Joining local 787 through an employee vote

[nflwiz]

Hey guys jus curious if anybody may have some input on the process of workers calling in the union for a vote. pros/cons of joining the union through an employee vote, I have heard company's will jus fold and setup shop in a different name and so on. should I be worried I could be terminated for taking part in the vote? how will the pay scale work ? we go from making an average hourly rate to union rates wont the company jus say no we cant afford that?, any advice or info would be appreciated

[blitz]

well, good luck with that. if there's no work then there's no work, you'll get laid off as normal. few key ppl will get a make work project to keep them around, as it always has been. OTH, union open up avenues and world that you can't access before because you're not in the brotherhood. massive commercial project, interesting industrial application, pension and benefits, first class training facility (the guys in trade mag wearing full ppe doing brazing is just ridiculous) etc. perhaps even travelling to different local because warm bodies are needed.

tread carefully, because it could leave a bad taste and ruin good working relationship.

[Helmethead666]

Just went through a vote. (In December 2012.) still waiting for the union and the company to settle the details of the service agreement. With the union they have two agreements. One for construction and one for service/maintenance. The service one is negotiable and can take up to one year to iron out all the details. So if you work for a large company you might be waiting a long time. I actually got tire of waiting and tire of the company treating us like crap so I'm moving on. To a non union shop. Everything the union says in great but it can take some time to get it. Good luck

[jrmech]

Just went through a vote. (In December 2012.) still waiting for the union and the company to settle the details of the service agreement. With the union they have two agreements. One for construction and one for service/maintenance. The service one is negotiable and can take up to one year to iron out all the details. So if you work for a large company you might be waiting a long time. I actually got tire of waiting and tire of the company treating us like crap so I'm moving on. To a non union shop. Everything the union says in great but it can take some time to get it. Good luck

what union is this? 787 has a collective agreement that all contractors under them abide by, I have never heard of them negotiating wages with a newly organized company. Negotiations take place every 3-4 years and the end result effects all contractors.

for the original poster - it comes down to what kind of clientele your company caters to, if you deal with a lot of little mom and pop places then the union will put your company out of business, there is no way your employer can afford the compensation. As for taking part in the vote, your employer will not know who voted what unless you tell them, the union will not divulge that info. Some bosses will not tolerate a dictatorship in their business and will use loop holes to get out if it, hard to say what yours will do.

the process involves 40% of the employees signing a card to trigger a vote, once a vote is triggered then 51% have to say yes to bring in the union.

[Helmethead666]

what union is this? 787 has a collective agreement that all contractors under them abide by, I have never heard of them negotiating wages with a newly organized company. Negotiations take place every 3-4 years and the end result effects all contractors.

for the original poster - it comes down to what kind of clientele your company caters to, if you deal with a lot of little mom and pop places then the union will put your company out of business, there is no way your employer can afford the compensation. As for taking part in the vote, your employer will not know who voted what unless you tell them, the union will not divulge that info. Some bosses will not tolerate a dictatorship in their business and will use loop holes to get out if it, hard to say what yours will do.

the process involves 40% of the employees signing a card to trigger a vote, once a vote is triggered then 51% have to say yes to bring in the union.

Yes it is with 787. labour laws in Ontario allows the company to attempt to negotiate certain things within the service agreement. Bottom line is anytime the company proposes something the union comes back to us and we meet and vote so at the end of the day if its not what we want then it won't go through. This may go on for up to one year after the original union vote. Then a mediator would be called in.

[jrmech]

If they can't negotiate the exact same wages as everyone else is getting then there is no sense of having them, the only point to being a member is getting the wages and pension, other then that there is no difference between them and an open shop. They will sell you on training but they cancel classes all the time with a heap load of excuses, even though the employer is paying into an education fund, where does the money go? nobody knows.

[blitz]

If they can't negotiate the exact same wages as everyone else is getting then there is no sense of having them, the only point to being a member is getting the wages and pension, other then that there is no difference between them and an open shop. They will sell you on training but they cancel classes all the time with a heap load of excuses, even though the employer is paying into an education fund, where does the money go? nobody knows.

somebody, somewhere, getting paid the big bucks. any union, same thing.

[valdelocc]

If they can't negotiate the exact same wages as everyone else is getting then there is no sense of having them, .

Excellent point!!! When my employer was voted into the union they (management) negotiated lower wages for most techs with the exemption of a few, the union promised that after a year everyone would be making the same union wages, it took 3 years for it to happen.
It always boils down to " are you going to be better than before"? in my case joining the union was the best move I ever made, the other side cant come even close to what we get in terms of pay and benefits.

[Helmethead666]

Bottom line is its a good move to make but it takes time to have it all set up once the vote actually happens.

[hvacrende]

How does it work if most of your company is plumbers and steam fitters? (Also non union) we have 3 refrigeration guys and like 20 plumbers. Will they have to vote also even though they are not refrigeration techs???

[MechTech2013]

A Plumbing and Pipefitting Local will more than likely want all the Pipe Trades repped.
There's a shop out here that does Electric, Plumbing, and Mechanical. The shop is IBEW Union for the Electrical and is interested in joining the UA for Mechanical. Here's the thing, the Local wants Plumbing and Mechanical, but the Local has one Jm scale for both. This is a market were Mechanical is a low balled trade and Plumbing is even worse.

[hvacrende]

Local 787. Would they only make us refrageration a/c guys vote? Plumbers wouldnt be included right ?

[MechTech2013]

I believe that Local is one of the only Mechanical-Only Locals. I doubt Plumbing or Pipefitting would be involved.