Better to join a union or not?

[eflat]

I'm planning on starting an apprenticeship to become an electrician in a few months and I notice about half the organization are affiliated with a union and half are private. What are the pros and cons to each?

What I've been reading seems to suggest that I will get better pay and better benefits with a union. Is this the general consensus?

 

[biffbacon]

union will guarantee you better wages, and fair treatment. if your going into a trade like the electrical business, i would say its better to be in a union. most nonunion contractors wont pay you as well, and you wont get the benefits

 

[Aceshigh]

I think it's much better to join a union. Where I work the union guys are very well taken care of. They get perks the non-union guys don't.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Union workers get paid better/make better benefits, there are several studies to prove it.

Unions, the folks that brought you the weekend...

 

[FracturedSoul]

Then of course there is the side where you are out of work if a strike is ordered. Can you afford to be out of work for anywhere from a week to months?

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: FracturedSoul
Then of course there is the side where you are out of work if a strike is ordered. Can you afford to be out of work for anywhere from a week to months?

But there are union dues and help from other unions to give you some pay. If I was going to be an electrician, I would go union.

 

[FracturedSoul]

Some pay? How much is some? 90% of pre-tax..80%?? 60%? That needs to be a consideration.... does the extra pay you get from being part of an union allow you to put enough away in the case of an extended pissing match with employers?

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: FracturedSoul
Some pay? How much is some? 90% of pre-tax..80%?? 60%? That needs to be a consideration.... does the extra pay you get from being part of an union allow you to put enough away in the case of an extended pissing match with employers?

If it didn't would people be willing to join still? I think you answered your own rhetorical questions.

 

[Gnurb]

there's a reason you see all those bumper stickers in favor of unions.

most definitely join.

 

[Vette73]

I love it when peopel ask about a Union here they say they are america's #1 problem, but when they get a job then they have to join the union.

I am pro-union myself as long as it is run by people with half a brain and some common sense.

 

[silverpig]

I HATE working for a union. The guys are slackers, are horrble workers, and everything is done according to seniority. No matter how hard I work, I'm never going to get ahead of some of the lackies I work with, despite the fact that some of them ruin more in equipment every year than they get paid. My brother has a union job where the guys there are on a 9.5 hr shift but they only work about 3 hours of that. The rest of the time they sleep, play pool, etc.

Of course all unions are different though. I'm just posting to say that not all unions are great. Check with the guys in your local unions and see what they think.

 

[Bleep]

The first thing that you that are bashing unions get real. Management has the right to manage it is as simple as that. If anyone thinks that you cannot be fired or punished for any work infraction just because you are in a union you are not very smart.

Then of course there is the side where you are out of work if a strike is ordered.

This is the dumbest thing that I read on the thread. A strike cannot be called without a vote of the members, Check out the Landrum Griffith act.
Why do you think that Doctors, Lawyers, and yes even large corporations have unions, the one for large corporations is called the NAM National Association of Manifactures.

Bleep

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Bleep
The first thing that you that are bashing unions get real. Management has the right to manage it is as simple as that. If anyone thinks that you cannot be fired or punished for any work infraction just because you are in a union you are not very smart.

Then of course there is the side where you are out of work if a strike is ordered.

This is the dumbest thing that I read on the thread. A strike cannot be called without a vote of the members, Check out the Landrum Griffith act.
Why do you think that Doctors, Lawyers, and yes even large corporations have unions, the one for large corporations is called the NAM National Association of Manifactures.

Bleep

Where I work in order to fire someone they have to give them a severance package with ~$4000 cash (Yes, this is true as someone got fired two years ago). So yeah, management can fire anyone at anytime for a good reason, but they're gonna have to pay for it.

Some unions are good, some are bad.

 

[rival]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug
I'm planning on starting an apprenticeship to become an electrician in a few months and I notice about half the organization are affiliated with a union and half are private. What are the pros and cons to each? What I've been reading seems to suggest that I will get better pay and better benefits with a union. Is this the general consensus?

i'm startin my fourth year as a ibew apprentice this fall...get into the program, its the best thing you can do, ive doubled my pay in 3 years and it will go up about $10 more in the next 2 years

most non-union contractors will probably try to hire you, then fire you in 3 months before they have to pay you benfits, and nobody will be there to represent you and fight for you...

 

[YingYang]

I deal with contractors a lot and my impression of the electrical union is pretty good. You start out as an aprentice and work your way up to be a journeyman after 5 years. The training that they receive is top notch. The pros of being in the electrical union is that you get the training, the pension, and also the medical benefits. Oh yeah, almost forgot, because you're union you get paid more.
Now the cons of being union is that your pension does not transfer to your spouse if you die. That's one of the things the union doesn't tell anyone thinking of joining the union. Also, a lot of potential customers such as myself have to debate whether to use a contractor that's union or non-union. A union contractor will charge roughly 75 bucks an hour for his labor while the non-union guy will charge 60 for the same work. We have to call up several contractors for a job proposal and I have to decide which company to use. Usually it's a no brainer that the non-union contractor has the low bid.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: FracturedSoul
Then of course there is the side where you are out of work if a strike is ordered. Can you afford to be out of work for anywhere from a week to months?

Oh a strike - man that would be a bummer if I didn't have to work and bought an open ended ticket to hawaii to sulk over it


I'm really looking forward to starting this apprenticeship. Figuring the $60,000 I just saved on college and the 25k+ I'll be making my first year I'm going to have money pouring out of my ears. And I won't ever have to sit in a cubicle

Why do people attend college again? Hehe

 

[Analog]

unions were good at one time, they were also the demise of the auto industry in the late 70s/early 80s.

 

[AvesPKS]

Originally posted by: Aceshigh
I think it's much better to join a union. Where I work the union guys are very well taken care of. They get perks the non-union guys don't.

Heh...tell that to PATCO and the air traffic controllers...

 

[Zombie]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: FracturedSoul
Then of course there is the side where you are out of work if a strike is ordered. Can you afford to be out of work for anywhere from a week to months?

Oh a strike - man that would be a bummer if I didn't have to work and bought an open ended ticket to hawaii to sulk over it


I'm really looking forward to starting this apprenticeship. Figuring the $60,000 I just saved on college and the 25k+ I'll be making my first year I'm going to have money pouring out of my ears. And I won't ever have to sit in a cubicle

Why do people attend college again? Hehe

Sorry to burst your bubble but today very few people make it thru without any college education. So as happy as you are for your new job don't knock college education.