On Thu, 14 Oct 2004 12:57:31 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

Sure - this kind of work isn't necessarily exclusive to union workers. But,
when I questioned the shimming & leveling tricks, he said he'd learned it
during 3 years of training with some union guys. If YOU wanted to do that
kind of work, where would you go to learn it? Would you waste time buying
magazines and browsing the web, hoping to find the information, or take the
most direct route to the source of training, which is probably other
workers?

I am probably going to take a lot of flack for this, but I'm not
totally convinced that hiring a Union worker is the best way to go.
My results have been 50/50 with Union trades - I've already told the
story of the two Union masons and their apprentices, so I won't tell
it again.

However, because of somebody near and dear to me, is a union
supporter, worker and member and one of my friends is a IBEW type (as
in bigshot) I often try to hire Union when I need something done. I
have even hired Union Labor - just average joes who are sitting around
the Union hall looking for work.

My observation is that just like every other thing, you get good Union
workers, so-so Union workers and lousy Union workers - more so-so and
lousy than good to outstanding Union workers. That has been my
experience.

We've had a rather interesting situation here in CT of having unions
strike unions for higher pay and benefits than the parent union gives
it's own members - and get them! There is something wrong with that.

I've been in situations where Union work rules just got in the way of
simple tasks that any bozo could do - from electrical cords to
erecting a display booth - silly, stupid things that are only designed
to keep somebody busy.

So I'm ambivalent about unions. If pressed my opinion would be that
the era of big unions has passed on and that a return to local guilds
and trade groups would be more beneficial to the average tradesman or
worker.

Take care.

Tom

"The beatings will stop when morale improves."
E. Teach, 1717