When they came after the Gypsy's we didn't care because we were not Gypsies...
When they came after the Baptists we didn't care because we were Catholics...
Union scare tactics?
They'll come after you soon enough if not already. Ageism in today's business place is acceptable, if not legal. AT&T employees are being forced to take vacation hours in place of sick leave. Businesses are using this downturned economy to justify such abuses.
My employer changed one week of sick leave to an additional week of Paid Time Off. You can now go play golf on a "sick day" and talk about it the next day in the office. There are plusses and minuses and I'm not sure if I really like it compared to other places I've worked as salaried exempt. If you know the rules, you can play the game.
Did you notice how Mercury blunted an effort mounted by employees to have a second vote to accept their terms? Too late, we're outahere! Most likely their plan all along. Keep your eyes open Stillwater. Don't offer them any money you can't afford to lose.
The initial post by unreliablesource indicates the Union leaders have blocked the vote.
We all know of well run companies where unions have had no success in organizing. Those companies display a balance of labor and management interests. That's the key. Equal power yields respect and true negotiation. They know that the success of each depends on the other. When that balance tips one way or the other adjustments are made to effect that balance. I love the old adage, "If you really want to screw your boss, do what he tells you to do".
Sometimes it's not a matter of power by the workers. Not too much in big companies but small family companies occasionally just like to take care of their source of income, the workers. I've seen it in practice. No place is perfect for either the employer or employee but good enough is a nice combination.
You make some good points about contract expectations. I don't know exactly what is wrong with a labor union acting like a business unless being a business is a negative thing. Why wouldn't they?
There is not really anything wrong with Unions being big business in concept. Why do the unions then try to present themselves as the 25 oppressed workers at Joe's Widget Shop rather than the large often powerful agent (your word) that they are? I believe that often the large Unions are more interested in preserving the power and income of the Union rather than protecting the rights and jobs of the workers they supposedly represent. When I started work at Telex Computer Products (long ago at 41st and Sheridan) the assembly workers were represented by I believe the Transport Workers. I could understand an electronic or some other union but the TWU never made sense to me.
Anti-union is part of our culture here so I am never surprised at the level of opposition to them. It is ironic since OK's constitution writers were intent on keeping OK a progressive, labor friendly state as a result of labor practices at the time.
