Union-bashing in a union town, Buffalo NY

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/179510.html

UAW workers draw sharp criticism following two-day strike
Calls for labor solidarity ring hollow as some in job force blast tactics of auto workers
By Fred O. Williams NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 10/08/07 7:44 AM

As members of an exclusive group with high pay and benefits, they have a lofty sense of entitlement. Corporate executives?

Actually, the description was aimed at blue-collar autoworkers, the vanguard of the working class.

“I have no sympathy for these overpaid, underworked slackers,” one local factory worker named Jim wrote on a Buffalo News Web log. “I have no pension; I’m not guaranteed lifetime health care.”

The two-day strike last month at General Motors Corp. drew an outpouring of support for the United Auto Workers. But it also drew a barrage of criticism, exposing a rift in the Buffalo Niagara community and among the ranks of working people.

“No one on this plant can get a UAW job, unless you have a family member working already,” another anonymous Web writer said.

Whether it has any basis, the anonymous griping is widespread enough to show a broad vein of resentment against the UAW — surprising in a union stronghold like Buffalo.

The barbs were thrown on the day that the UAW walked out of GM plants around the country, including the 1,500-job Town of Tonawanda Engine Plant.

FULL story at link.

There is nothing wrong with having health insurance and job security, unless you are a corporatist, then you would think otherwise.

In my past I had to work with union leadership, not as an affiliate just serving their needs. I saw first-hand that the representatives didn't always work in the interest of their members. I also saw them protect dead beats that, in an honest world, would have been taken behind the shed and given a lesson. I don't say this to berate the importance of unions, just to point at the reality of the situation. A union is democracy in the work place. If the members don't hold their representatives to account or their fellow members responsible for doing their jobs, it's just another form of aristocracy.

During my working career I never had the advantage of union representation( CWA and IBEW didn't think much of my profession at the time). I always did OK for myself and took on the defense of my co-workers when I knew the company was wrong.

Sorry for the personal rant, sometimes you just have to get things off your chest. With regard to this story, I can see both sides. If your lucky enough to have representation, make sure it is honest and works in the best interest of all involved. If you don't have representation, remember that the unions fight for the baseline compensation you get.