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To unionize or not to unionize?

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By scooby
The BLOG poll "is it time to unionize" shows 128 Yes 75 no
The poll "Are you going to joing SPSE" shows 11 yes 24 no.
I understand that the respondents to the first poll may not necessarily be
the same ones who responded the second one but do you see a paradox?
Forget the polls and tell us what you really want!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'd say the answer is no to this union and that's that....

As it's been said out here many times before. The only union that'll do any good is one that can use force to get what they want.

Talk is cheap and worthless and that $25.00 a month fee is way to high. Get it down to maybe $10.00 and you might have a winner.
5/12/2008 6:34 PM
Anonymous said…
Although I believe we could gain a lot by being in a union, SPSE is not the way to go.

Its reputation is (1) a group of bottom quartilers, and (2) always against management regardless of the facts.
5/12/2008 8:38 PM
Anonymous said…
SPSE had their chance, blew it big time. All workers at LLNL need a union. But one with teeth and a tendancy to bite.

Machinists and Aerospace Workers would be the most logical choice in my opinion. AFSCME, Atomic Trades and Union Council, Brotherhood of Electrical Works are also possibilities.

People complained about union contracts only getting you average wages. Average would be higher than the typical salary packages these last few years for many departments. And average is better than unemployment any day.
5/13/2008 7:46 AM
Anonymous said…
When I started at the lab MANY years ago, I attempted to join SPSE. I was informed that since I was a technician, not a professional, I could not join. Fast forward 3 decades and now they do accept techs and it is ironic that a non "professional" group was the only set of people that did create a bargaining unit. Either my class of people started to smell better or they had to lower their standards.

Possibly a strong union presence will emerge after this debacle, but I don't know if SPSE fits the bill.
5/13/2008 7:16 PM
Anonymous said…
Given the SPSE track record there won't be enough people left to form a union. They will have been laid off.
5/13/2008 9:07 PM
Anonymous said…
Union's are only as strong as the membership, members vote for the officers that represent them. SPSE could be a strong voice for all employee's if enough people would join. Imagine a wildcat strike if our demands for a fair contract were not met, everybody walking off the job. Where would management get the Q cleared people to replace us? LOL, they'd have no chioce but to cave in! $25 bucks a month for at least some kind of fair treatment is nothing!
5/14/2008 4:16 PM
Anonymous said…
the union is not SPSE but UPTE, this the same union that repersents the 13000 uc employees at the campuses. as for the aerospace or brother hood of electrical workers I doubt the would have the political contact in washington that UPTE has. You people had a chance to join but balked at us and thought the lab would take care of you, well now you see the light.
UPTE LOCAL 11 llnl skill crafts
5/14/2008 9:38 PM
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