What's your biggest gripe about the union?

[ArticExpress]

In upstate ny many school bus companies are being courted (quite aggressively) by Teamster Union. There are many good and bads, but if you are getting along with your manager, its a small place where they are easily accessible, and communications are good why vote a union in? So many want to know what could be possible gripes , or the bad side to having union rep. I say it's the union fees and garage dues . They are already being payed by management and getting alot of kickbacks, like the expensive snack and soda machines ( i'm attending college right now and their machines are no way as expensive as at KB) so why such high fees and dues. We wouldnt feel they were so high if they really fought for us. Lower our health expenses, dont take so much out when we do get raises, listen to us when we gripe about something and dont so easily brush us off... Oooops, got a little carried away;) Anyway give us your feedback on this...

[DOB2RTO]

You haven't said anything some of us hadn't already said. I don't mind the paying for healthcare, ans it has become an industry trend. You can't get everything for nothing. Healthcare is important, and the co-payment is one of the best you can get. My gripe is lack of fighting for just running times, lack of fighting for proper recovery (aka layover) time, lack of fighting for proper travel time from the depots to relief locations, lack of fighting for drivers for "customer" complaints, and having something put in place where they can get thrown out if determined the "customer" was the aggressor, my biggest gripe is, those who aren't sitting in the union office B-s-ing with them all day, have a tough time getting days off. Most of the mirrors on the Orion V don't adjust as they should do (seeing the rear wheel). The union should have been sitting in all of those buses, checking all of those mirrors, and then put up a list of buses to not take out due to a safety defect, that can result in a pedestrian getting ran over.

 

I asked Frank (OA Division II chair) about the next Shop Steward class. "We are trying, but due to lack of union dues, we can't right now". I want to do this, due to the fact RTO has a huge lack of findable union reps, and it seems from what I hear, those who can be found, like to hide. We do have it better at the DOB (somewhat), but when I make my transition into RTO, I would like to become a loud mouth rep, who get the workers what they want and need there. When a worker sayds they are not at fault for something (like a defective signal that trips them), I would be at that signal immediately, just waiting and seeing how it does, with a notepad in one hand, and a pin in the other. I would get proper travel time, if one has a job that starts from where they report. Would I get caught up in the antics that our union is caught up in (management paying them to let some things be, and letting a few rank and file get ran over by it), HELL NO!!!! At my old company they tried this with me. We will give you X amount, but the others don't deserve it. I told them, No, we do the same job, and this raise we want is for all of us. Now two drivers who had more time than me got a few pennies for us, but then we found out they were getting alot more. I did win a new term of contract for the drivers of the company I worked for, and for new hires also. We weren't union, but we knew how to observe, so we had something to go on when getting into the bosses office. I was one of their best drivers (actually they called me the true #1 driver), and I knew they wouldn't fire me. Besides I left a few weeks after anyways. It was just a deed to be done, for those who were going to be there for longer. We deserved it, and we got it.

[East New York]

You haven't said anything some of us hadn't already said. I don't mind the paying for healthcare, ans it has become an industry trend. You can't get everything for nothing. Healthcare is important, and the co-payment is one of the best you can get. My gripe is lack of fighting for just running times, lack of fighting for proper recovery (aka layover) time, lack of fighting for proper travel time from the depots to relief locations, lack of fighting for drivers for "customer" complaints, and having something put in place where they can get thrown out if determined the "customer" was the aggressor, my biggest gripe is, those who aren't sitting in the union office B-s-ing with them all day, have a tough time getting days off. Most of the mirrors on the Orion V don't adjust as they should do (seeing the rear wheel). The union should have been sitting in all of those buses, checking all of those mirrors, and then put up a list of buses to not take out due to a safety defect, that can result in a pedestrian getting ran over.

 

I asked Frank (OA Division II chair) about the next Shop Steward class. "We are trying, but due to lack of union dues, we can't right now". I want to do this, due to the fact RTO has a huge lack of findable union reps, and it seems from what I hear, those who can be found, like to hide. We do have it better at the DOB (somewhat), but when I make my transition into RTO, I would like to become a loud mouth rep, who get the workers what they want and need there. When a worker sayds they are not at fault for something (like a defective signal that trips them), I would be at that signal immediately, just waiting and seeing how it does, with a notepad in one hand, and a pin in the other. I would get proper travel time, if one has a job that starts from where they report. Would I get caught up in the antics that our union is caught up in (management paying them to let some things be, and letting a few rank and file get ran over by it), HELL NO!!!! At my old company they tried this with me. We will give you X amount, but the others don't deserve it. I told them, No, we do the same job, and this raise we want is for all of us. Now two drivers who had more time than me got a few pennies for us, but then we found out they were getting alot more. I did win a new term of contract for the drivers of the company I worked for, and for new hires also. We weren't union, but we knew how to observe, so we had something to go on when getting into the bosses office. I was one of their best drivers (actually they called me the true #1 driver), and I knew they wouldn't fire me. Besides I left a few weeks after anyways. It was just a deed to be done, for those who were going to be there for longer. We deserved it, and we got it.

 

 

LOL at being the loud mouth rep. I been waitin more than 24 hours just to read your response!

[Locomotion69]

That is the way you have to be,to stand up for yourself and believe in what is right. The thing is most union members are followers,they go with the flow to speak. I would call DOB2RTO as somewhat of a rebel....a revolutionary...make some noise DOB2RTO!