Eisboch wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
...

BTW, I was a teamster two college summers. Made about $12.50 an hour
driving a fork lift truck inside a factory in Milford, CT. This was around
1960-61. Year earlier, I made a bit less loading beer into trucks.


My first summer job after high school and before starting college was
working for Bekins Moving and Storage,
loading and unloading furniture, pianos, etc. into and out of the moving
vans. $1.95 per hour. (1967)

I would have fallen over at $12.50 an hour, but ..... then again .... you
were *skilled* labor.

Eisboch



Naw. I was smart enough to get summer jobs where there was a strong union.

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"hk" wrote in message
. ..

Just to clarify, in addition to optical thin film engineers and
technicians, the company also had (still has) many skilled welders,
fabricators, machinists, electricians, general assembly people, plus a
full staff of mechanical, electrical, software engineers and CAD
designers.

This is why Harry's assumption that nobody can possibly know more about
non union workplaces than him is so empty. He has really had a very
narrow exposure to the overall American workforce, despite his claims.

Eisboch


How many of the non-degreed fellows at that plant are making $37 an hour
in the envelope, plus pension and health benefits?


It has been several years since I had an idea of payscales, etc. All I
can say is that the company paid competitive salaries/hourly rates, had a
401 type pension plan to which the company made a varying contribution,
depending on how well we were doing, had an excellent Blue Cross health
plan for which the company paid 75% of the premiums and a dental plan with
the same company contribution. We also picked up the tab for continued
technical education, if it was pertinent to the employee's
responsibilities at the company.

It must have been ok because our turnover rate was virtually zero. We
did lose one welder to the "Big Dig" because they were offering
pay/overtime packages at the time that were way out of whack with
industry. The welder came back though, after a year of busting his ass,
working night shifts plus overtime. It wasn't worth it to him.

We also had a close knit, teamwork culture. Quite often during the
summer, on nice weekends, we would simply shut the place down at noontime
on Fridays and let everyone enjoy a longer than normal weekend at home.
They were fully paid for the day of course.

And, when the company was sold the first time, every employee shared in
the financial rewards, based on a formula I came up with. Basically, each
employee got a thousand bucks for every month or part of a month he or she
had worked for the company.
Several people received enough to pay off house mortgages, or move up to
larger homes, as they had over 11 years at the company.

My son and I bought the company back several years later when the buyers
determined the business was not in line with future plans. (They were,
themselves the subject of an acquisition).

My son ran the company for the past 5 years. Lightning struck twice and
again, it became a desirable acquisition by a globally based, high tech
organization.

The financial rewards of the recent sale were also shared proportionally
with all employees, most of whom had also received a share of the first
sale. None of the employees who received either or both benefits were
shareholders.

I am very, very proud of the company I had, the work ethic of the
employees and their loyalty, sense of teamwork and quality of the systems
we produced. Our customers shared that viewpoint.

So, being union at whatever per hour isn't the answer to everything.


Eisboch


If every workplace was as fair as yours...unions would be out of business.
I worked for a 'Crown Corporation' and in a big somewhat impersonal national
workplace always complaining about insufficient funds from the gov't, a
union to protect employees was and still is necessary.
I can guarantee you that by American standards, we weren't overpaid. One bad
period we went almost four years without a cost of living increase, and when
we did get increases it was always a struggle to stay even with inflation.

"D.Duck" wrote in message
...



That's quite a story. Congratulations on running an excellent
organization.


It still is, although my son and I are now totally out of it.
That's why I bought the Limo. Need something to do. :-)


One of the best feelings, shared by one of the guys in the shop, was when,
after getting his unexpected benefit, he told me that he and his wife had
been putting every extra nickel away for years towards their daughter's
college fund, but every year the tuition costs had been going up, keeping
the pressure on. When he got his check, the whole problem went away and he
and his wife were able to splurge some of their years of savings on
themselves. It was fantastic.

