Grandfathers

[madcowboy33]

I just want to vent a little bit and say that our Union Grandfathers would roll over in the dirt if they knew how hard they had to fight to gain protection, rights and privelages for us just to find out that we gave it up for piddly monitary values and piss poor language. I myself am tired of pissing in the wind when it comes to grievances and unfair labor practices. My company does whatever it wants and thinks we are a joke. How do we get a better contract when the company says heres the 1st, best and final offer and our own members vote it through for 3% and losing something in the language every time, now they are going after our senority and thats one thing I can't stand to lose. There is also talk of working 40 hrs before you start to get overtime. As a proud Union Steward what am I suppost to tell my men when they ask me "why can't we fight this" knowing what the company is doing is B.S. and my BA telling me there is nothing we can do. How can I prove past practice cases, how can I organize my own, How can I win these legitimate grievances like my Grandad did. The time is now to start fighting like our grandfathers and winning back what we lost. How did they do it????????

[duckhunter]

They did it with men that cared about each other and the future. They did it with men that saw safety as a real need, not something to try to figure how to get around. They did it with men that wanted to work, and didn't come up with ways of not answering the phone when needed. They did it with men who had pride, something that seems lacking today.

[wudwlkr]

Amen

To quote Pogo "We have met the enemy and he is us."

[MEGA81]

My grandfather was an IBEW wireman, and I am now a 2nd step lineman ape. I feel a tremendous pride in working union. I think a big part of the problem is that a lot of guys dont care. Plain and simple apathy. They have become comfortable in their life and see a pro union attitude as "radical" or in some cases "troublesome", combine that with a large amount of suck asses, and you have a problem. Lead by example. Tell your men that what we have was FAUGHT for and keeping our rights intact requires that we still fight today. For ourselves and our family. I would love to see a tailboard style meeting on union issues. Much the same way safety meetings are held. After all, at the end of the day the are very much intertwined.

[OLE' SORE KNEES]

I just want to vent a little bit and say that our Union Grandfathers would roll over in the dirt if they knew how hard they had to fight to gain protection, rights and privelages for us just to find out that we gave it up for piddly monitary values and piss poor language. I myself am tired of pissing in the wind when it comes to grievances and unfair labor practices. My company does whatever it wants and thinks we are a joke. How do we get a better contract when the company says heres the 1st, best and final offer and our own members vote it through for 3% and losing something in the language every time, now they are going after our senority and thats one thing I can't stand to lose. There is also talk of working 40 hrs before you start to get overtime. As a proud Union Steward what am I suppost to tell my men when they ask me "why can't we fight this" knowing what the company is doing is B.S. and my BA telling me there is nothing we can do. How can I prove past practice cases, how can I organize my own, How can I win these legitimate grievances like my Grandad did. The time is now to start fighting like our grandfathers and winning back what we lost. How did they do it????????

Amen Brother, I feel the same way, I think things started going downhill when the IBEW got away from the lineman and started accepting any-trade, clerk ,tree trimmer,etc. , not that I don't like that... but WE have taken a Back-Seat for what was founded by a Lineman for Lineman ..........the IBEW needs to get back to it's roots.....

http://www.ibew1613.org/stewards/IBEW_history.html

[mainline]

Sore knees, I think your right on with the dilution of power. We have gotten away from the core group. The IBEW organized the engineers at our company, the call centers, the meter readers, now the linemen are a minority in our own union. It makes it tough at negotiation time to get good language when you have to worry about the interests of 900 different groups.

[Bull Dog]

I think you guys are making good points. I'd like to add some to them. I think the leadership changed too not just the rank and file of the union. Too many IBEW unions are now run with non electrical trades. When I first came up it was a lineman's union with linemen running the union. There were also men in other trades that were of the same mind. We worked together not against one another. In those days we told the company we were not going to take it anymore. We voted for strike sanction and got it. We turned down multiple company offers. Just when the clock struck twelve the phone rang and we had a better offer. When we turned that one down two weeks later at midnight the phone rang and we had a better offer. When we turned that one down two weeks later at midnight we ratified. Thats how we did it. We put the fear of god in them. Now a days the leadership is mostly non linemen. We don't even threaten them we just sit and talk and talk on the same deal they showed us on day one. No strike sanction nothing just talk. What kind of negotiations do we have when there is no fear on the company's side? I think we know the answer. We have to change the leadership of our unions to make real change. I'm afraid with we being in the voting minority its not likely we can make the leadership changes. Untill we make the company fear again they will just laugh at us. Sorry

[Bull Dog]

When I was a young buck coming up the union prez was a lineman. I asked him this very question we worked on the same crew. He told me Its not the strike that gets the company to move its the threat of a strike that makes them move of there final offer usually the third final offer. No threat anymore is there we cant even get them to ask for strike sanction. Its a joke the company's get a good laugh out of now a day. Put the linemen back in charge of the union and the smile will be .

[madcowboy33]

At our last negotion we voted the 1st, best and final down. Our BA then sent out a mail ballot stating if we voted the next one down we would be voting for a strike. Of course the Lineman were all for strikeing, however it intimidated the rest of the local into voting yes. Are you guys members of a system council, We are about to be and our BA keeps saying that will make the difference, I was just wondering if you guys were for it?

[duckhunter]

Madcowboy,
You mentioned at the start of this thread a situation being proposed where you only got overtime after 40 hours. We have "linemen" that only want to work 40 hours. I don't mean older guys that get taxed to death on the pay, I mean young guys with families. We had a storm come through here on April 25. The three on-call guys have to respond, but only 2 of the 12 that were not on call answered their phone. 11:00 pm at night, withing an hour of going on double-time and they brought in contractors because the brothers didn't want to work. That is one of the problems with the union today. No pride, no responsibilty.