Well, actually I'd consider it, but as with all union jobs, it's about time served. So I'd start at the bottom and in 5 years be where he is. I'm already far enough along this path that I'd take a pay cut. I also think job openings are hard to come by due to the high rates and are mostly locked up before they are officially posted. I definitely understand your point, it just doesn't stop me from feeling a little foolish/jealous. The time I spent in college he was earning good $$.
Laurence, I'm not singling you out, or flaming you, so please don't take what follows personally. It's just that you hit on a lot of what I've heard time and time again before I was able to leave the land of the working class.
Did anyone see the episode of "Dirty Jobs" when he had to go into a sewage holding tank to remove a 3-ton sewage pump?
Been there...Done that...Threw away the t-shirt afterwards!!!
General Disclaimer:
Rant begins here...please feel free to skip the following few paragraghs.
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YUP! It is about time served. And I served mine! I was low man on the totem pole for almost 10 years. In wastewater (sewage) the low man is honored with a brand spanking new pair of hip and/or chest waders, a heavy duty rain suit (that you could only wish was going to be worn in the rain!), and a hard hat (for when the morons "up top" drop there tools and stuff into the tank, pit, or manhole). I worked my way up the ladder (literally) in seniority, and was then able to pick and choose which work crews and which projects I wanted to be on. Eventually climbed up to plant foreman. At that point I never
HAD to go into another nasty tank or pit.....But I still went in (at MY choosing) IF a crew needed help, or if I was more knowledgeable of the work needing to be done.
Over the last few years that I was there, they hired some "know it all" idiots and punks that complained continuously about me having a soft cushy job as lab manager and plant foreman. And they were correct, it was a soft cushy job, with a heck of a lot more stress! They had NO idea all of the sh*t I had to put up with for a lot years! (literally and figuratively)
There were several people in other departments, and in other offices who had their BA's and a couple with MA's, who made far less than me. That was the path
they chose. Many of them are in 'go nowhere' dead end jobs....no ladder to climb....no pay grade boosts. They're stuck! UNLESS they choose to take the various employment and labor tests, and get placed on the "call" list. Then if there's an opening in a union position, and they've scored well on the tests, they WILL get "called". And they WILL start at the bottom of the totem pole....just like EVERYONE else did. And they'll receive the same pay raises and benefit upgrades just like everyone else gets.
I joined the Union on day one! They fought to get us decent contracts. We never asked for world, we only asked for what was reasonable. Management continuously countered with cuts in pay, insurance, jobs, and just about anything else that we had. One contract we even accepted some fairly major benefit cuts and a pay freeze. Management turned around at their very next meeting and voted themselves and there appointed non-union cronies 8-34% pay raises! (34% is NOT a typo NOR an exaggeration) They also didn't take any cuts in benefits.
Sounds kinda like a lot of manufacturers in this country.....the workers get cuts, and the white collar S.O.B.'s vote themselves raises. Then they cut jobs and out source jobs over seas, or south of the border. I think that they ought to leave the workers in the factories to do the work, and out source a lot of the white collar jobs. Many times a lot of
them just blow smoke and spew bullsh*t anyway, and that could be done for minimum wage from a call center in India! (no offense intended toward any Indians)
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OK...I'm done ranting! I'll behave again!
Now that I'm out of the rat race, all of that BS doesn't have any
direct effect on me anymore.....THANK GOD!!! (or the higher power of your choosing!) However, I
will continue to stand along side of my former co-workers in their fight for better benefits, higher pay, and better work conditions. Even for the idiots and punks who used to despise me, so that even they can have the opportunity to climb the ladder.....all the way to the top!
