• MintyFresh@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I’ve got a proper union gig for the first time. I love it! Good benefits, decent pay. But the best part is having a union rep in your corner. I recently had a disagreement with management, took it to my rep, and viola! A reasonable result was achieved with a minimum of fuss. Was like a breath of fresh air. Everyone should unionize!!!

    • dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Not that I was ever anti-union, but rather I work in an industry that has none. After coming back to work after a layoff, the daily grind has been an exercise in constant, agonizing, anxiety, as I have now experienced the horror of free-fall into an society with no safety net. I have seen the light. Having some additional insurance would feel really amazing right now.

  • Chev@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    You pay 700 $ for the Union but get yearly pay raises and work benefits. For most people the benefits give you immidiatly more money than it takes.

    I live in a country where over 90% of people work in an unionized environment.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    My union dues are 1.5%.

    But, my union:

    Makes sure I don’t have to take my work home with me.

    Says when it’s ok to be contacted by work at home.

    Got us a nice pay raise that more than covers any dues.

    Makes sure any training events are monitored, correctly administered and can’t be used to get rid of employees.

    Provides additional insurance that make up for shortfalls in employer coverage - particularly disability.

    Substance abuse and mental health help so that you can get help and not lose your job.

    And plenty more.

    All of it worth more to the entire group than any pain from the dues I pay. Love being in a union shop, worth it even with the few downsides.

      • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        My school bus driver union (Teamsters) are not in anybody’s pocket but they still don’t do much for us. They did go to bat for our shop steward who was pulled over for DUI and blew a .32 and then was at work driving a bus full of kids three hours later. She was eventually fired but it took more than two weeks for the situation to be resolved. I’m very pro-union but the shit is not a panacea by any means.

      • aeiou_ckr@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I have sadly heard this about many unions from the workers at Kroger and the Metro in Houston, TX particularly.

        • despoticruin@lemmy.zip
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          2 days ago

          I can speak firsthand that this is the case for Kroger in Illinois. Their unions fight to cap wages below living wage levels, pick some of the most expensive insurance on the market, and work with Kroger corporate to eat away your hourly rate with sliding payscales based on incredibly arbitrary criteria (overnight premium, but it only counts for 4 hours of a graveyard shift as an example that happened to me).

          They are actually worse than not having a union, because then they could make more than $23 an hour in Chicago.

          Oh, did I mention the union contract specifically prohibits strikes and any form of worker retaliation?

          Awful company.

      • WolfmanEightySix@piefed.social
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        2 days ago

        I’ve worked somewhere like that. Someone was having a disciplinary and the rep sat on the same side of the table as management.

      • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        That does suck, and I have never been with a union where that isn’t a possibility. That’s one of the downsides whether or not they’re management’s tools. Top leadership tends to take care of itself first.

      • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Looking at the political situation in the US and many other places, that unfortunately seems to be a winning strategy.

        • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          The GOP for decades has targeted a fifth-grade level of discourse and been very successful with that. Trump’s big political innovation was targeting a third-grade level.

  • Matt3999@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Unions always have paid there way for me by better pay and conditions. Also, in Australia Union fees are tax deductible.

    • Psythik@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Their*

      Still blows my mind that people confuse they’re, their, and there (along with your and you’re).

      I have a learning disability, yet I figured this out 20 years ago; why hasn’t anyone else? I just don’t get it. Sorry for being a dick but it is beyond frustrating that people are still fucking this up somehow.

      • FiskFisk33@startrek.website
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        21 hours ago

        Sorry for being a dick but it

        Just stop then.

        Between people on the internets lack of good grammar and common courtesy, the first one is a far smaller problem in my eyes.

      • iii@mander.xyz
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        2 days ago

        For some people english is there 3rd or 4th language. Their can be a mistake here and they’re.

  • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    There are about 2000 working hours a year if you’re full time, so $700 works out to 35¢ an hour. If your union only gets you a 50¢/hr raise, it pays for itself.

  • I Cast Fist@programming.dev
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    2 days ago

    sighs in sad Brazilian unions

    For context, we have unions, but many of them have been co-opted by politicians or their flunkies.

  • Miles O'Brien@startrek.website
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    2 days ago

    My last employee orientation really didn’t like me saying to the group of 10 or so “anti-union speeches should be just as illegal as insinuating we aren’t allowed to discuss wages”

    And also I have called a new employee a fucking idiot for saying “guys we aren’t supposed to talk about wages” when the topic came up one day and “I’m gonna get a manager” when the discussion continued.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      2 days ago

      Yeah I’ve been told by quite a few jobs not to discuss pay rise offers. I’ve always said “yeah sure” and then completely ignored them the moment I left the office.

      If they hadn’t said anything at all I would have just assumed that everyone was getting the same offer the fact that they told me not to discuss it meant they were probably screwing us over. Best to find out about that.

  • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 days ago

    my union dues are $60 a paycheck

    but the price is worth it when my boss has to abide by my job description and has to pay me for overtime.

    i recently told the deputy IT director that what they asked for was not in my job description and that she should familiarize herself with it. I could tell by her reaction, the union is strong and having an understanding of what it’s there for is powerful against a bad boss