What's an American to do?

[chuckwoww]

Not too many Asians in the chorus I notice.

[Flashermac]

My father was a union man in his younger, blue collar days. Essentially, the union screwed him when he went to university on the WWII GI Bill and then became an electronics engineer. They kept the thousands he'd paid into his retirement fund and more of less told him "tough shit". He'd also had some fun sitting it out with no income during a lengthy strike. He once said to me, "If the union is on strike, the negotiators' salary should be stopped for as long as it takes them to reach an agreement. Why should they be paid when nobody else is?"

 

Both of my grandfathers were strong union men - Brotherhood of Railroad Workers. I've always been more ambivalent, having seen some of the bad crap unions have cause along with the good.

 

e.g. The plumbers union once caused a major problem during the development of the Titan ICMs. The rocket engines were precision designed and came to the Pacific Coast Missile Range fully assembled. The plumbers union went on strike, demanding they be paid to disassemble the engines and then put them back together again! No doubt they would thoroughly fuck them up in the process too. The strike was ended when it was agreed to pay them for the time it would have taken to assemble them, if they had assembled them and had had any idea of what they were doing. WTF? Delays and expenses for nothing.

 

[LizardKing]

Yes, but for every anecdote like your missile one, there are 100s of ways that unions have helped...

[expat]

Agreed. It's like saying penicillin is bad because a few people died from allergic reactions.

[Nervous God]

Flash - Plumbers Union builds Rocket Engines?

 

And the USSR was worried about the USA?

 

55555555555

[Old Hippie]

Remember this one?

 

QO7VUklDlQw

 

 

Yes, Saturday night live did a bit about the Union pot growers...oddly, the Teamsters now represents a group of pot growers...! Oh how I await the day it is legal to smoke...

[ThaiHome]

Flash - Plumbers Union builds Rocket Engines?

 

And the USSR was worried about the USA?

 

55555555555

 

 

Flash is refering to The United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, known as the UA.

TH

[Flashermac]

Apparently, somebody decided that since the engines involved pipes, it was their job to assemble them. Everyone thought it was absolutely idiotic at the time ... except the union. I think they ended up with nine days' pay for nothing.

 

 

[RayRay]

Angeles? Sihanoukville? Cuba?

 

Considering you are an American citizen I know one of those three won't be your final destination.

 

 

[chuckwoww]

I met Americans in Cuba.....few years ago. They were pretending to be Canadian.