[mikester]

Everything happens slowly where I work. EVERYTHING.

It drives me insane and I've had multiple confrontations with multiple departments who just don't get things done. The people directly above me DO get things done and since they are the directors that have the power - when I say someone is going slowly - they take action and come down on them. Unfortunately I'm not very popular and because I qualify for my job they are now required to qualify for theirs (they have been provisional for over a year - provisional allows you to get the qualifications within a year - if not they hire someone else and you go back to your old job and pay rate). Because they now don't qualify for their jobs they (about 10 people) have had to be reduced in pay and job title - though they haven't been moved from their jobs as of yet - and they blame it on me. They are small for doing so of course and I hold no sympathy for them but still - it isn't always comfortable. The union protects them in that they will be given their previous job, title and pay rather than be told where the door is. Not all of them are bad employees but a lot of them aren't good ones and it goes all the way up to the director level.

Unions in skilled positions in my opinion allow for very little efficiency. People simply can't be let go and while I don't think people should be fired off the cuff (there are legal things to be done before someone can be 'fired') I do think that where I work the union makes it so that people don't even get disciplined. Without that they can't ever be fired for cause.

It's a shame, people in typical union jobs have little incentive to be anything other than average at best.