Eisboch

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:08:14 -0400, "D.Duck" wrote:




Now a *union* plumber wouldn't do that. 8)

Yeah, sure.
BTW when my seminary-trained union plumber came over to do the
job on my pump, I was "aiding" him where I could, out of habit.
After draining the tank with the pump he turned off the wall switch
and started to disconnect the wiring from the pump switch.
I said "Wait. Let me flip the breaker. I never trust those switches
being wired with the hot and ground right."
He said "Don't worry, the switch should be good enough."
He got zapped about 10 seconds later.
I flipped the breaker.
Man, I hate electricity.
Best advice I heard from an electrician is "Keep one hand in your
pocket."
Since I need 2 hands to work, that takes care of that.

--Vic

Don White wrote:
"Eisboch" wrote in message
...
"hk" wrote in message
. ..
Just to clarify, in addition to optical thin film engineers and
technicians, the company also had (still has) many skilled welders,
fabricators, machinists, electricians, general assembly people, plus a
full staff of mechanical, electrical, software engineers and CAD
designers.

This is why Harry's assumption that nobody can possibly know more about
non union workplaces than him is so empty. He has really had a very
narrow exposure to the overall American workforce, despite his claims.

Eisboch

How many of the non-degreed fellows at that plant are making $37 an hour
in the envelope, plus pension and health benefits?

It has been several years since I had an idea of payscales, etc. All I
can say is that the company paid competitive salaries/hourly rates, had a
401 type pension plan to which the company made a varying contribution,
depending on how well we were doing, had an excellent Blue Cross health
plan for which the company paid 75% of the premiums and a dental plan with
the same company contribution. We also picked up the tab for continued
technical education, if it was pertinent to the employee's
responsibilities at the company.

It must have been ok because our turnover rate was virtually zero. We
did lose one welder to the "Big Dig" because they were offering
pay/overtime packages at the time that were way out of whack with
industry. The welder came back though, after a year of busting his ass,
working night shifts plus overtime. It wasn't worth it to him.

We also had a close knit, teamwork culture. Quite often during the
summer, on nice weekends, we would simply shut the place down at noontime
on Fridays and let everyone enjoy a longer than normal weekend at home.
They were fully paid for the day of course.

And, when the company was sold the first time, every employee shared in
the financial rewards, based on a formula I came up with. Basically, each
employee got a thousand bucks for every month or part of a month he or she
had worked for the company.
Several people received enough to pay off house mortgages, or move up to
larger homes, as they had over 11 years at the company.

My son and I bought the company back several years later when the buyers
determined the business was not in line with future plans. (They were,
themselves the subject of an acquisition).

My son ran the company for the past 5 years. Lightning struck twice and
again, it became a desirable acquisition by a globally based, high tech
organization.

The financial rewards of the recent sale were also shared proportionally
with all employees, most of whom had also received a share of the first
sale. None of the employees who received either or both benefits were
shareholders.

I am very, very proud of the company I had, the work ethic of the
employees and their loyalty, sense of teamwork and quality of the systems
we produced. Our customers shared that viewpoint.

So, being union at whatever per hour isn't the answer to everything.


Eisboch


If every workplace was as fair as yours...unions would be out of business.
I worked for a 'Crown Corporation' and in a big somewhat impersonal national
workplace always complaining about insufficient funds from the gov't, a
union to protect employees was and still is necessary.
I can guarantee you that by American standards, we weren't overpaid. One bad
period we went almost four years without a cost of living increase, and when
we did get increases it was always a struggle to stay even with inflation.



It really sounded like a terrible place to work. Why in the world would
an intelligent individual with marketable skills work in a substandard
workplace.

Don White wrote:
"Earl of Warwich, Duke of Cornwall, Marquies of Anglesea, Sir Reginald P.
Smithers III Esq. LLC, STP. " wrote in message
. ..
Don White wrote:
"Earl of Warwich, Duke of Cornwall, Marquies of Anglesea, Sir Reginald P.
Smithers III Esq. LLC, STP. " wrote in message
...
Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:26:11 -0400, hk wrote:

You have to realize that W'hine and Reggie aren't regular guys, and
have no connection to working men or women.
I can't speak for Reggie but in my case you have *no* idea what you
are talking about.

