How to deal with an anti-union blowhard

[margotb822]

I was in talking to my boss' boss today and he, like all Repub blowhards, had FAUX on and the program was discussing the damage unions had done to the auto industry.

Well, the blowhard I was talking with decided to use this as an opening to rant against unions and how they railroad people, drive prices up and are just generally bad. He know's I'm liberal and I could tell he was waiting for me to jump in and debate him, but instead, I chose to say this:

Being in a union saved my mom's life. Without the teacher's union, she would have died of cancer.

And then I walked out. Because there's no rebuttal to the truth.

[MrCoffee]

1. Being in a union destroyed my family

My dad was PATCO, and after the unions stood aside and let St. Ronnie crush the air traffic controllers, my family went through hell.


Anyone who says the unions didn't LET that happen doesn't know their history.

[margotb822]

4. I don't know that much about the air traffic controller strike

but it would seem to me that the union thought they had more power than they actually did.

I'm sorry that your family was hurt, and I don't think unions are always great (just as nothing is either all good or all evil), but also don't think that the UAW is 90% to blame for the situation in Detroit. As for the teachers union, I think they are probably holding up some educational reforms that are necessary because they're trying to protect the older and crappier teachers.

My personal experience has been the life of my mother, which is pretty valuable to me and I'm happy she was in a situation where the workers had the power to negotiate for health care, as well as take care of other teachers.

[erinlough]

7. As one of them "older crappier teachers"

I've jumped through every hoop the NCLB has set in front of me, I love the new teachers but can tell you the work ethic of actually showing up to work is not necessarily there. I have 125 sick days coming to me, the most they will allow us to carry, and most of the young teachers use all of the 10 they get each year, every year.

I have two certifications, a master's degree and most of the kids I teach love the security and tone of my teaching.

I negotiate on every contract but the younger teachers act like it is beneath them to get involved in the leadership of the union. There have even been rumblings of giving up our hard fought for benefits for a couple of dollars more.

I see the union as something that gave me the promise of due process. I could still be fired for wrong doing, and a few in my district have been, however I would have the right to a hearing and some time to improve. I would also have the right to bargain to improve my salary, benefits and working conditions. I believe Unions are much misunderstood.

[margotb822]

9. There is a teacher in my mom's school

who interacts with the kids on a minimal basis. Instead of reading the books, he shows the movies, and everyone passes his class, regardless of their actual grade. They moved my mom out of senior English because she would fail people that actually failed and it was lowering their graduation rate. He is the type of teacher that benefits no one and is in the "older crappier" category.

I think it's absolutely amazing that teachers have multiple Masters' degrees, certificates and current courses, and are expected to pay for that on, well, a teacher's salary. But, my mom, like most other teachers, loves her job, which is what keeps her there. And, the county she teaches in is the second richest, but their teacher pay rank is 17th. It atrocious that the people we entrust with our children for eight or more hours a day are paid next to nothing.

I have been hearing a lot about the DC school system, which is in turmoil, and I think that, while the Commissioner of schools wants to go too far, the union is holding back. There needs to be drastic change in that district, but unions aren't really set to handle it.

[MrCoffee]

10. I'm glad your mom was taken care of...just be wary of personal anectotes

as the final word.

:hi:

[Better Believe It]

6. PATCO's Officials Supported Ron Reagan And Thought He Was Their Friend!

PATCO didn't destroy your family. Reagan did.

And PATCO was one of two labor unions (the other was the Teamsters) which supported Ron Reagan in the 1980 election.

I agree that the entire labor movement should have supported PATCO. PATCO's leadership should have appealed to the membership of the IBT and all other unions to support the air traffic controllers strike. They didn't.

And PATCO'S leadership mistakenly believed that Reagan could not and would not replace their membership with strike-breakers. PATCO's officials thought that Ronald Reagan was their friend! That's why they endorsed his candidacy!

PATCO should have organized picketlines at all possible airport facilities and labor should have recognized those picketlines and directed their members to not cross them.

As a member of the United Steelworkers union I participated in pro-PATCO demonstrations on my own along with others union members from other labor unions.

The failure of the labor movement to shut down all of the airports in solidarity with PATCO helped pave the way for employers to embark on a major and very successful union busting campaign in industry after industry.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Don't conservatives

want people to have private sector health care? don't they want an honest wage for an honest days works? Don;t they want Americans to get ahead?

Well actually conservatives want scapegoats because taking responsibility is not a conservative value.

[livetohike]

3. If one has paid days off work (vacation, sick days and holidays) or

health insurance, or gets paid for overtime hours, they need to thank unions. This is my argument with my Libertarian friend. He thinks companies have to offer these things to their employees to "remain competitive". He doesn't realize that without unions, these things would have never come about.

[margotb822]

5. The teacher's union has

a pool for unused sick and vacation days, so my mom was able to dip into this pool while on chemo. It would have been life threatening to her if she was forced to go into school while undergoing treatment, but thanks to this pool and the other teachers, she was able to keep her job and her pay through treatment.

[Vickers]

8. I hope they aren't in a car accident, or that there house catches on fire.

Practically all of those EMTs and firefighters are in godless anti-American unions.

:eyes:

[sray2007]

11. cooool