Friday, January 25, 2013

What real union people say about unions

Back by popular demand: A collection of comments from the Teamster Facebook page by real union members about unions:

Andy Rusk
I'm 32 years old, my wife and her children have full, affordable medical benefits because of my unions. We are free to work hard and enjoy life without the fear of a medical emergency putting us in the poorhouse. SAG/AFTRA/IATSE 479.
Robert Flood
The union provides all of US and the world with safety, security, and overall dignity for all workers. I wonder what would happen if owners were told they could never have another lawyer because they cost too much for business?
llen Hiatt 
My mother would never have been a forklift driver (a better paid male dominated job) at twin city foods were it not for the union. And my summer job there would have been light labor, as they called it. Go Teamsters!
Maggie Pete
workers at SuperValu in Minneapolis fought for healthcare, , which I needed! Solidarity with my Teamster family! You helped me walk again.
Jim Lucas
I left my union job 9 years ago and still regret it to this day. I haven't come close to making the money I made then or had the same medical benefits. Union 633 took great care of me.
Eric Hughes
I'm not a teamster but my dad was and all of us younger guys support you because we make shit doing hard work with no benefits . Please don't go away. I want a couple days off a year . We used to get at least a couple days a week off NO MORE! It's cool I'm raking in 19,000 a year with 2kids we have plenty to go around? Barely making it .good thing my dad was in a union so he can help me! Where does it end? Do we have to give it all to them? We are being crushed and nobody gives a shit. Except the Unions. Wish I had one.
Donald Lind
i was and alway will be a teamster brother,28 years with the teamsters.took good care of me.
Janie Shoop
(Employers) NEED their workers completely dependent on the job. They want workers to overlook poor work conditions and low pay because they have nowhere else to go for employment. When workers feel "stuck", they will do anything to keep working...even at a crappy job. People need to get educated and LEARN about what unions have done, and are doing, for American workers! Union workers aren't overpaid, non-union workers are accepting slave wages and are clueless that unions are the way out of poverty wage jobs.
Bill Estes
I'm a retired 30 year Union Man working PT at a non-union retail job. I understand quite well, even if many of my co-workers don't, that without Unions today we wouldn't have the benefits we have.