Amazon workers just voted to join a union

[Flingarrows]

21 years in IBEW. No love for unions here. 10 years out now, making more money than ever, with great bennies


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[stocknup]

I am retired from the Indiana Carpenters Union of 24 years ……..I can say it has provided me and my family a damned good living .
I “Earned” a good wage and Medical Benefits that were way above par to most plans .
I have read on this thread that if you joined the union , you had a job …….not the case in the companies that I worked for .

If you did not perform ( no matter your “Seniority” ) you were replaced . I was a Supt . that still carried my card .( most management are not Unionized)
I had full range to work who performed the best ……..Those that may have bought their cards and were under skilled were eventually replaced by those who were well trained and had better work ethics .
At least where I worked , the union did not protect the lazy and bad work habits as some here have implied .
We in the skilled trades unions did not perform or awarded by piece work as in the factory type …….you are hired to perform a days work for a days pay .
I never once played cards because my quota was done and I was awarded “T-Time “ .
No one has ever forced me to vote “Their Way “ (BTW , never voted left ) ……..or told me what type vehicle to drive .
Always proud of the quality and product that our team provided to our clients .
I worked around 15years non-union construction ( Project Management Companies )( Not saying that there are not non-union companies out there that can perform just as well , but that is where I experienced the sub par knowledge, wages, safety, training and workmanship . There just wasn`t the incentive to do better . A guys wage was based on what he told to the guy that interviewed him …..
Best decision I ever made was to join the Union ……….Retired 6 years ago , had a medical bank that paid my Health Care premiums for almost 3 years , Have a $40,000 annuity , don`t owe on anything ,
bring in $ 3800 mon. pension + SS on top of that .
Also , someone mentioned that any union member should be concerned that the “Union” has possession of our money and that we should have it ……..?
If there is an option to take a lump sum upon retirement , sign me up ………….just as my Social Security $$ .

 

[Creedmoor]

Best decision I ever made was to join the Union ……….Retired 6 years ago , had a medical bank that paid my Health Care premiums for almost 3 years , Have a $40,000 annuity , don`t owe on anything ,
bring in $ 3800 mon. pension + SS on top of that .

Good for you,
I took my penison check last year at 63 yrs old. It cost me $89.00 a month to go two years early. Im a bit over four grand after Federal taxes, im going to wait till I hit 100% for my SS check. I picked up a gig doing maintenance and control work near home as a double dip for awhile.
We didn't have a medical bank, that sounds interesting.

 

[KLB]

Can I ask what industry you all work in?

I work for a manufacturer of Gypsum products, wallboard, ceiling tiles, etc.

 

[Creedmoor]

I work for a manufacturer of Gypsum products, wallboard, ceiling tiles, etc.

Very good, Are you all using synthetic gypsum out of the coal power plants scrubbers?
Thanks

 

[stocknup]

Good for you,
I took my penison check last year at 63 yrs old. It cost me $89.00 a month to go two years early. Im a bit over four grand after Federal taxes, im going to wait till I hit 100% for my SS check. I picked up a gig doing maintenance and control work near home as a double dip for awhile.
We didn't have a medical bank, that sounds interesting.

I went almost 3 years early for Full retirement or would have had a larger payout ..........Just started my SS ( also early , a little under $2000 )
Over $300 + per pay period went to the Medical Bank . It could only be used for Medical ( Prescriptions, Doctor Visits, surgeries , etc )
I rarely used any of it , and when I retired , I had banked well over $35,000 . Once retired , you could only use it for extended premiums and/ or medical related . So it paid misc. bills and premiums for a little over 3 years before it ran out ......then my wife got a policy thru her work for us .

 

[Creedmoor]

I went almost 3 years early for Full retirement or would have had a larger payout ..........Just started my SS ( also early , a little under $2000 )
Over $300 + per pay period went to the Medical Bank . It could only be used for Medical ( Prescriptions, Doctor Visits, surgeries , etc )
I rarely used any of it , and when I retired , I had banked well over $35,000 . Once retired , you could only use it for extended premiums and/ or medical related . So it paid misc. bills and premiums for a little over 3 years before it ran out ......then my wife got a policy thru her work for us .

Thats awesome. And some believe we were taken advantage of while they stole from us all.
Two guys I went to school with worked the past 40 years as Union Ironworkers, the packages they are going out on is crazy. One to two mill in just their annuity plan.

