any teamsters/union guys on here ?

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toynut

toynut

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i have a chance to go work at a company that has the teamsters , they have a juicy contract with almost silly benifets , i would get an almost 18% wage increase over what i am getting now , plus a pension that would be worth almost $90,000 if i stayed there for the next 15 years .

i have worked exclusivley in non union places and really have no idea what to expect everything ive heard about them has been mixed , and they seem to end up going on strike fairly often .

any one have any experience with union places ?
 
Ummh Hmmm I am a union shop rep so I guess you might say I have some experience. There are unions that are great and there are the so so and then there are the dogs. The Teamsters do take well care of their own. You already noted the wages and benefits. Unions have their own rules. Some are not very democratic and are out right dictatorships (sometimes benevolant). The Teamsters are not a progressive union. They run by old fashion 1960s/70s era values. Progressive unions, like the Steal Workers and the CAW, have leadership (if not rank and file memebers) who are also concerned about society as a whole. You will find them using member dues to help out migrant workers or funding development and training programs overseas or pushing their employeers to be more environmentally sensitive. Lastly, then there are the "unions" which I would not even bother to call unions. The leadership is only concerned about their own interests and have a clique which rotates their guys/gals in and out of positions of power. Some cases they will side with the employeer for their own personal gain rather than any sense of a just settlement to a dispute. I have seen a few of these too.

Of course, each local can be very different from the next. I suggest you ask people who know the local. If you start working in a union environment, it is just like anything in society. It is as good or as bad as the member want it to be. So get active and volunteers some time, if you start working in a union environment.
 
I am a Teamster local 213, Its not what your UNION can do for you, ITS what you can do for it LOL, you should be fine.
 
I've been in unions 25 years. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Usually you get great job security, as long as the company doesn't go under. The problem I found is that in non-union, you can sometimes get "perks" and bonuses. Most union shops like to run it to the letter of the agreement, so the extras don't usually happen.

Just a note, never been on strike.
 
Actually some of the best companies are non-union because of the bonuses and perks
 
prado t said:
Actually some of the best companies are non-union because of the bonuses and perks
Click to expand...

I believe Fed Ex is the largest non union company in the world and I know they are very good to work for.
 
I retired from the teamster union local 213, i now do training for them. Teach guys and girls how to drive articulated rock trucks. Joined in 1974, so i have a reasonably good pension. I would never work non-union, being 65 and no pension except for ccp and old age pension is a invitation to be homeless and starving. I could not imagine not having disposable income, it would not be fun. So i say take the union job, save 20% of every pay cheque and put it in savings accounts that you cannot get access to. You will be surprised how much money is there in 10 years.:D
 
Well I turned down the teamsters job, I make pretty good money where I am at and I wont have to start all over bidding on a permanent run ect.

The benifits I have are reasonable, and they do rsp matching so its not so bad, I was told by my supervisor that my wage is negotiable, try that in a union shop.
 
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