Amazon workers just voted to join a union

[KLB]

Very good, Are you all using synthetic gypsum out of the coal power plants scrubbers?
Thanks

We were the first that did. Now it is all going away as they convert to NG. Some of our newer plants were built specifically to use syngyp. One is right next to a plant and used to be fed by a conveyor.

 

[Creedmoor]

We were the first that did. Now it is all going away as they convert to NG. Some of our newer plants were built specifically to use syngyp. One is right next to a plant and used to be fed by a conveyor.

I wondered what is going to replace it.
Years back I worked a few vacations in two coal burners building scrubbers and at those plants, one barged it out and the other railed it to the other plant to be barged out.
I saw pics back then of Gent ,KY? coal plant that had a conveyor out the side to one of most likely where you work for drywall plants.

 

[STAGE 2]

No. I get it now.
A group is guilty of every crime ever committed by the group.

Since gangsters have used guns.
then all us gun owners are guilty of the same crimes.

Nope. Not remotely correct. What I do with my firearms has no effect on what others do with theirs.

A proper analogy would be if you gave your gun to the gangster and he went off and used it in a crime. That’s what they do with the money that’s paid.

 

[Jaybird1980]

We were the first that did. Now it is all going away as they convert to NG. Some of our newer plants were built specifically to use syngyp. One is right next to a plant and used to be fed by a conveyor.

GP outside of Schahfer?

 

[red_zr24x4]

I am retired from the Indiana Carpenters Union of 24 years ……..I can say it has provided me and my family a damned good living .
I “Earned” a good wage and Medical Benefits that were way above par to most plans .
I have read on this thread that if you joined the union , you had a job …….not the case in the companies that I worked for .

If you did not perform ( no matter your “Seniority” ) you were replaced . I was a Supt . that still carried my card .( most management are not Unionized)
I had full range to work who performed the best ……..Those that may have bought their cards and were under skilled were eventually replaced by those who were well trained and had better work ethics .
At least where I worked , the union did not protect the lazy and bad work habits as some here have implied .
We in the skilled trades unions did not perform or awarded by piece work as in the factory type …….you are hired to perform a days work for a days pay .
I never once played cards because my quota was done and I was awarded “T-Time “ .
No one has ever forced me to vote “Their Way “ (BTW , never voted left ) ……..or told me what type vehicle to drive .
Always proud of the quality and product that our team provided to our clients .
I worked around 15years non-union construction ( Project Management Companies )( Not saying that there are not non-union companies out there that can perform just as well , but that is where I experienced the sub par knowledge, wages, safety, training and workmanship . There just wasn`t the incentive to do better . A guys wage was based on what he told to the guy that interviewed him …..
Best decision I ever made was to join the Union ……….Retired 6 years ago , had a medical bank that paid my Health Care premiums for almost 3 years , Have a $40,000 annuity , don`t owe on anything ,
bring in $ 3800 mon. pension + SS on top of that .
Also , someone mentioned that any union member should be concerned that the “Union” has possession of our money and that we should have it ……..?
If there is an option to take a lump sum upon retirement , sign me up ………….just as my Social Security $$ .

22 yr local 190 pipefitter here.
Pretty much everything you said is the same here. You don't work, you don't stay at the company.
I will add that in my trade there are no paid holidays, vacation time or sick days. You take a day off your short a days pay.
No one has ever "made me " vote against my principles, or buy a certain type of car.
I don't sign up for the pac fund so none of my money gets sent to anyone.
Most here would be surprised on how many conservatives are union members, I know the trades I work with it's probably 5 conservatives to 1 liberal

 

[KLB]

I wondered what is going to replace it.
Years back I worked a few vacations in two coal burners building scrubbers and at those plants, one barged it out and the other railed it to the other plant to be barged out.
I saw pics back then of Gent ,KY? coal plant that had a conveyor out the side to one of most likely where you work for drywall plants.

Rock was used long before syngyp. Now plants built specifically for syngyp have to pay to get rock to the plant and have to convert their machinery to process the rock.

 

[KLB]

GP outside of Schahfer?

USG. That plant is in Pennsylvania.

