[masraum]

I worked for a company that bought a portion of another company. THe portion that was purchased was based primarily out of NJ. The guys that worked for the company that was purchased were Union. A few my my local techs went up to check things out and learn about the network layout. Basically, they were my eyes and ears and hands. My guys described ridiculous circumstances. In one case, the facilities manager was walking them around showing them the equipment in various buildings. They unlocked the door to one building, walked into the pitch dark room and flipped on the lights. There was a guy kicked back in a chair out cold, sleeping like a baby. The manager just pretended the guy didn't exist, showed them around and turned the light back off when he left. Basically, there was nothing that could be done about slackers. I've heard many other ridiculous stories about union work/workers. I hope I never find myself somewhere with unions or having to work with union people. I'm sure they aren't all bad, but it seems like it breeds shoddy work ethics.

Did it protect workers in the past, absolutely. Was it necessary at some time, definitely. Is it useful these days, maybe, but I have a hard time seeing that.

I'll just count myself lucky that I don't have to worry about it.