Answers to Comments of Article in Kennebec Journal, Dec. 16, 2007

This comes from a post at UnionMaine's blog: http://www.unionmaine.blogspot.com/ (Thanks Tom -Helen) These are excerpts from comments on a KJ article http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4566516.html?com_sent=1 referring to Local 771. Do you know how 771 got the name? Before they joined the Union they made $7.71 cents an hour, no guaranteed wages, no regular schedule, no sick days, no, vacations, no way to get a raise or anything else. They are far from rich and they are still fighting for benefits but they are better now and they have hope, something they never had before. They take care of the elderly, with personal care that can mean cleaning, feeding or being a voice of comfort to the elderly and the sick and they made $7.71 cents an hour showing that our children and our parents were worth less to the companies than burger flipping. Even Wal-Mart has a health care plan, a lousy one, but a plan. 771 members deserve respect for their work, not abuse from people that have no idea what they are talking about. Let worker raises be determined by merit”… Answer. The top athletes in sports belong to Unions because management will always try to increase profit at the cost of the employee regardless of your “merit”. (You pay) “You are not entitled to any union benefits” Answer. Except the pay, working conditions and benefits negotiated by a Union. Statement. (Fair Share) “(a clause made AFTER you were hired, which effectively changes your terms of employment)” and “They changed my working conditions.” Answer. You joined or stayed with a Union shop knowing that contracts can change. The contract changed. Did you refuse any benefits or wage increases? Statement. “it's win-win for everyone but YOU” Answer. Better pay, benefits and working conditions. A win for the employee and for the employer. Statement. It’s like being drafted”. Answer. You are not joining the Union; you are just paying your fair share. Statement. It is too easy for poor performers to hide The Answer is another quote: Poor performers can be dealt with under any union contract. They all contain disciplinary procedures that prevent arbitrary, capricious, and discriminatory practices with regard to discipline. (Which is why most management hates Unions. They want to be able to fire you for any reason regardless of your “merit”. Statement. But, they are required to pay for the representation they receive. …whether they want it or not. Answer. It is the law, form a Union (political party) and change it. With an $111,000,000 deficit the only way we can protect what we have, never mind make headway is to realize that politicians are sensitive to votes. You can find your legislator in the column on the left. Write your representatives now and ask them if they will protect your health care and work to see that you get a fair contract. Tell them you do not want a raise you only want enough money to be Equal To Inflation. E.T.I. 2009 if applied fairly would only pay back the pay cuts we have all taken from the legislature. Cuts taken with the promise of keeping our benefits. Remind your legislator that you have already paid for your benefits. Paid in advance.