23 January, 2009

A Question On Unions For Anyone Who May Know

How does a union assists me in my career other than to be on my side if I lose my job over an illegitimate reason?
A job that nets me $29,000 a year. I'm paying how much money to insure this salary?
What else do you do? Health care?
An otherwise human right in any other western nation is sparingly doled out to us at an exorbitant rate. I'm paying for crumbs wrapped in honor. The pride of keeping a job which I struggle so hard not to identify myself with.
If I got fired from this job I'd collect 27 weeks of freedom and still bring home 75% of my net earnings. 80% if I drop my union dues.

I'm as anti-big business and pro worker as I can be for a cushy 30-something with a dead end job but when I look realistically at it all...Someone help me here.

Am I wrong?

1 comment:

I am so wise said...

Union benefits are often hard to quantify. When I worked fast food and began to organize a union, the bosses got nicer, they over looked our pilfering of food, and less bitchy about schedule changes and call outs.

Other times, unions are unable to promote positive changes, but are able to prevent regression. Your union might be too weak for force through a pay increase, but its existence may be holding back pay cuts. Unfortunately, this benefit is only retrospectively i.e. after the defeat of the union.

And some unions are worthless and do nothing.