[Anonymous]

There is/was a time and place for unions, but is unionization right for my (construction) shop?

The proposed 3 year agreement states, in part: (1) Journeyman’s wage of not less than $24.95 per hour (first year, with annual raises) – foreman are $2.50/hr higher and the union tells you how the journeyman/foreman ratio you must have, (2) Two weeks of annual paid vacation, (3) eight (or 9) paid Holidays, (4) $15.72 per hour for union fringe benefits (which includes a medical/dental/vision package far superior than what is available for most employers on the open market), (5) Employer must provide at least 8 hours of continuing education for each union employee – and they get paid and fringes for attending training, (6) if the worker shows up for work and no work is available, they get paid for 2 hours just for showing up, (7) the employer pays the union steward up to one hour per week for performing union duties during work hours; (8) in ND you can work up to 48 hours before getting OT, but the union agreement limits it to 40 hours, (9) if the employee uses their own vehicle to drive to a jobsite, the employer must reimburse them at TWO times the approved IRS rate currently in effect…there’s more, but these are the “high lights”.

Let’s say everyone was already making $25 per hour (or $52,000 annually). Now they get a $15.72 per hour (or $32,697 annual) raise. This is hard for me to swallow – especially since I didn’t see a $33k+/- raise after I got my CPA license.

$52,000 + 32,697 = $84,697 PLUS another $15k or so for FICA, SUTA, FUTA, workers’ comp and general liability insurance. So if the guys can’t turn a profit without belonging to the union, now I’ve added THOUSANDS of dollars per year to an already unprofitable situation and made it worse. Have they just unionized themselves right out of a job (because the employer can’t stay in business)?

Plus, there’s the cost of my time for union compliance – which is no easy task if you’ve ever had to do it.

[mla1169]

Considering the great victory that the employees of Market Basket in eastern ma just pulled off I can't see how unions are necessary anymore. Those folks were not union, key distribution people walked off the job- everybody else organized a total boycott that cost the company millions per day until the “evil” Artie S sold his shares and went bye-bye.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[leglock]

Unions are great for employees. In my state, many high school teachers of 13 yrs will make between 110,000 to 130,000 per year thanks to collective bargaining, with full health insurance and teach only 3 hrs per day for 39 weeks a year, while having xmas, thanksgiving, spring break, summer break and every other holiday you can think of. It has driven up the tax levy on homes to the point it has killed many local housing markets. A 3,000 sq ft house on a quarter acre or less lot will pay about 17,000 per year in taxes.

Read the story of what happened to where Twinkies were made to see another example of what union wages can do to a business.

Many of the union subcontractors are going nonunion. The bigger naitional builders in my area started going nonunion because of the excessive costs of construction caused by union wages. It's kind of funny bc the union guys will show up on these job sites with a big blowup rat and picket outside the jobsite.

My advice would be to avoid it at all costs if you can

[Anonymous]

I agree that the time and place for unions is a thing of the past. Seeing the numbers is actually kind of sickening.

[Anonymous]

One of my FB friends posted this: “I am a proud retired member of AFGE local 3129. I was a union member and an organizer. Labor unions brought us a strong middle class and with it a stable democracy. Labor union's demise has brought us huge income inequality and with it social unrest. The problems in Ferguson are not entirely related to the demise of the middle class but it does play a role. People with jobs and a stake in the system do not riot!”

Apparently what she doesn't understand is the nearly $33k in benefits that are paid to EACH union member would put a family of four well above poverty level. That family of four wouldn't get rich on $33k, but they would rely in the rest of us for their welfare benefits way less.

I wonder who she thinks pays (has paid) for her benefits package all these years? How many people didn't get hired because the employer was beholden to the union demands of local 3129? In my experience, the union employee never acknowledges the vast sums than employer contribute on their behalf.

One of our employees quit because he wanted the employer to fund his health & welfare package because his wife was switching jobs – and the employee didn't want to have to pay for both him and her. Employee also wanted to the health package that included a $250 deductible/$375 annual OOP. Another employee quit because he wanted insurance that would pay for his cataract surgery. He didn't want the crappy $2,500 deductible/$4,500 annual OOP but wanted the $250/$375 mentioned above.

[Author]

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