 

[HoughMade]

Because almost no one today will be 20-40 years at the same company. Most young people now stay on a job 2.8 years.

You are a relic of a past time, retiring after a full career with pension.


After extensive research, our data analysis team concluded:

• The average person changes jobs 12 times in their lifetime, according to the latest available public survey data (2019).
• The average employee stays with their employer for 4.1 years as of January 2020.
• However, this number varies slightly between women (3.9 years) and men (4.3 years).
• Men hold 12.5 jobs in their lifetime, on average, while women have 12.1 jobs.
• Comparatively, workers ages 25 to 34 years only remained with an employer a median of 2.8 years, more than three times less than older employees.

Average Number of Jobs in a Lifetime [2023]: How Many Jobs Does The Average Person Have - Zippia

Data analysis about how often people change jobs and careers, how long people stay at any given job, and other career change statistics.

www.zippia.com

As an aside, if they are truly counting "jobs in a lifetime", that is going to be skewed high on number of jobs and low on average time in a job because young people change jobs a lot before they get onto a career level path. Personally, jobs before a person support themselves seem irrelevant.

I had 5 jobs before I supported myself completely (ages 15-20) 1991, then 4 jobs to date, 1991-2022 (ages 20 to 51). My tenure on my career level jobs is 6.9+ and going up, eliminating my first law job as an outlier (was it ever), it would be an average of 9 years.

Car salesman- 3 years
1st law job- 0.7 years
2nd law job- 17 years
3d law job- 7+ years and counting.

On my pre-career level jobs, my average was 2.24, skewed significantly by a NG enlistment. Not counting that, it was 1.3 years.

I say all that to say this- perhaps a better measure than lifetime jobs in jobs over 20 or 21. Sure, some people are on a career level job before that, but I imagine most are not.

Side note on the side not and trivia, I was told by a mortgage officer once that with professionals, they count all years in professional school and all jobs in the profession as "1 job" for loan purposes....but that was well before 2008.

Anyhoo....

 

[actaeon277]

Your former company sucks. Full stop. Do they get sued when there are injuries or deaths?

Yes. My former company sucks.
And Workman's Comp States kind of limit lawsuit ability.
I can only remember one attempt at a lawsuit. Doesn't mean there were not more. Just I only knew of one.
And I don't think it happened because all evidence proves the worker hit the wrong control.

I witnessed a problem with workman's comp and medical care provided.
What a cluster F.

 

[HoughMade]

Yes. My former company sucks.
And Workman's Comp States kind of limit lawsuit ability.
I can only remember one attempt at a lawsuit. Doesn't mean there were not more. Just I only knew of one.
And I don't think it happened because all evidence proves the worker hit the wrong control.

I witnessed a problem with workman's comp and medical care provided.
What a cluster F.

Your former company gets sued for injuries all the time.

Contractors can sue it when they get injured and the frequently do...even when the injuries were "hazards" they had dealt with for years and had full knowledge of.

Employees of your company sue contractors frequently. Many times there are indemnity agreements between the company and the contractor meaning the company (or its insurer) ends up footing the bill for a lawsuit by an employee.

...but yes, Worker Comp. is the "exclusive remedy" when an employee is injured as to their employer. Of course, there are exceptions, but they are few and far between.

 

[actaeon277]

Your former company sucks. Full stop. Do they get sued when there are injuries or deaths?

united-states-steel | Violation Tracker

Violation Tracker, produced by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First, is a wide-ranging database on misconduct by large and small corporations throughout the United States.

violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org

Since 2000..

50 million in fines.

38 million for environmental fines
6.8 million for employment fines
And... 5 million for SAFETY.

 

[actaeon277]

Your former company gets sued for injuries all the time.

Contractors can sue it when they get injured and the frequently do...even when the injuries were "hazards" they had dealt with for years and had full knowledge of.

Employees of your company sue contractors frequently. Many times there are indemnity agreements between the company and the contractor meaning the company (or its insurer) ends up footing the bill for a lawsuit by an employee.

...but yes, Worker Comp. is the "exclusive remedy" when an employee is injured as to their employer. Of course, there are exceptions, but they are few and far between.

