Srgt. Hulka

I worked in the local GM plant here in Shreveport one Summer. I was hired to test drive the new trucks as they came off the line, then download information off the computer. I double checked with the job agency before I went to work out there to make sure what I was going to be doing was cleared with the union. They assured me that it had. The day I arrived for work, the union had a fit that I was there to do a union job. I ended up doing some menial clerical, non-union job for three months during the summer. Now, during my summer that I worked there, I spent the whole time in the plant. The area I worked in was right next to the welding shop. Now, I noticed one day soon after I started that the welders wern't doing anything. Just sitting reading novels. So I started watching them. The welders sat on their welding carts all day, every day reading. Maybe once a day, they would get a call on their radio from someone needing a repair. The welders would slowly close their books, lay them down, get comfortable in their carts, start them up and slowly drive off. They would be gone about 15 minutes and then they would return. They would back their carts back into the welding bay, turn them off, get comfortable, pick up their books, and start reading again. That's it. That is what they did all day, every day. They didn't clean their area. They didn't do anything but sit on that cart all day and read novels. They did nothing else. Now I don't know what a welder makes in a General Motors plant, but I know it's probably quite a bit of money. Because of unions, these guys do ONE job and one job only. Now, every person in the building was like that. One job and one job only, and we're talking thousands of people. I learned that summer what unions were all about and why cars cost so much and the craftmanship sucks. These people have no competition for their jobs, no motivation to improve their jobs and no chance of losing their jobs if they screw up.
Unions once had a place in this country, and did a good job of protecting worker's rights. But that time is long gone. All unions are about now is to syphon as much money as they can from employers and union members, while getting over-inflated salaries and over-inflated pensions for as little work as possible.
I have never been a member of a unoin, nor will I ever be a member of a union. Unins are one of the main reasons the United States is losing jobs by the millions to China, Indonesia and Korea. The unions have priced our labor and products out of reach, so the jobs and manufacturing are sent overseas.

saintfan

Good read Hulka...I've never worked for a Union either. A co-workers wife does, and he can't talk about it without feeling guilty. It's a damn sad shame what they have become. Thanks for sharing your story.