Amazon workers just voted to join a union

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Amazon workers in New York City have two words for Jeff Bezos: Ha ha | Hamilton Nolan

Workers in Staten Island formed the first Amazon union in the US. Their victory makes Bezos’s space flight seem like small fry

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ingomike]

I could not roll my eyes harder if I tried

Don’t hurt yourself. And the topic was Amazon turnover, is it far fetched to think that many young people that go to work there are not that motivated in life?

 

[Ingomike]

Amazon workers in New York City have two words for Jeff Bezos: Ha ha | Hamilton Nolan

Workers in Staten Island formed the first Amazon union in the US. Their victory makes Bezos’s space flight seem like small fry

www.theguardian.com

This will just increase costs for everyone…

 

[Creedmoor]

How can we forget when you keep reminding us?


One where I don't loose my job because someone with seniority wants my job.

Meh, it forced me to find a much better job, one without all the political and fighting and inefficiencies that the union saddled us with.


I'm not a fan of either unions or Amazon, so I'm happy to watch them hurt each other.

I tend to have some differing views with some Unions, thats why I repeat I was a Union worker.

Good for you, working a union job is not for everyone. With seniority one has to stick it out. One day it will pay off, just like a earning a journeymenship.
One needs thick skin along the way.
The Union I worked under doesn't have any seniority, we really didnt have many petty things we argued about.

What we do earn are things most of the non union workers dont get.

A penison
An 11% gross company paid annuity
Unbelievable Health, dental and vision
Five weeks paid vacation

What happened to the private company penisons??

 

[Jaybird1980]

There is an adage that says that good managers can manage anywhere. Like most things it's not 100% true and not 100% wrong. First of all, the manager in question has to be a good manager. There aren't as many of them out there as people think. If they are good at managing people and then are open to learning what they need to know from the people under them, it can work out fine. The manager I have now is the best manager I have ever had and she didn't know squat about what we do when she was hired. She was open to learning about it and letting the seniors on our team run things until she was up to speed. There have been some rough spots, but overall she's done really well, much better than the previous manager we had who was very experienced. Would it be better if someone had direct knowledge of the role? Probably, but maybe they couldn't find someone who had that knowledge and that could also manage people...

I understand hiring a manager because they are good at managing people, that makes sense. My problem is them not being required to learn the system and procedures that are used. How can you manage time frames, scheduling and material/equipment rental when you have no idea about the process? We are required to learn the system and we are tested and have to prove our proficiency, if we fail we are written up and have to redo training. If you fail a second time you're removed from that position and sent back to previous qualified position. It doesn't make sense not to have supervision be trained and understand the process. At our location the supervisors are allowed to take the training courses with us and in all my years I've only seen one supervisor go through the training.

My major complaint is that the supervision is not required to be trained in the hold card system, but yet allowed to apply for holds on a system they weren't trained or qualified on. Then the supervisor will bring a work order and say all holds are in all you have to do is go do the work. No chance in hell someone should trust that, and then the supervisor will get pissed when people go and verify the right holds were actually installed, because we are just "stalling". No it's because I don't want to be killed/injured because of your incompetence.

 

[JettaKnight]

Good for you, working a union job is not for everyone. With seniority one has to stick it out. One day it will pay off, just like a earning a journeymenship.
One needs thick skin along the way.

I'm m sure it's different in a different department, but it didn't make any sense to have us engineers as part of the UAW. Why would I want to stay in a s****y job just to get the mythical seniority when I can get a better job elsewhere a be respected on day 1?

They gave us nothing. In the end, the company had to close the shop to get the engineers out from under the UAW.


1000 jobs left Fort Wayne; it didn't pay off one day.

What we do earn are things most of the non union workers dont get.

A penison
An 11% gross company paid annuity
Unbelievable Health, dental and vision
Five weeks paid vacation

I got NONE of that there. And neither did anyone else.I
When I got laid off, I got two weeks off pay (and asked to work that time), non-union employees got months of severence pay.

What I did get is a lifetime subscription to Solidarity magazine (the official UAW and Communist publication).

What happened to the private company penisons??

They died because they were a dumb idea. I'd much rather have my retire funds under my control and not dependant on the existence of one corporation. People no longer spend a lifetime working at one place.

 

[Ingomike]

What happened to the private company penisons??

