SBC Worker Arrested > Check For The Union Label

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Disconnecting phone lines is something that typically happens when strikes are threatened, according to Lt. Mark Deal, head of Waterbury's detective bureau Deal.

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said by ceyounger:

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The union is also encouraging people to switch their SBC long distance service to AT&T or cancel their SBC enhanced phone features.

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said by Hall:

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Ironic, isn't it ?? Later, SBC would (have to ??) lay off "x" number of employees because of decreased revenues. The union's defense ?? That the CEO of SBC makes many millions of dollars a year...

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said by ceyounger:

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It's funny that they are doing that since when/if the strike is over/averted they need to return to work at the same company they shot in the foot.

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said by Combat Chuck:

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said by ceyounger:

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It's funny that they are doing that since when/if the strike is over/averted they need to return to work at the same company they shot in the foot.

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It's par for the course for a lot of unions. When Wheeling-Pittsburgh steel went on strike several years ago my dad had to hide in the back of a pickup truck because the Union would not let him cross the line to get into one of their mills to fix a piece of equipment that could not be removed from the plant, and for which none of their mechanics had the necessary training to fix. Irony is if this piece of equipment wasn't fixed quickly the blast furnace would have had to been shut down and that particular plant would most likely have been closed because of it.

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said by TercelChick:

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What would you do if doctors were unionized? Let a sick person die because you aren't going to cross the line. That's dumb.

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said by nonymous:

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See cross a picket line is good. Any reason to be a scab. I am union and do not cross a picket line. I fix up to that point.

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said by raythompsontn:

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quote:

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Disconnecting phone lines is something that typically happens when strikes are threatened, according to Lt. Mark Deal, head of Waterbury's detective bureau Deal.

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Seems like it is a common practice for the unions; criminal activity to support your cause. So much for the professionalism of the unions.

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said by AthlGrond:

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Well it's a good thing that union employees are more professional, you can only imagine what might have happened otherwise.

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said by pnh102:

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said by AthlGrond:

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Well it's a good thing that union employees are more professional, you can only imagine what might have happened otherwise.

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I always go out of my way to avoid union-made products at all costs. I want the job done right the first time, without having to worry about my legs being broken, and this is yet another example of why I have to do this.

I agree with the previous poster who said this guy should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I hope the customers affected by this jack@$$ also sue him into oblivion.

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said by garagerock:

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I guess you stopped watching professional sports after Pete Rose bet on baseball, steroids were found on the biggest home run hitters, etc. (not)

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I grow weary of hearing people spout off about unions. Sure, take us back to the 1920's. Sounds fine, for you I guess. Fact is, they created a lot of good in our country.

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said by raythompsontn:

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My father was in a union when I was much younger. I remember almost loosing our house, we lost our car, and extra food was rare, even living on potatoes, rice and beans. The strike lasted a long time. For what. He got an extra $0.25 an hour. With what we lost it would take 74 years to recoup the lost.

But the "union" won. Yeh right. The union leaders kept their jobs.

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said by raythompsontn:

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The definition of a union:

You do not have to be any smarter than the dumbest person.
You do not have to work any harder than the laziest person.

A union does not reward for how well you perform, only how long you have been trying to perform.

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said by Hall:

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The job market determines what a "fair contract" is in every industry/business that's non-union-represented. Almost every state in the union has "at will" employment rules/laws. They shouldn't need additional contract terms to dictate this for them.

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said by Chief Sparky:

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Got to love that "at will" stuff. You do understand the term "at will"? It means that if your manager comes in one day, decides that he/she doesn't like your particular hair style, you can be terminated - immediately.

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said by AthlGrond:

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said by Chief Sparky:

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Got to love that "at will" stuff. You do understand the term "at will"? It means that if your manager comes in one day, decides that he/she doesn't like your particular hair style, you can be terminated - immediately.

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That is correct.

But why would a manager want to fire a good employee?

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said by AthlGrond:

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But why would a manager want to fire a good employee?

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said by Talis:

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said by AthlGrond:

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But why would a manager want to fire a good employee?

