My introduction to "the Union"...

[Noah]

Getting myself into bad dangerous chit seems to be a gift.... what can I say... 

The fact that I am still alive is proof enough for me that there is a God... he MUST have some sort of plan for me.... I hope.

[WayOutWest]

Well I've worked union since 1976 and have never been sorry. I also have never needed the union to stand up for me in all those years. I millwrightd in a paper mill till 2 years ago and understand why a union is needed in a big plant cause there are hole in the butts who use a little power to make life miserable for folks under them. On the other hand the union is kept busy standing up for deadbeats. I have joined the millwrights union out here now and its all different. There are 2 ways to get work, hall callouts and direct callouts from employers that know you or heard of you. At 57 yrs. old I have found that my skills and work ethics are getting me more calls than I can say yes to. The only thing that ever motivated me in that mill was my own pride and and the drive instilled by my parents. So my union experience is quite different but I do know there are still crooked powerful unions out there. Glad I haven't run into that. Noah, I always enjoy your thought provoking writings. Keep it up bud.

[Noah]

Thankyou WayOutWest, I completely see the advantage of an ETHICAL union in theory... it's just that the one I was involved in was certainly not...

... as a "side story" to said adventure... 

    One evening I was at, yet another, "union drinking establishment"  .... and an African American officer began to get mouthy haha....

....now, in the offshore business, racism is not tolerated... big business = professional conduct....  which I do love....

...HOWEVER... the place was still pretty much divided/split down the middle.... blacks on one side, whites on the other... and this dude just kept jackin' his jaw... 

............ SOOOO... 

     .... I took it upon myself to mosey on over into the dark to ask this sombitch what his problem was and it got "lively".... 


...being called out in front of his friends, he jumped up into my face... and we shared a "classic, rubbin' titties" stare down...  which I did not mind  .... I explained our situation... his friends wanted no part of it... and bought us a pitcher to drink on whilst we explored our similarities...

.... I, single-handedly, won the black vote that night... DAMN I shoulda been a politician... 

[RyanTBH]

I'd have to say I enjoyed that story very much! It just seems like you left a lot out though... I'm wondering why you thought that they were such "hard hitters" or "old school underground mafia"... how could you tell they were crooks? I do not doubt you, just really intrigued by this story. Why didn't you take the Prez up on his offer? Do you want to do manual labor for the rest of your life? I would think getting involved with them would have raised your pay...  LOL! From reading a few of your stories it seems you are perceived as a leader, why not live it and embrace it??? Don't you think that you could make a difference in anything that would get involved in? I guess going through what I have, one thing I’ve learned is that perception is everything… and if that is the way the majority perceives them, then that is the way “they are”.

[Reuben]

Well I've worked union since 1976 and have never been sorry. I also have never needed the union to stand up for me in all those years. I millwrightd in a paper mill till 2 years ago and understand why a union is needed in a big plant cause there are hole in the butts who use a little power to make life miserable for folks under them. On the other hand the union is kept busy standing up for deadbeats. I have joined the millwrights union out here now and its all different. There are 2 ways to get work, hall callouts and direct callouts from employers that know you or heard of you. At 57 yrs. old I have found that my skills and work ethics are getting me more calls than I can say yes to. The only thing that ever motivated me in that mill was my own pride and and the drive instilled by my parents. So my union experience is quite different but I do know there are still crooked powerful unions out there. Glad I haven't run into that. Noah, I always enjoy your thought provoking writings. Keep it up bud.

I hired on with a big company back in 1974...from the very beginning the old hands stayed on me to join the union...when my 90 days were up someone showed up with the paperwork and I joined right then...Well, I was glad to do so because that first job was a hell hole and the supervision was nasty...well at least half of them...not going to the details but it was like a prison in that particular part of the company...we dealt with the production of metal. We got escorted to the lunch room and minutes were counted, we were escorted to the shower room...just a bad atmosphere...and if you were a good worker the supervision would try to write you up for anything just to keep you there...in other words...if you tried to bid elsewhere you were more than likely be turned down with a bad record...So the union really came in handy at that location...one day this supervisor went balistic on me and that was it...I came in early the next morning and signed the bid sheet that was coming down at 7 am...same location but on the shift work end of metal production when the molten metal was made into different alloys and shipped out to the buyers...I thought I died and went to heaven...the work was tolerable even though we didn't get many breaks...and the supervision was tolerable...

one day I recieved a call that an uncle in lubbock, texas, had passed away...it was during one of the mini recessions and we had about 5 extra folks just floating and cleaning up where it was already clean...I asked my foreman if I could take some days off to go up to lubbock and to the funeral and he said no...I talked to my union stuart and he said it was a crock of chit...all these extra folks and I couldn't take off...he went over this foremans head and the superintendent said...take all the days you need...if you have vacation days use them or if you don't you can take off but without pay...

