Heard a rumor dh's union might go on strike :(

[Works4me]

That sux! What type of union? Anyway to find out what benefits the union will cover?

[Deleted]

You need to check, Wrongsideof30. If labor unions gave no benefits, their strikes wouldn't last more than a few days. Their members need their paychecks too.

There is often a subsistence pay (sort of like unemployment). I think the guys have to man the picket line or something, though.

Check and see.

[Deleted]

Ok, you just made me glad that despite all the name-calling that goes on calling NEA and AEA a "union," we are just a professional organization. They can't order (or declare or whatever) a strike. They also don't negotiate salaries except lobby in good years for a pay raise. But individual school systems can and do pay above the state minimum .

My ex was management in a corporation that had a strong labor union. Strikes made them salivate because of the extra pay.

[Deleted]

Seems to me that when CWA was on strike, our health insurance was still in effect, but it's been more than 20 years since I retired. Definitely check on it. In order to get the strike pay, we had to walk the picket line. At the time, I think strike pay was a grand $10-$15/week.

What most people did right before strike time was trot over to the credit union and take out a loan to tide them over. Like borrowing money because you're not going to have an income made sense!

[Ava]

Wrongsideof30; my thoughts are with you and I wish everything turns out fine for you and your family.
Until last week I worked at a union place and I also felt very negatively about it, just like you.
I was attending school and needed the union job to tide me over, fortunately they never went on strike while I was working there.
But don't feel completely helpless. There are a few things you can do.
First of all, the union is going to hold a vote among members before going on strike. Your husband should attend the meeting and vote against striking. It's just one vote, but it can make a difference, you never know. He also should talk to coworkers and explain that if they strike, they'll loose their wages for who knows how long. Can they really afford that?
Second, if the union goes on strike, your husband can send them a letter (certified) informing them that he no longer is a union member. In my state, union dues are mandatory, but nobody can force you to be a union member. In right-to-work states, if you are not a member, you don't pay dues.
If he's not a union member, he can go to work without fearing anything bad from the union. If he's not a union member, he may loose benefits provided by the union.
I would also take the full time job at your workplace if I were you. Better safe than sorry, and when this situation corrects itself you can reassess what to do.
Best of luck to you

[alabamagal]

Good luck! Find out all your options.

Where I used to work, there was always talk that the union would go on strike (I was in management). Negotiations always go down to the last minute (or past). I went through about 5 contracts and there was always talk of a strike, but everything got done in the end. Hopefully this will happen with DH.

[Deleted]

wrongside, do you know what the issue is that they're going on strike over? I'm union, but our contract prevents us from going on strike.

Whatever happens, I hope your family comes through it with minimal impact.

[Deleted]

Wow, the company is in good shape overall and that's what they offered in negotiations?

Our contract is being negotiated now and it's not going well. No surprise there. The last contract ended late last year. We've gone without a contract for over a year before.

I don't know anything about strikes because as I said, we can't do it. Good luck!

[The J]

Jun 17, 2012 11:12:43 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

in the other state that is striking the company offered the employes a pay cut of a couple dollars an hour and a HUGE increase in the amount they have to pay for healthcare (like a 500% increase). The company is super profitable and making money hand over fist.

I wouldn't take any of that to heart. Chances are the union came to the table asking for giant raises and other benefit increases. Management came back with pay cuts and health insurance premium increases. While there was some movement probably, there was eventually a stalemate. The union, in order to garner support for the strike, most likely told everyone about the initial proposals, which were not where things were left off. It's the way these things go.

[The J]

Jun 17, 2012 15:13:35 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

Jun 17, 2012 14:48:14 GMT -5 The J said:

I wouldn't take any of that to heart. Chances are the union came to the table asking for giant raises and other benefit increases. Management came back with pay cuts and health insurance premium increases. While there was some movement probably, there was eventually a stalemate. The union, in order to garner support for the strike, most likely told everyone about the initial proposals, which were not where things were left off. It's the way these things go.

We were told that after the company made this offer, the union countered with keeping the health insurance the same and the employees taking a $4/h pay cut. The company said no.

I'm sure you were told that. I'm sure there were other demands on the table too, accompanying that offer (most likely including a no-layoff clause). This is part of what I do for a living -- unless you're in the room, at that table, you don't know all the parameters of the offer. You only know what you are told by people with an agenda (and this information filtering happens on the management side too).

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2012 15:20:05 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

I'm pretty sure this company made a PROFIT of over 6 billion last year.

So you support the strike, then?

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2012 15:20:05 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

I'm pretty sure this company made a PROFIT of over 6 billion last year.

What was their profit the previous 5 years?

[Deleted]

Is that gross profit or net profit?

Because if you look at my company, you would think they make "beaucoup" bucks; but for retail... for every $1 in sales, they make $0.01 aka a penny in net profit.

[swamp]

Jun 18, 2012 19:35:05 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

Cawiau, this info is hard (for me) to find because mostly everything reported has to do with stockholders and percentages.

2010, for the full year, reported net revenue was $35.1 billion.

Regardless, it just sucks that dh might go on strike. We did some quick math and it looks like he's paid ~$10k in union dues since he's been working there.

That's a great net revenue if the expenses are 25 billion, not so good if theyre 40 billion

[Deleted]

Can your husband take over the homeschooling if they do go on strike?
You can maybe put together a syllabus/outline for him to follow.