Harry has a long history of making 1000's of posts on subjects he has NO
idea what he is talking about. Why should this be any different?
I think he's pegged you pretty good over the years.
Come on out from hidding and we'll judge for ourselves.
Don, what do you want to know?


Your real name would be a good start and the line of work you did to build
your fortune..



I never said I had a fortune, and I will share my real name as soon as
you and Harry provide me with your phone numbers and address.

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"D.Duck" wrote in message
...



That's quite a story. Congratulations on running an excellent
organization.


It still is, although my son and I are now totally out of it.
That's why I bought the Limo. Need something to do. :-)


One of the best feelings, shared by one of the guys in the shop, was when,
after getting his unexpected benefit, he told me that he and his wife had
been putting every extra nickel away for years towards their daughter's
college fund, but every year the tuition costs had been going up, keeping
the pressure on. When he got his check, the whole problem went away and
he and his wife were able to splurge some of their years of savings on
themselves. It was fantastic.

Eisboch

*Fantastic* doesn't do justice to describe the extraordinary treatment of
your employees.

Damn corporate greed. 8)

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:43:22 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:39:50 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:47:09 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Hope all these guys get pinned down in the debates.
I'll go for who I think will create the most good jobs for American
kids. That's what makes us strong.

The good jobs for American kids are in hi-tech, not running a screw
gun on an assembly line. That requires education and training of
course.

Bull****.

--Vic

A college graduate with a solid ITT degree with networking specialty
and MS certifications will demand a higher starting salary than a
graduate in engineering. He/she will also be in higher demand if
deciding to switch companies.

This is not to say engineers are not in high demand with high
salaries.

We are definitely moving from a brawn to brain working society in the
US.

On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:00:17 -0400, "Earl of Warwich, Duke of
Cornwall, Marquies of Anglesea, Sir Reginald P. Smithers III Esq. LLC,
STP. " wrote:

Don White wrote:
"Earl of Warwich, Duke of Cornwall, Marquies of Anglesea, Sir Reginald P.
Smithers III Esq. LLC, STP. " wrote in message
. ..
Don White wrote:
"Earl of Warwich, Duke of Cornwall, Marquies of Anglesea, Sir Reginald P.
Smithers III Esq. LLC, STP. " wrote in message
...
Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:26:11 -0400, hk wrote:

You have to realize that W'hine and Reggie aren't regular guys, and
have no connection to working men or women.
I can't speak for Reggie but in my case you have *no* idea what you
are talking about.

Harry has a long history of making 1000's of posts on subjects he has NO
idea what he is talking about. Why should this be any different?
I think he's pegged you pretty good over the years.
Come on out from hidding and we'll judge for ourselves.
Don, what do you want to know?


Your real name would be a good start and the line of work you did to build
your fortune..



I never said I had a fortune, and I will share my real name as soon as
you and Harry provide me with your phone numbers and address.

I will be happy to share my information with you provided you do not
make it public over the internet.

I would love to share a person to person conversation with you.

You, in turn, will have to do the same.

This will all be share via email through a 3rd party, such as Gene or
Tom.

Game on?

wrote:
On Aug 31, 8:40 am, hk wrote:
Eisboch wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
. ..
Eisboch wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
. ..
No offense, but none of the ex-military guys in my local union, and
there are a lot of them, ever mention their time in the service.
No offense, but I find that almost impossible to believe.
Maybe they don't talk about it with you ...... because they know you.
Eisboch
Nope. They've moved on...
Nope. You just demonstrated to me that you know nothing about what you are
talking about.
Your select group of union members are no different than the millions of
others in the world with a military experience.
All you are doing is expressing what you would like them to be .... because
it reflects your personal POV.
I call Bull****.
Eisboch
You can call whatever you like, but all you are doing is expressing what
you would like them to be, because it reflects your personal point of
view. How many local union meetings have you been to in the last few years?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Lobsta' boat....
WAFA...