Are any AAMers, in a union?

ajapale said:
Hi Grizzly,

I dont think trade unions are primarily about service! If you were in a tennis club would you complain about poor service?

aj
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Fair point but you'd expect to be allowed to play tennis there the odd time. VOR's club didn't give younger members court time.
 
Yes I'm a Union member and have been since I started working in the 70s. Different unions at different times. Have even been a shop steward! Once felt that Union wouldn't represent me, when I was singled out at work, but it turned out that the way the management had created my post had caused a lot of trouble for existing staff, and so I'm afraid I got the brunt of it. Not nice and of course being new to the company I couldn't have known. (It all worked out ok in the end)

The Union is made up of its members and its actions are decided democratically. Sometimes TU reps have to cool down workers who've got too hot-headed; other times they have to represent them even if they don't agree with them.

I think it's essential for workers to have a right to representation, especially for people who are timid by nature or who have difficulty in being assertive. I always thought it was odd that while we have a right to join a union, we don't have a right to representation.
 
ajapale said:
Hi Grizzly,

I dont think trade unions are primarily about service! If you were in a tennis club would you complain about poor service?

aj
Click to expand...

From the IBOA website.

IBOA provides a wide range of support services to its members both in the workplace and beyond. Its core focus, of course, is to ensure fair treatment of members in the workplace – in terms of pay, working conditions, security of employment, health and safety, leave entitlements, dignity and respect, promotional opportunities and so on

Do they not service the Financial Services sector?
 
I was in a Union..In one of the companys which I worked for some of the staff were very militant and unreasonable, led by the shop steward who was a dab hand at stiring things up.

I have to say that the people ,who were the most militant (In this particular company ) were hardly able to string a sentence together,but knew their "rights".They were "ignorant "to the point of embarrasment, they may have had Masters degrees for all I know.

They would have a " kitty " for drinks on Friday,would get totally locked at the company party and end up fighting with each other,and slagging off anyone who was trying to better themselves.

Their view was that anyone who got on in the company,was only in that position because they were "brown noses".They were too ignorant to see that the ones who refused to stay in the same area of employment and wanted to get on in life,did work hard to get were they were,ie,doing courses,going to training sessions,being fair and reasonable.

For example when the accountant was held at gunpoint whilst bringing cash from the bank,the manager said that from now on all wages would be paid into a bank account.
This was a very reasonable request..untill the unions got involved.Suddenly ,it was a cry that " some of us dont have bank accounts, we only deal in cash ,(never mind that the poor man getting the money was nearly killed !)

What they really wanted was more money ,and lo and behold when a once off payment was offered ,the moaning stopped.I was leaving the company and was told by the union that I was to get the money too! Madness.
If the phone rang at 6,5 4 ,3,or 2 minutes before one oclock they wouldnt answer it.
That company closed down....

Another company where I worked had very militant union stewards,and to be honest ,Id be afraid to challange them,even though I felt what they were doing was wrong.As I found them to be very aggressive.
I have found through my years of working that if you are a reasonable person with reasonable requests and do a fair days work that its recipricated by the employer.

I totally agree with the need for a union to represent workers rights for those who are being taken advantage of.
I totally disagree with ignorant,aggressive ,militant ,pushy unions that are just as bad at getting people to do things that they are not happy about as the employers they claim to save them from.

I would imagine that most of us want to do a fair days work for a fair days pay.

I also imagine that some of us are intimidated both by unreasonable employers and unreasonable union reps.
 

Resistance to change,restrictive work practices ,excessive pay demands have meant that companys become uncompetitive .

Therefore to reduce costs to the people who are demanding cheaper groceries,the cost of the labour must be competitive .I dont belive that Tesco is paying a bad wage,even with new contracts.
 

Am I correct that "senior Union leaders" are/were on the board of FAS,while all the excessive spending was going on?

Also .,how can a board member stand over a 1 BILLION euro budget when there was almost full employment,and bear in mind that senior union leaders are on that board.
Wonder can I get my old union fees refunded.
 
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ajapale said:
Search IBOA and you will find some threads relating to IBOA and the service afforded to members.

Trade Union (IBOA) ignoring my correspondence.
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Ignoring correspondence is unacceptable and I hope is not a regular occurrence.

There is a chain of command that should be followed.

Branch or business unit representative - District secretary - Executive committee.

As someone who currently holds two of these positions, I ensure that all member queries are dealt with promptly.
 
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