 

[stocknup]

Thats awesome. And some believe we were taken advantage of while they stole from us all.
Two guys I went to school with worked the past 40 years as Union Ironworkers, the packages they are going out on is crazy. One to two mill in just their annuity plan.

That is Awesome as well ..........The Iron Workers sure deserve it . They are a rare breed . My cousin was one back in the day .
I remember him working on Market Square Arena .

 

[Ingomike]

Back to your poor compression of reading, heres what I posted.

"Most employees" in the working world cant even fill the paperwork out for a 401 much less chose what fund or funds to invest in. So many in the working world give up that free matching 401 money. You get the I cant afford that or i'll start it next year.

Start asking at work who in involved in the companys 401 and I bet its no more than 30 to 40% of non management.

You havent responded to why private pensions disappeared?

Along with the endlessly moving goal post.

Why are you so angry about people that stuck it out and earned a nice penison and annuity? Along with a 401 and Social Security?

Yep, have very poor compression. LOL

There are many reasons pensions do not exist much today, here are two.

People want control of their money.

Companies do not want to be responsible for your money.

Why do unions want pensions.

The union gets control of the money.

It was pension money the mob used to build Vegas.

I am not angry at anyone, the naïveté here is remarkable…

 

[Creedmoor]

Yep, have very poor compression. LOL

There are many reasons pensions do not exist much today, here are two.

People want control of their money.

Companies do not want to be responsible for your money.

Why do unions want pensions.

The union gets control of the money.

It was pension money the mob used to build Vegas.

I am not angry at anyone, the naïveté here is remarkable…

So you are good with having the control of the 401K money while what, 70% of Americas corporations elimated pension funds.
Why would anyone be willing to give up thousands a month with a 20-40 year penison check. If companies back then did poor and loosing investments they had to replace that lost money. Why didnt they just use an investment company to take care of that money?
Because they didnt want to give the employees that money they were told they would get at retirement. It stayed in the companys bank accounts.

And with a penison one has the option of also having the same amount in your 401k supplemental penison that others have with just a 401k as a penison.
And depending on the trade an annuity account.

Penison funds all have Federal laws and inspections they have to abide by.
You all keep bringing old news in the conversation,

Vegas was built long before we were born, find something more modern and relevant.

You keep wanting to control all this supposed retirment money, its to my knowledge been offered that way besides a Roth and a 401K.
Some penisons can be cashed out along the way or at retirement.

A man down the street cashed out his Union Plasters Union retirement a few years back when he took a early out. He now works at Andersons Walmart.
Like I posted earlier, some cant take care of money, some can.
If he just had taken the monthly check, he would still be sitting home waiting for The Beer Sheriff to cut him off when she gets home from work.

But I get it now, corporate America Good!
Unions Bad.

 

[JettaKnight]

So you are good with having the control of the 401K money while what, 70% of Americas corporations elimated pension funds.
Why would anyone be willing to give up thousands a month with a 20-40 year penison check. If companies back then did poor and loosing investments they had to replace that lost money. Why didnt they just use an investment company to take care of that money?
Because they didnt want to give the employees that money they were told they would get at retirement. It stayed in the companys bank accounts.

Why would I want to stay at a s****y low paying job for forty years just so that I can get "thousands a month"? How much lost wages over that period am I giving up by staying at that job?

It worked out great for you, so that's good. But different folks, different strokes.


I grew up in a different era, one in which it became appearent that you shouldn't depend on either the government or a corporation for long term livelihood.

 

[Creedmoor]

Why would I want to stay at a s****y low paying job for forty years just so that I can get "thousands a month"? How much lost wages over that period am I giving up by staying at that job?

It worked out great for you, so that's good. But different folks, different strokes.


I grew up in a different era, one in which it became appearent that you shouldn't depend on either the government or a corporation for long term livelihood.

LOL. I was replying to Mike.
We were discussing not having a penison and he doesent like not having control of a company paid penison money. It dosent work that way.
I would never knock someone for doing better and move for a better position.
I moved 700+ miles here to keep my job.
I understand that some unions just suck, like some factorys work under The Electric Union, its worthless.

 

[Ingomike]

So you are good with having the control of the 401K money while what, 70% of Americas corporations elimated pension funds.

Perfectly

 

[Ingomike]

Why would anyone be willing to give up thousands a month with a 20-40 year penison check.