Just a question, why don't contractors sue their company?
Or are you talking about the contracting company suing?

 

[HoughMade]

Just a question, why don't contractors sue their company?
Or are you talking about the contracting company suing?

I mean employees of the company suing the contractor company and employees of contractors suing, let's say "America's stell company". Worker Comp. means employees of contractors can't sue their employer either.

Whether a person is an employee of "America's steel company" and gets injured, the key to a lucrative suit is being able to tag a contractor, someone not their employer, with liability. Worker Comp gets you something, but a negligence lawsuit can (potentially) let you retire. Let's face it, in NWI, the goal of a lot of people is to work just long enough to not work anymore and whatever makes that happen sooner, all the better.

The same goes for an employee of a contractor working at America's steel company. Their employer might really be at fault, but that only gets you Comp. he real money is in suing "America's steel company."

Lake County juries are known for hitting bigger employers and contractors hard with verdict for "the working man". Many people on the jury have the "no work" dream and are very willing to help someone else realize the dream.

...but defending these companies is still easier than defending trucking companies.

 

[actaeon277]

I mean employees of the company suing the contractor company and employees of contractors suing, let's say "America's stell company". Worker Comp. means employees of contractors can't sue their employer either.

Whether a person is an employee of "America's steel company" and gets injured, the key to a lucrative suit is being able to tag a contractor, someone not their employer, with liability. Worker Comp gets you something, but a negligence lawsuit can (potentially) let you retire. Let's face it, in NWI, the goal of a lot of people is to work just long enough to not work anymore and whatever makes that happen sooner, all the better.

The same goes for an employee of a contractor working at America's steel company. Their employer might really be at fault, but that only gets you Comp. he real money is in suing "America's steel company."

Lake County juries are known for hitting bigger employers and contractors hard with verdict for "the working man". Many people on the jury have the "no work" dream and are very willing to help someone else realize the dream.

...but defending these companies is still easier than defending trucking companies.

Thanks

 

[Ingomike]

Us relics sure cant help some of the younger generations that were taught poor work behavior. Maybe they should wake up.

So whats to look forward to as a worker that has spent their working years culminating from a lifetime of job hopping ending up with an underfunded 401K and a Social Security check?


Looks like about 14 million Union Trade workers seem to be working towards a penison check, and some of them will sign up a fully funded 401K and Social Security.
With todays worker employment timeline with lots of corporations you have to employed 5 years to be vested 100% in there 401K. Makes good sence to me

I still find it humorous that is better from some to get less income at the end of ones working years. Well maf is hard, more so for the younger generations.

We done here?

So wanting to change jobs to get a better one or more money is poor work behavior? Wow!

 

[Ingomike]

Not all union-negotiated defined benefits are controlled by unions.

Defined benefits have been shed left and right through bankruptcy proceedings with nickels on the dollar paid by PBGC, though bankruptcy law changes in the late 00s have changed that business tactic a bit.

Defined benefits are very large financial liabilities requiring certain percentage of funding per ERISA which is why so many companies have stopped offering them; even Uncle Sugar isn't offering a traditional pension any more for new federal employees.

In terms of retirement risk mitigation, having both a defined benefit and a defined contribution is best IMO. A defined benefit provides a baseline guaranteed income amount that isn't subject to market fluctuations, while a defined contribution goes into an account in YOUR name that YOU control.

Again...management teams get the unions they deserve...

Good post. But as you pointed out, defined benefit can carry risk also.

 

[Creedmoor]

That’s what they do with the money that’s paid.

Where do you all read this stuff?
True Detective Monthly?

 

[Creedmoor]

So wanting to change jobs to get a better one or more money is poor work behavior? Wow!

Again Jumping the Shark. Never did I say or post that.

And again i'm not the one in a position to have to retire with an underfunded 401K with Social Security.
When people move around you tend to loose being vested in anything.
How can that make good sense?

 

[JettaKnight]

Again Jumping the Shark. Never did I say or post that.

This whole thread has jumped the shark...

 

[actaeon277]

This whole thread has jumped the shark...

Why did that come out in Jack Nicholson's voice?