Would you trust your job to this?

It seems that the die hard union members are quite concerned about what every non-union hourly and salaried worker does. Yet when it comes to ensuring that the union members are doing their jobs and abiding by rules and laws the union has a habit of looking the other way. Take for example, the last contract/strike vote. How many people were out there in the parking lot of the Tucson Convention Center having beers afterward? I mentioned it to a union steward and nothing was done about it.

I also saw several people on the line with beer and alcohol. Once again, this was mentioned to a union steward, yet nothing was done about it.

When the strike was ended and a contract signed, there was a quote in the paper that caught my attention. It was from a union member on the negotiating team stating that the union, "won the right to be taken seriously." How is this going to help you get taken seriously when you hold double standards for union and non-union members? I've seen egregious complaints filed against the company, salaried employees, and non-dues paying hourly employees. But I have yet to see the union tell one of its dues paying members that they need to straighten up. This is what the union calls serious? It is one of my reasons for crossing. I (and many other employees that were too scared of the union to cross) could not take the union seriously. The last night I served strike duty, all but one person thought the union was not doing their job.

And this union thinks it has the sole right to dictate what my wages and benefits are? Neither of these actions is what a serious organization condones. When brought to the attention of such an organization, I would expect it to want to take action to ensure that they put their best foot forward in any future negotiations. These are not the actions of responsible adults. These are not the actions of a group that should be representing me at the bargaining table with the company. Maybe the union should take the phrase, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," to heart. They do not represent those of us that take pride in ourselves, our families, our work, and our company. And that is why IAMNOT933!

Lies upon lies...

I find it interesting that the union keeps up the appearance (or at least attempts to) that they fight for EVERYONE working as a Raytheon hourly employee. The simple truth is that they don't. How quickly they forget about the comments made about those that crossed the line and went to work within the first few days. How quickly they forget about their little sheet that was posted in the union hall listing the names of those that had crossed. It was there for all that were still on strike to see.

I did not agree with it then and had I known that it wasn't only unethical, but illegal, I would have made a copy of it. But then again, the union seems to make it a habit of harrassing their non-union counterparts, don't they? I have heard of things that were done around the various plants to impart the union membership's displeasure with the contract that had been offered.

I hope that they took great pride in putting my name on that list. I hope it gave them something to celebrate; that they could in some small way "get back at me" for abandoning their deceit.

It is funny (funny-ironic, not funny-ha-ha) that the union calls those of us that have begun to say "enough is enough" names and dishonest. I spin nothing. I present the truth. I believe the hourly workers are intelligent and deserve to be treated as such. People can't make an informed decision without the truth. Where else are they going to get it from? The union leadership? Even to this day those individuals in charge of the union cannot stick to facts. Instead they twist and contort the truth. I lay it bare. Granted, some of it may not be what we want to hear, but the only way to decide whether or not this union is deserving of our money, trust, and backing is for ALL the hourly workers to be informed. That is not going to happen through the union...and that is why IAMNOT933!

Here it goes again!

So IAM has managed to do it again, huh? The workers of Boeing have been driven to a strike by their union "leaders". These leaders have been quoted as saying that they aren't greedy, they just want a piece of the pie. Not greedy? Shall I visit the dictionary for a definition of that word? You make demands and when they aren't met, you walk away and throw a temper tantrum like a child. That is not greedy? I am sure that workers at Raytheon would have loved a contract like that.

I am not absolving the companies of any wrongdoing in this...far from it. But a company is there to make money. The union is supposed to be there to protect the workers. This is done through NEGOTIATION, not making demands. It seems that unions would rather drive companies into the ground than actually acheive something.

Take a look at the IAM national website. They have a "merger watch" on it about possible airline mergers. If you read what they have readily available on the website, they are dead-set against mergers because it may close some hubs or re-route major airline traffic flow. So basically the union leaders in all of their wisdom would rather see those struggling airlines go away...along with their jobs. Yes, mergers would cost some jobs. There is no doubt about that. But in an industry where quarterly losses are the norm, everyone is living on borrowed time.

This is something that the entire IAM organization does not understand. The relationship between corporations and the union should be symbiotic. Most companies that I have worked for at least attempt to understand this. The unions that I have worked under do not. Where were the union leaders during the Raytheon strike? Were they getting back to the table with the company? Were they working with the company to find resolve to their disagreements? No, they were standing outside the Herman's Road gate (when ANY form of media were present) badmouthing the company that they want to get more out of. What kind of logic is that? If you ground your teenager for statying out too late on a school night are you going to give in to their demands that they should be allowed to go to the movies because they call you names and claim you to be unfair? Hell no! So why would a company do that?

That is why I have zero faith in this union. They have not shown that they deserve my time, money, or trust. That is why IAM NOT 933!