> I have been looking for information on unions out of south texas, but before I try, I was wondering what are the pros and cons of joining one. I was also wanting to know the prerequisits of joining. i have worked in cable tv without union representation since 1988. in 92 i went to work for a phone company with a union, and b/c it was just hitting hard times, got bumped, laid off, re-hired, job eliminated, bumped, until i said "f%ck it" and went back to catv. in 2000 i went back to work for a phone company with no union and so far it is ok. in general , what i see is this. union- has established standards that get the job done and prevent overwork bullsh%t. union- allows union reps to not do their job, just file grievances, stir the sh%t, and screw off. union- does not stop the company(or mso)from reorganization/layoff/games. union- gives structure to the whole process of customer service so that each person is fully aware and responsible for his/her area of expertise. non union - the areas of job responsibility are unclear, thus allowing bad design, lack of competence, then blaming and other bullsh%t to fly whenever the customer isnt satisfied. as a non-union phone company employee, i do (on a daily basis) 4 people's jobs. 1 engineer 2 c.o. tech 3 splicer 4 installer/repair. my job title is installer/repair in a small rapidly growing area and in any big city i would do just my job. not here. i have freedom to do what it takes ( sometimes 4 peoples jobs) to get the customer service. with that freedom comes responsibility, tho, and that sucks.i run my *ss off to cover for the other people who wont do their jobs. sh** rolls downhill, and i'm on the bottom. i think if times are good, union can provide structure to protect the employee, but in times of bad, union or not, youre f%cked.
This is CABL.com posting #88942. Tiny Link: cabl.co/mxiI