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Wow, what a great question. The fact is its done all the time. Its called being downsized / rightsized / outsourced, take your pick. Whether you are GOOD at what you do is not enough anymore. You must also be cheap, and no US worker is cheap when compared to the hordes of slave / semi-slave labor overseas.

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said by AthlGrond:

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But why would a manager want to fire a good employee?

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said by Chief Sparky:

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IRT the "protections" of OSHA & the like, let's go over this scenario: Your nice, spiffy hourly job has just been changed to a salaried position. This now makes you what is considered an "exempt" employee - exempt from the overtime laws. You now have to work 50+ hours per week to get the same pay, any overtime you do is now only compensated with "comp time" on a 1 to 1 basis, and you can now be terminated at any time for any, or even no, reason.

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said by AthlGrond:

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His boss got taken to court and had to pay everyone back wages for labor law violations.

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said by Hall:

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Were those employees union-represented ?? No ?? See, my point is, there are already *laws* in place where union contracts aren't necessary.

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said by Chief Sparky:

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Got to love that "at will" stuff. You do understand the term "at will"? It means that if your manager comes in one day, decides that he/she doesn't like your particular hair style, you can be terminated - immediately.

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said by raythompsontn:

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said by Chief Sparky:

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Got to love that "at will" stuff. You do understand the term "at will"? It means that if your manager comes in one day, decides that he/she doesn't like your particular hair style, you can be terminated - immediately.

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Uhh, not quite. There are laws against wrongful termination. You have to have some documentation that shows the person was not performing and had been informed of the non-performance. The only exception is when the employee does something illegal and even that must be documented.

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said by Chief Sparky:

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said by raythompsontn:

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said by Chief Sparky:

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Got to love that "at will" stuff. You do understand the term "at will"? It means that if your manager comes in one day, decides that he/she doesn't like your particular hair style, you can be terminated - immediately.

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Uhh, not quite. There are laws against wrongful termination. You have to have some documentation that shows the person was not performing and had been informed of the non-performance. The only exception is when the employee does something illegal and even that must be documented.

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Incorrect. "At will" means exactly that. Illegal termination would be if a person was terminated based on sex, racial origin, orientation, religious beliefs, or any of the other "known" illegal (in all states) discriminations. Documentation is NOT necessary to terminate an "at will" employee, unless the termination is performance related.

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said by Chief Sparky:

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said by raythompsontn:

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The definition of a union:

You do not have to be any smarter than the dumbest person.
You do not have to work any harder than the laziest person.

A union does not reward for how well you perform, only how long you have been trying to perform.

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Obviously spoken by a non-union member.

Allow me to set you straight. The function of the union (in my case, the IBEW) is to negotiate a fair contract for the workers, and to assist in mediation with employees and management. Within the contract, job performance is regulated SOLELY by the company. Pay levels and bonuses are regulated SOLELY by the company, again within contract guidelines. Management sets the performance standards, not the union. Management sets the job scheduling. Management decides on hiring and firing practices, in accordance with the law and the contract. The only time that tenure comes into play is when a company is performing layoffs and for markups (shift scheduling). Beyond that, the management of a company has full and total control of their employees. After all, they are THEIR employees, not the union's.

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said by jsinaiko:

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-----------------------------------------------------------
*cough cough bullshit cough cough*
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Anubis -

Your response, using the BS word is inappropriate, unfair and is against the rules of this forum. As a former union member (I'm self-employed now)I find your comments offensive and totally out of line.

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said by Chief Sparky:

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Obviously spoken by a non-union member.

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said by Chief Sparky:

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The only time that tenure comes into play is when a company is performing layoffs and for markups (shift scheduling).

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said by raythompsontn:

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The definition of a union:

You do not have to be any smarter than the dumbest person.
You do not have to work any harder than the laziest person.

A union does not reward for how well you perform, only how long you have been trying to perform.

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said by AthlGrond:

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Well it's a good thing that union employees are more professional, you can only imagine what might have happened otherwise.

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