One thing I can tell you is that being a good union stuart pays big...My union stuart at that time was good all around...got along well with management as well as with the union men...but he always did his job right...so he was respected by all...

I reckon I should mention and define what I see as a bad union stuart...I can spot one pretty quick. either they try to kiss managements butts or they are always anti company...that is all I have to say about that...

Well, my brother calls me and tells me to bid over to his department because it is an awesome place to work...I placed my bid and several months go by and the same foreman that didn't want me to go to the funeral walked up to me and asked if I had placed a bid... I said yes and he said well they turned you down and walked off...I went and asked him why and he said something about my record...went back to the union stuart and he asks me if I was evr written up and I said no...so he set up a date for me and him to review my work record with the production foreman...we look at my record and he goes aha...says right here you were given 2 days off without pay...I couldn't remember ever being off without pay until we looked at the date when it happened...it was for the funeral leave...I couldn't figure out why I was turned doen because I never missed work, always setting production records etc. etc...but I did party hard when I was not working...in my younger days 

So I got the bid and moved on to the type of work I loved for the next 30 years...explosions, gas releases...lots of fun...but most of all coming up with solutions to make the plants more reliable and less labor intensive...the learning curve was limitless...I often went wher no man had gone before as far as coming up with process/plant improvements...the only thing I lost on that deal was that one person got ahead of me on senority because of the delay...senority was a big deal back in those days...if you had senority you hand the choice jobs that came available...so the union was very strong and good in those days...it helped me...the union does not see color, religion, clicks, suck a$$es...it protects all who belong...


not too much later I could see the hand writing on the wall...little japan made junk and then they converted and started making high quality stuff...and the third world countries were stepping up and trying to compete...and we had the US government handing down tuff and hard to comply regulations that wer about killing us...then we had a union that never changed with the times...we had union members that needed to be fired because of poor work ethics and they were protected...I could do a job in five minutes but the union wouldn't let me because that job belonged to another craft and the job could only be done by the craftsman...and this required at least one or 2 hours of preperations and then it was 2 craftsmen that came to do the job...

it didn't take me long to seperate myself from these so called working ethics we had as a union working in the plant...I always felt like the union could be strong and be a close friend to the company...I felt like we needed to stand together so we could compete against the world (China) and always be the best...to me it looked very simple to do...the majority got along well with each other (union and management)...I liked the fact that even when a sorry ass boss came on board that the union kepted him in check...It seemed to me that if the management treated the workers fairly, and the union dealt with low performers...all could get along and it would't have to be us and them...the union has gotten weaker because they did not adapt accordingly, and we also have governmental laws that tend to protect to a certain extent...in the big companies anyway...

I transferred to a non union plant in 1993...I learned real quick when to speak up and when to keep my mouth shut and I knew who my friends were and who felt threatened by my experience and know how...around those guys I learned to not question just follow orders...my goal was to retire and not get laid off...just something we have to deal with when not in a union...it took a few years but those guys were dealt with and I moved up into those shoes...just have to know how to play in the system...just like in the wild...we must learn how to adapt to our environment...or we will go by the wayside...



But now that I am retired from that company...I still work out there but not directly for... but almost...and it is a cush job...  and I like to think and believe that I earned it...  I see how some of the small companies can sometimes hire some no account type of foremans that create clicks...like drinking buddies, or, they hire their friends, or they take care of the kiss butts etc.etc. and the hard and reliable workers get screwed...and they don't get the raises but the ones in the clicks get the raises...and it is a hard pill to swallow when I see this around me...just ain't right...and I think...these guys need a union...but really the foreman needs a good as whipping and upper management needs to be more involved with the workers out in the field...and yet I see that the foreman is in a click with a drinking buddy that is in management...more than likely that is how the foreman got the job in the first place...it can be a dog eat dog worldout there...

Hey Noah...not trying to steal your thread just my thoughts on the Unions...by the way...good story...I really enjoyed it...like I told you before...you need to write a book... 

