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Iraq Veteran: My Union Gives Me a Chance in a Tough Economy |
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As one of the millions of America’s workers who have been laid off in recent months, Brandon McGuire knows it’s tough going in the current economy. He also recognizes that as a union member, he is better equipped than his nonunion counterparts to survive an economic downturn. That’s why he supports the Employee Free Choice Act: so millions more workers can have a better chance at their freedom to form a union and bargain for a better life.
McGuire, an Army veteran, served a year in Iraq, where his duties included welding projects. He moved to Anchorage, Alaska, after his military service and signed on as an apprentice with Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA) Local 367.
A native of Texas, where union membership is relatively low, McGuire had no firsthand knowledge or experience with union workplaces before joining his local union. He now describes himself as 100 percent pro-union and pro-Employee Free Choice because of the job training and financial security union jobs can provide.
Even though he has been laid off since December, he has a good shot at getting back to work through the jobs waiting list maintained by his local union. He also has some financial security because, as an apprentice, his pay is $27 an hour, plus health insurance and other benefits. He says:
If I weren’t in a union, I’d be lucky to find work for even $15 an hour.
McGuire, 29, says current labor law gives employers too much of an upper hand in the union voting process.
I don’t like the fact that employers can just stall and kill off any kind of union choice by the workers.
My biggest reason for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act is so employers can’t do that anymore.
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If there was ever a time for the Employee Free Choice Act, that time is now. Not only is it nearly impossible to form a union without fear and intimidation by employers, but union-busting has grown into a $4 billion a year business in the U.S. alone. Companies that previously had good relationships with their union employees have been emboldened by weak labor laws. One of those is the McGraw-Hill Companies. Read more at:
http://nabetcwa54.org
In about 1993 I was working for Arizona Pipeline Company. I understand the owners were board members of Southwest Gas Company, which was their only customer there. About the time I started there was an organizing drive going on. at first, all crews had to meet at the yard @5am, load the trucks and be on the jobs working @7am (our time started at 7am). When we were going through the organizing effort Management went lax, we were leaving to the jobs @7am and starting at about 8 am, they made sure we had ice cold water on all the trucks, and we were allowed 1 hour lunch breaks on company time. We were working 12 Hour days, and we actually got OT! so we had pretty fat checks and guys were getting fat and happy. Occasionally a superintendent would come by and tell us how we were going to be joining a pension plan, and our medical plan would be improving… bla bla bla. a number of workers fell for the BS, and the vote went no to the union. I left the company soon after. The day after they voted no, any worker in the yard after 6am was disciplined or terminated, and lunches were about 20 minutes long. This is a common union busting practice there, I call it the soft sell! Arizona is notorious as a “Right to Work State” which translates to “Right to Screw Labor”