Lead by Example

So, it would appear that the union really does take the position of leading from the top down. It appears that the union president has a habit of not following rules. Obviously, he feels he is above these rules and they only apply to non-dues paying employees. This is the example that I'm supposed to follow? This is what I'm supposed to give 2.5 hours a month to? And next year you want more?

I find it absolutely pathetic that the union claims the dues are to help ALL workers get a better contract. Let me get this straight, dues are going up NEXT YEAR (which, even in the new calendar system is AFTER negotiations) to better enable the union to deal with the contract negotiations THIS YEAR?

This is what your union does, ladies and gentlemen. They lie to their membership as well as fellow employees, supervisors, and the public. They feel they are above such petty things as rules, policies, and laws. Unless of course, those particular rules, policies, or laws are ones that they feel they can benefit from. This is not what leadership is about.

This organization is so corrupt at the top, so full of spite towards the company and fellow employees (both hourly and salaried), that I can't come to any other conclusion except that the rest of it must be the same. Just recently there was a study released on how likely people would be to cheat. They were more likely to cheat when someone they identified with cheated than they were if someone they considered a rival were to cheat. By doing their damnedest to create a strong "identity" this union has promoted the bad behavior of the leadership among the common union employees.

What baffles me even further is that the regional and national offices of the IAMAW have not stepped in to deal with this. I can only come to the conclusion that they endorse this kind of behavior as well. If they cared about their reputation as a group working for the betterment of all employees, then they should have removed the officials of this local and started over.

They obviously don't care. Just like the leadership doesn't care. Just like most of the membership doesn't care. How many of you have employees in your area that seem to own nothing but union shirts? They can wear a shirt, but they evidently don't take those words to heart, do they? "What part of union made don't you understand?" I have seen several of my fellow employees wearing these shirts...as they stand in hallways, breakrooms, and with their backs to their work areas. The part of that sentence I don't understand is how does anything get made by the union at all?

It's all about having pride in yourself and the organization you claim to be a part of. I would NEVER be proud to say that I was a member of this group. NEVER! Just as I would never say that I was proud to be a member of the mob. These are not things that people should feel pride in. They should feel pride in knowing that they have done an honest day's work for a company that makes weapons to support our men and women in the field. How come none of you wear shirts showing that pride? Just your "union" pride? That's not something to be proud of. If you had any pride, you would seek to have your elected officials lead by example. You'd make them be the best employee they can be. You'd require them to be leaders.