[djhogdogger]

 Noah, I enjoyed your story. Mostly because my dad was a merchant marine engineer, so for my entire life up until the day he retired,  he was a member of a maritime union...... I could tell you a few stories. You are very correct, those people do things differently than ordinary every day people. 

[rdjustham]

Getting myself into bad dangerous chit seems to be a gift.... what can I say... 

The fact that I am still alive is proof enough for me that there is a God... he MUST have some sort of plan for me.... I hope.

I think i figured out the plan for you.  Your the court jester (if you will) for the man upstairs. 

[Tusk Hog]

  Like Wayoutwest I was a union millwright for about 14 years and never regretted it. Left 8 years ago due to family needing me to be home. I've always regretting leaving and really miss the type of work we did. I now work for Texas Deptment of Criminal Justice as a Lock Tech. They treat their employees worse than any employer I've ever worked for.

[Reuben]

  Like Wayoutwest I was a union millwright for about 14 years and never regretted it. Left 8 years ago due to family needing me to be home. I've always regretting leaving and really miss the type of work we did. I now work for Texas Deptment of Criminal Justice as a Lock Tech. They treat their employees worse than any employer I've ever worked for.

the unions can be a good thing for sure...especially if the management tries to treat the employees bad the union keeps them in check..also union workers tend to make higher wages and have better benefits...

[Adam G]

Good read Noah.

[SCHitemHard]

should have taken bucho with you to leave in your room

[Noah]

I'd have to say I enjoyed that story very much! It just seems like you left a lot out though... I'm wondering why you thought that they were such "hard hitters" or "old school underground mafia"... how could you tell they were crooks? I do not doubt you, just really intrigued by this story. Why didn't you take the Prez up on his offer? Do you want to do manual labor for the rest of your life? I would think getting involved with them would have raised your pay...  LOL! From reading a few of your stories it seems you are perceived as a leader, why not live it and embrace it??? Don't you think that you could make a difference in anything that would get involved in? I guess going through what I have, one thing I’ve learned is that perception is everything… and if that is the way the majority perceives them, then that is the way “they are”.

Very good questions/points you bring up brother...  have been "re-examining" some things about myself ever since I read this lol... strange how a person can get caught up in life and forget things...  Life can be way, way more complicated than it would seem sometimes...

As for this particular union... I have learned enough to respect people's business... which is not a business I want any part of... rest assured however, there are things that go on behind the scenes that a moral human being would have no part in.


Disclaimer: What I say here, now, is from the heart as best as I can describe... exposed for all to see, I am who I am, strengths and weakness', hopefully not yet all I might be.


... As for my peculiar character/personality type.... I have yet to understand what/who I am/could be/should be thus far in life...  what I DO know... is that my whole life, I have been inspired by the challenge of winning the minds of those around me.... even if it is a people I have no interest in leading necessarily, "the game" quite simply draws me in...  Drop me off by parachute over Mogadishu, Somolia with nothing but the clothes on my back...  and stand back for a good show     THIS is what drives me...  the CHALLENGE of the game... a game I am VERY, VERY good at.

... I apologize, in that, this is a very consuming, introspective subject for me right now... have been trying to avoid dealing with it for the last few years, but I am glad that Ryan has spurred me to revisit this...  still trying to understand how to "harness" what natural gifts the Lord gave me... as an ever forcibly increasing "realistic pessimist" in this life... "what I would like to do" and "what I have to do" differ greatly....

I will most likely add to this randomly as moments of lucidity tend to come to me in "spurts" these days lol 

Thankyou for making me think RyanTBH



 

[RyanTBH]

LOL! Anytime...  I'm gona shoot you a PM in the morning. I think the nerve struck IMO is just the tip of the iceberg. The problem with most is that they are never willing to accept that they might know too much...    I think that the moment you figure out that you really don't know exactly what's what and you start to question it continuously and on a regular basis is the moment you actually start to get somewhere. It's then that you figure out who you really are... but who are you ever, really??? Your morals will more than likely hold true throughout your life, but the way that you perceive life will most always change. Good stuff, and keep up the good stories man!

[Plainhorseman]

Very good stuff here brothers! I've worked union most of my live and have seen frist hand the good and the bad with it. I think of it like this the person is what they are from the start. If you don't have any morels or self respect than it's very easy to find something to hide behind . Weather that be a union or something else. Jmo thank y'all.

[Plainhorseman]

We as humans have a union with each other and if we would live a little more like that it would work alot better for us all. And ya don't have to have a union card in your pocket to start.

