
> benefits, paid vacation (which officially starts tomorrow :-), etc. his
> expression changed. i went on further to discuss how i was able to stand
> upon my own work ethic and abilities and didnt need the protection of a
> union to keep working, and he excused himself from my table.

I wanted to add... The union rate in my local is only the minimum. Our rate
locally will be something like $27/hr for a journeyman in another week or
so and an additional $1.50 or so an hour if you're a foreman but I know
guys that are getting $32/hr, paid holidays & vacations, van/truck to drive
and other perks. The companies are only required to pay you at least the
contract rate. They're free to pay you more, and often do.

You do understand that unions fought and died for overtime pay, weekends
off, vacation, 8 hour days, benefits packages, retirement benefits, etc.,
don't you? You're not totally on your own two feet. The reason non-union
jobs paid them was to compete against union shops, in order to get workers.

I find it amusing when I talk to non-union guys on the job site, when they
claim unions suck, but they like getting $6/hr. pay bumps for prevailing
wage on state/federal funded jobs. And the most amusing thing I ever heard
was a guy tell me that we need non-union people on jobs too, in order to
keep the costs down. Now, saying I'm willing to do the same job for less
money is like saying I'm willing to pay more than other people for a new
car. It's retarded. I go where the money is. What he failed to realize is
that his company bids the work as if he's paid what the union guys make.
They just pocket the difference.

Oh...and the benefits are stellar. We just had a guy retire after 27 years
of service and he'll receive $5200 a month in pension, and he took a 7%
deduction for retiring at age 55. I've yet to find a 401k retirement plan
that pays that well unless you're some executive in the fat money. There's
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (S.U.B), too, which is in addition to
unemployment and compensates you the difference in what you made in a 40
hr. week working and what unemployment pays you (important in construction
trades) and medical leave pay which pays you while you're off from work due
to a medical problem not associated with your job. None of these are even
available to non-union plumbers/pipefitters. That $27/hr. is what goes on
the check. There's another $11/hr that goes to various benefits the union
takes care of including ongoing education through the union's school for
various certifications/licenses that's totally free as long as you're in
the union. It's a pretty nice package...

BTW, our local is combined plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, _and_
mechanical equipment service, which is refrigeration/heating/air service.


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