They became 401k’s that are owned by the employees not the company or union. I have 9 years paid into a union pension I will never see a dime of. If that money was in a 401k it would now be thousands of dollars. As it is it is probably being spent by union bosses…

 

[yeahbaby]

Don’t hurt yourself. And the topic was Amazon turnover, is it far fetched to think that many young people that go to work there are not that motivated in life?

Our oldest son got a job with one of the local railroads in northwest Indiana. Great pay/benefits after training. You have to go through 2 months of training. His class started with 16 folks. They finished with 6. All the others dropped out for various reasons. Unable to pass tests, showing up late for class, or not showing up. The last person to be dropped showed up for class in the morning drunk. When he told me that I just shook my head.

 

[Ingomike]

Our oldest son got a job with one of the local railroads in northwest Indiana. Great pay/benefits after training. You have to go through 2 months of training. His class started with 16 folks. They finished with 6. All the others dropped out for various reasons. Unable to pass tests, showing up late for class, or not showing up. The last person to be dropped showed up for class in the morning drunk. When he told me that I just shook my head.

And what you described is not an entry level Amazon or McD’s job…

 

[Creedmoor]

I'm m sure it's different in a different department, but it didn't make any sense to have us engineers as part of the UAW. Why would I want to stay in a s****y job just to get the mythical seniority when I can get a better job elsewhere a be respected on day 1?

They gave us nothing. In the end, the company had to close the shop to get the engineers out from under the UAW.


1000 jobs left Fort Wayne; it didn't pay off one day.


I got NONE of that there. And neither did anyone else.I
When I got laid off, I got two weeks off pay (and asked to work that time), non-union employees got months of severence pay.

What I did get is a lifetime subscription to Solidarity magazine (the official UAW and Communist publication).

They died because they were a dumb idea. I'd much rather have my retire funds under my control and not dependant on the existence of one corporation. People no longer spend a lifetime working at one place.

I find it interesting how many companies especially GM folded then and now so many skill sets under the uaw.
It didnt make sence to put white with blue, much less white with Union.

Private pensions were a dumb idea?
So your 401 is your company helped pension?

I had a 4% matched also since the 80's.

 

[Indyhd]

And you're saying the non union construction co you work for is a safer company to work for than the Union Construction Skilled Trades?

That's exactly what I am saying. Our workman's comp modifier is lower than almost any contractor in the area, union or non union.

 

[Creedmoor]

And what you described is not an entry level Amazon or McD’s job…

Right now GM Indiana is hiring for a few skilled trade journeymanships, right out of HS a kid can start at $26.00 an hour.
Vertually no one applys.

 

[Creedmoor]

That's exactly what I am saying. Our workman's comp modifier is lower than almost any contractor in the area, union or non union.

What kind of construction do you all do and what trades are you covering?

 

[Ingomike]

Right now GM Indiana is hiring for a few skilled trade journeymanships, right out of HS a kid can start at $26.00 an hour.
Vertually no one applys.

They have too much without working for it…

 

[Indyhd]

What kind of construction do you all do and what trades are you covering?

General Contractor.
Carpenters and laborers.

 

[Creedmoor]

They have too much without working for it…

So you've spent time as a die setter, mold maintenance, mold repair, tool and die in a stamping plant?

 

[Creedmoor]

General Contractor.
Carpenters and laborers.

What education do your carpenders and laborers receive?
And what education do they have to keep current?

 

[Jaybird1980]

And what you described is not an entry level Amazon or McD’s job…

Are you really putting warehouse and delivery workers on par with McD's?

 

[Creedmoor]

They became 401k’s that are owned by the employees not the company or union. I have 9 years paid into a union pension I will never see a dime of. If that money was in a 401k it would now be thousands of dollars. As it is it is probably being spent by union bosses…

When I was young it was 20 years to be vested, when did you work those 9 years?
Were you not going to be vested at 10 years?

You didnt have the option to also have a 401 through the company or a pre-tax deduction from your paycheck sent to a investment company?

 

[Jaybird1980]

When I was young it was 20 years to be vested, when did you work those 9 years?
Were you not going to be vested at 10 years?

You didnt have the option to also have a 401 through the company or a pre-tax deduction from your paycheck sent to a investment company?

You're vested at 7 years for us, and we have both a pension and 401k