[Reuben]

Very good stuff here brothers! I've worked union most of my live and have seen frist hand the good and the bad with it. I think of it like this the person is what they are from the start. If you don't have any morels or self respect than it's very easy to find something to hide behind . Weather that be a union or something else. Jmo thank y'all.

I agree...

[RyanTBH]

Very good stuff here brothers! I've worked union most of my live and have seen frist hand the good and the bad with it. I think of it like this the person is what they are from the start. If you don't have any morels or self respect than it's very easy to find something to hide behind . Weather that be a union or something else. Jmo thank y'all.

First off, I do not want this to come accross as me thinking I'm a "know it all"... I know I'm only 27, but I've seem some chit in my years I promise. I'm thinking of this from a point of leading or should I say not following.... if he could tell that the people behind it were crooks, and the majority of the peers wanted to nominate him for prez, then why not??? I mean, I understand why not and agree, but I'm thinking more principals here... If these are your natural abilities, and you have an opportunity to follow or peruse them, then why not? He is as I am, of course at different ages, but at a very similar point in our lives... ( i think ) trying to figure out why it is that we feel the way we do. I feel that I am here for something much bigger than myself. I know who I am, what kind of person I am, what I am capable of,  but knowing what that purpose is for or about is what the big question is.


This statement said it all to me, and stuck out to me drastically.

" As for my peculiar character/personality type.... I have yet to understand what/who I am/could be/should be thus far in life...  what I DO know... is that my whole life, I have been inspired by the challenge of winning the minds of those around me.... even if it is a people I have no interest in leading necessarily, "the game" quite simply draws me in...  Drop me off by parachute over Mogadishu, Somolia with nothing but the clothes on my back...  and stand back for a good show     THIS is what drives me...  the CHALLENGE of the game... a game I am VERY, VERY good at."

I personally think that this is a state of denial... I think that Noah is a leader, and just doesn't want to admit it to us or himself ; and I also think that it IS this way whether you like it or not sometimes. When you are given a state of mind like this you need to be able to embrace it, and learn how to let it lift you and those around you up. I don't know, maybe I'm talking out of my arse, but think about all the people that have had similar thoughts of a bigger meaning and purpose, any of em... think about where this world would be had they not had them and followed them. Yes, there will be a few that have done unimaginable things to humanity, but on the other hand, there are people who have given their all for this idea/thought/feeling of the known but yet unknown. I really don't know how else to put it. I’m not trying to put Noah out there on blast, and I do not know him personally; but I do empathize with the feeling of the known but unknown and understand the want to figure it out. It bothers me every day…  I think that this is the struggle for every man at some point in his life, and the decision and final resolution made from this struggle determines who and what type of person/man you really are.

And I may be wrong about all of this, but it's the way I feel and I at lease know that is real. I don't see it as not having morals and hiding behind anything, but more of bringing it to light enough to be able to analyze it time after time after time. If you know who you are, what you love and are good at and follow that, I think, that you are much richer of a person than most and blessed for it. Because at that point, you are not only helping yourself, but you're also helping all of those around you that you are involved with. To make your life better is not necessarily easy, but is convenient... but to make others’ lives better and more bearable is a blessing in disguise.

Noah, once you've figured out what it is that you are supposed to do in this life I wish you the best luck doing it man. I have been struggling with this IDEA for a couple years now, and it's beginning to drive me a little nuts. One thing I do know is, when you figure out YOU, the rest will fall into place; but YOU is the first key to that puzzle. Good luck and God Speed!!!

[Noah]

Dammit son... you been talkin' to my shrink haven't you?   

At this point, (after much backspacing...     ), I will simply agree that... yes, I am absolutely looking for a way to positively affect the world we live in... WHILE AT THE SAME TIME providing/being there for my family... a decievingly difficult task.... 

... in my early 20's, I discovered the extrodinary power of "straight forwardness".... coupled with my ingrained moral integrity, this proved to be a very powerful tool which I used/still use to build relationships/loyalties to this day.      I cannot stress to you young folk how effective speaking from your heart can be.   When you do, people feel.  When people feel, they tend to form a bond that essentially allows them to "relate" to you on a personal level...  you might want to wright this chit down... 

As for how to move forward at this point?  I don't know.  Every day I do what I have to do... all the while, watching, waiting, PRAYING(yes I pray) for God to show me how I might be strategically usefull in bringing happiness to those that deserve it in this hard world.

[RyanTBH]