GM Workers on Strike

[1969z280]

Schonyenko2:

You are exactly on point. I was actively involved in union bargaining with IBEW Local 134 and the National Electrical Contractors Association on both sides. As a member and a contractor. People love to bad rap the union employees and talk to the cost savings in non-union shops.

The reality of the situation in Chicago was that the non-union shops would usually pay their employees the same rate of pay (sometimes higher) in order to keep the employees from organizing. I used to laugh at some of these non-union folks, who simply didn't realize that union contract was driving their pay rate. Had it not been for the bargained employee rate, the non-union employees of other companies wouldn't have received half of their current rate of pay.

If you question this scenario, ask any WalMart employee in the country how they like their rate of pay or benefits. There is no union competitor or true organized labor involvement in that industry and this has become one of the most desperate situations in small town America.

Union wages in this country even drove the management wages to new heights as the promise of promotion from the ranks needed to be met with higher and higher entry level management salaries.

Just my $.02 Ed