Just curious how many union members are on here. I don’t want this to become a pro/anti union post, there is already one of those. I’m a ironworker local 512. 19 yesrs

Teamster 35 years and staunch conservative

Teamsters 31 years

I retired 13 years ago this coming January with 37 and a half years in the Teamsters Union working for a local lumber yard. I have seen both sides of the issue the company finally agreed to a 401k the last few years I was working so never had any time to build it up. The only thing I have to rely on other than Social Security is a small Teamsters pension which I am very grateful for and over the years we had to give up different things for contributions into the pension fund. I stood on the street and carried a picket sign for 7 weeks in order to get a wage worth working as hard as we did for. That was in the 1970s and things never did get much better after that. The work was hard but manageable if you were willing to work. For years my vacation time was spent trapping to try and make ends meet. The office Personnel were all non-union and the outside laborers and truck drivers warehouseman Etc were all union members. I for one would never have made it at an inside job so it was my choice to stick with what I did. Since retirement I have done nothing but hunt fish and trap and I don't regret a minute of it. Tight chains, Walt.

I've been retired for 8 years now. Never was a hard core union guy. I was however a member Firefighter local 127 for 27 years. Seen both the good and bad of it.

Mac

Was with I.A.M. for 43 years

I was a Union member for about the first 12-15 years with my company. The union president sorta drove me away. Too fanatical for me and when a surplus came around recommended me for surplus instead of one of his “kin” that was on the chopping block. Too many shady things going on, so I got out. At that time it was vote Democrat or you might as well be a scab.

Well that president “retired” and a special election was held and a new president and vice president was elected. I immediately didn’t like the guy even though I didn’t know him. Eventually he was in our group even though we had different titles within the company. Still couldn’t stand him because we were having to pick up some of his work every time he was out for union business.

A few years later it was recommended to avoid a possible surplus in my title that I take another title…a little more money and on the opposite side of the house from what I’d been doing. I was reluctant but realized I wouldn’t be Junior man anymore with 21-22 years and it would just be me and the Union president and he’d be my Junior.

I fully expected to be ostracized and ignored, but just the opposite happened. He basically held my hand and showed me the ropes of the job. A month later we had a CEO change and he went 180 from the direction the company was headed and now my original title didn’t have enough, so they hired two more to take my spot.

After only a month I realized this new title was where I wanted to be. So now skip a year or two and the whole time my coworker and I function like a well oiled machine. This caused a rift with his members because we were actually friends, he the Union president and I a non-union member.

From our working together I got a glimpse of not only the guy I used to despise, but the functioning of the Union on a local level. I decided several months ago to rejoin the union…CWA

United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 699 Saginaw MI.
I have been Retired 20 years .... Totally conservative !
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Ibew local #1. 8 years

When you are in Corrections, you have to have a union to protect you from the bleeding heart liberals who allow the inmates to make false allegations against staff and immediately take the inmate's side.

UAW Local 1618 & 652 for 30 years Lansing. Local 608(I think) in Bay City for 10 years w/GM.

Retired 2006 after 40 years 1 month. Glad to leave the rat infested tribe.

I always wondered what our double dues was doing. Now we know, supplementing the UAW union heads in Detroit.

Retired this July 27 years, Teamsters local 406

I live in a right to work state. I don’t even know a union member. About 45 years ago a friend worked with the railroad several years. He was a very junior engineer or a senior brakeman.

During the Gulf War, I had two weeks of Coast Guard duty at a weapons loading base. The people who loaded the ships were in a union.

18 years as a teamsters 638 at UPS. Proud member. 7 more years and I'm retiring.

UAW 5 years...IAM 30 years, retired.

to be honest can't remember how many times I had to join a union at places I worked, if I had to guess I'd say about 3-4 times. About the same number of times I was in jobs that didn't require me joining the union (engineering).
I was never management.
All my experience has been in the manufacturing business so take that for what its worth.

So I have seen lots of the warts of unions from both sides of the fence.

Seems to me the unions should work with the companies instead of always being confrontational.
If they were smart they'd tell the companies that they would handle the hiring and firing of members and ensure their competency. Police their own members.
Trouble is the way it is currently the unions end up fighting for the leekers that abuse the system, the guys that the rest of the members would like to see gone.
They fight with the company for anything that would improve efficiencies in the business.
They fight more benefits and wages while at the same time fighting for less responsibility for the work their members do.
Its a no win situation as it is for the companies. Eventually alot of the ones I was involved in ended up reducing work force and sending work over seas.

And by no means is management pure, they alot of times are part of the problem. But again maybe if the unions worked with management they could steer management in a better direction at times.

International Operating engineers local 955

I'm retired Operating Engineers Local 49.

18 years Glaziers 1164 Peoria IL - withdrew 12 yrs ago.

Laborer heavy highway 28 year got the hrs to retire but not the age