Because almost no one today will be 20-40 years at the same company. Most young people now stay on a job 2.8 years.

You are a relic of a past time, retiring after a full career with pension.


After extensive research, our data analysis team concluded:

• The average person changes jobs 12 times in their lifetime, according to the latest available public survey data (2019).
• The average employee stays with their employer for 4.1 years as of January 2020.
• However, this number varies slightly between women (3.9 years) and men (4.3 years).
• Men hold 12.5 jobs in their lifetime, on average, while women have 12.1 jobs.
• Comparatively, workers ages 25 to 34 years only remained with an employer a median of 2.8 years, more than three times less than older employees.

Average Number of Jobs in a Lifetime [2023]: How Many Jobs Does The Average Person Have - Zippia

Data analysis about how often people change jobs and careers, how long people stay at any given job, and other career change statistics.

www.zippia.com

 

[Ingomike]

Vegas was built long before we were born, find something more modern and relevant.

I tell you exactly why unions like pensions, then tell you about a known abuse of pension funds, but that isn’t relevant, got it

 

[Creedmoor]

Perfectly

Well that makes perfectly good sence to just have a 401K say with 3% matching funds and not a penison check and a 3% matching 401K.

 

[Creedmoor]

I tell you exactly why unions like pensions, then tell you about a known abuse of pension funds, but that isn’t relevant, got it

It was relevant 75 years ago, you dont think abuse of others money doesn't add new State and Federal Laws?
Its not like the private sector didn't and doesn't break laws also.

 

[Creedmoor]

Because almost no one today will be 20-40 years at the same company. Most young people now stay on a job 2.8 years.

You are a relic of a past time, retiring after a full career with pension.


After extensive research, our data analysis team concluded:

• The average person changes jobs 12 times in their lifetime, according to the latest available public survey data (2019).
• The average employee stays with their employer for 4.1 years as of January 2020.
• However, this number varies slightly between women (3.9 years) and men (4.3 years).
• Men hold 12.5 jobs in their lifetime, on average, while women have 12.1 jobs.
• Comparatively, workers ages 25 to 34 years only remained with an employer a median of 2.8 years, more than three times less than older employees.

Average Number of Jobs in a Lifetime [2023]: How Many Jobs Does The Average Person Have - Zippia

Data analysis about how often people change jobs and careers, how long people stay at any given job, and other career change statistics.

www.zippia.com

Us relics sure cant help some of the younger generations that were taught poor work behavior. Maybe they should wake up.

So whats to look forward to as a worker that has spent their working years culminating from a lifetime of job hopping ending up with an underfunded 401K and a Social Security check?


Looks like about 14 million Union Trade workers seem to be working towards a penison check, and some of them will sign up a fully funded 401K and Social Security.
With todays worker employment timeline with lots of corporations you have to employed 5 years to be vested 100% in there 401K. Makes good sence to me

I still find it humorous that is better from some to get less income at the end of ones working years. Well maf is hard, more so for the younger generations.

We done here?

 

[avboiler11]

Not all union-negotiated defined benefits are controlled by unions.

Defined benefits have been shed left and right through bankruptcy proceedings with nickels on the dollar paid by PBGC, though bankruptcy law changes in the late 00s have changed that business tactic a bit.

Defined benefits are very large financial liabilities requiring certain percentage of funding per ERISA which is why so many companies have stopped offering them; even Uncle Sugar isn't offering a traditional pension any more for new federal employees.

In terms of retirement risk mitigation, having both a defined benefit and a defined contribution is best IMO. A defined benefit provides a baseline guaranteed income amount that isn't subject to market fluctuations, while a defined contribution goes into an account in YOUR name that YOU control.

Again...management teams get the unions they deserve...

 

[KLB]

Funny things that just popped in my head.
We had something like 4 managers go into some equipment that was not locked out.
Safety came in, and gave EVERY ONE of the managers time off.
The managers came back VERY angry.
Which is funny, because they'd have written up an employee for doing exactly the same thing.


Also, watched a safety engineer get fired, for breaking the safety rules.
He did not notify the on site manager that he was there.
He then boarded an offline EOT crane, so that he could look down and find people breaking rules.
He broke rules by not notifying management that he was on the crane, AND he did not switch the status lights to signal "offline but occupied. Do NOT push".

Your former company sucks. Full stop. Do they get sued when there are injuries or deaths?