Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Paying the bills on time?
Did anyone notice this weekend that the union website was down? Did anyone take the time to read the notice that replaced the normal drivel found on their pages? If you were a web-steward, it must have felt embarrasing to wake up Saturday Morning and find your site was turned into a pregnancy education page because someone forgot to pay the bill. Yep, the site was taken off line late Friday Night 19th of Sept. untill sometime before 10:00 AM Monday the 22 Sept. because it said it was EXPIRED! The page had a nice little reminder there that said something to the effect of 'if you own this web site, please pay up or the url can be sold.' Of course I'm paraphrasing here, but you get the gist of the message. By now, you the reader are probably laughing unless you're sympathetic to the union. So my simple questions are: If these guys let their own domain name and website expire, what makes you so sure they won't let you expire? If they lack financial responsibility, how do they keep your financial interests protected? Why am I giving them my money? Why do I let them have the right to negotiate my future at RMS?! It's time to Oust 933!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
I love it when the union makes our case
I love it when the union makes our case. This morning a friend of our committee passed on a flyer that was getting circulated around the plant site by a union steward. It’s a typical union brainwashing document with a kinder gentler touch. I decided to post their document for them on our blog, because it makes our case better than it does theirs. How stupid do they think the workers are to fall for this psychobabble?
The first two sentences start off kind and understanding. Hard to believe this is a letter coming from the same organization that trained it’s workers to hate and never talk to “crossers”. Then they get completely stupid. They wrote ”It seems that these anti-union workers have somehow overlooked the value of having a union here at Raytheon.” EHEM! We took this into long consideration before challenging this bunch of bullies with facts to show they hurt rather than help the workers of Raytheon.
This is a fight for the truth at Raytheon. This union is going to wine and dine you until you fall for their seduction. Fact is they are just a parasite-business designed to suck your wallet and coerce you to give up 3 months of your pay whenever they demand it in a strike. Once they get your automatic deposit, it’s harder to quit than it is to recall the governor of California. Then they’ll force you to hate when others don’t follow their orders.
Lets talk about the LABOR CONTRACT they so boldly spell out on their flyer. What chance do these high school educated negotiators stand in a room full of company negotiators with Masters Degrees and years of experience doing contracts under their belts? Each successive contract, some new union boss comes along and tries his hand at beating the old pros and gets spanked every time. They are pitiful losers and you have suffered every single contract. Why do they brag about this contract when they got their butt kicked at contract time?
You get what the company lets you have, period. It’s always been that way. You won’t get less without a union, because they are paying the going rate for skilled labor. This silly notion that you’ll get $12.98 an hour without a contract is juvenile. They can’t fill all the ranks they have now with the rates they pay, and the union bosses are telling you they’ll reduce it? At twelve dollars an hour, this company would be competing against telephone call centers for workers. The union must think the average worker is an idiot to believe that line of crap.
Then they tell you about the court case, Retirees against Raytheon, the greedy company, and the CONTRACT. But they never admitted to the fact that this union never fought for these retirees. They didn’t “pick a fight” for those who paid dues for their entire careers. Those retirees got their own lawyer and fought that fight without the union. One union official told me in 2006 that he was very upset that the union didn’t fight for their rights under the contract. Now they have the gall to say that they support those retirees? The only thing they do is tell union members they must parade around outside the Herman’s Road Gate with pickets! The union is the greedy corporation, they won’t even spend the legal fees on their own elderly loyalists. But they trick you into believing they are fighting for you. What a sham.
The third paragraph, first sentence of this letter is SPOT ON! “…advocates for and protects our membership.” Let’s break this down for the sake of clarifying the message. They advocate for membership. And they protect our membership!
Yep, they advocate for you to join them by attempting to convince you the company will screw you without them. They sew seeds of envy within your heart to make you hate the company officers. They offer stories of despair and hopelessness for the worker with the antidote being of course, joining the union so we can all have it better here.
Then they protect membership from the truth. They want to hide you from the facts that may cause you to leave membership status. They tell coworkers not to talk to those anti union types, there is something wrong with them. They are fools, and they are careless bastiches that don’t have the collective welfare of the workers at heart.
This union isn’t about safety, benefits, dignity and jobs. It’s not even about getting you better wages. It’s about taxing you the worker, and getting you to agree to make the payment. It’s a business. They raise the wages of crummy workers at the expense of the good workers. They protect those crummy workers at all cost, because they are loyalists who will pay for the protection, because they know in their hearts they suck at their real job, and need someone to keep them on the pay role. You good workers out there are paying thousands of dollars a year for this “protection" in the form of reduced compensation.
The union doesn’t want it’s members going to anti-union web sites. But it is loosing the battle. They are in a frenzy, and don’t know what to do when the truth is competing with their lies. Go ahead, get on Yahoo.com, and type iam933 and see by the numbers of hits what web site is getting viewed more. It’s obvious you are looking. We’re number One! They know it, but do you, the worker? You are concerned about how badly this union has hosed you down over the past few contracts. So are we. We promise change. They promise the same old prepackaged crappy representation.
I am so sure that this union is a complete failure, that I’ll stake a bet right here on line. If Raytheon screws us, then I’ll be one of the first to get on the band-wagon to restart a union. I’ll even become one of it’s officers and use my skills to benefit the new union. But I am betting that it’s not going to be needed. There are nine thousand salaried workers who enjoy working with us, and they have no union to protect them. They are not running to form a union. They have been laughing at us in the bargaining unit, because we haven’t been smart enough as a collective to free ourselves from the union. They are under orders not to tell us how they truly feel. It’s up to us to figure it out on our own.
Oh, and I love the last lines of their letter. They will continue to use the “moral high ground” campaign? HAHAHAHA! I fell out of my chair on that one. Tell that to my co-workers who are finding nails propped up against their tires, and getting damage done to their cars.
The first two sentences start off kind and understanding. Hard to believe this is a letter coming from the same organization that trained it’s workers to hate and never talk to “crossers”. Then they get completely stupid. They wrote ”It seems that these anti-union workers have somehow overlooked the value of having a union here at Raytheon.” EHEM! We took this into long consideration before challenging this bunch of bullies with facts to show they hurt rather than help the workers of Raytheon.
This is a fight for the truth at Raytheon. This union is going to wine and dine you until you fall for their seduction. Fact is they are just a parasite-business designed to suck your wallet and coerce you to give up 3 months of your pay whenever they demand it in a strike. Once they get your automatic deposit, it’s harder to quit than it is to recall the governor of California. Then they’ll force you to hate when others don’t follow their orders.
Lets talk about the LABOR CONTRACT they so boldly spell out on their flyer. What chance do these high school educated negotiators stand in a room full of company negotiators with Masters Degrees and years of experience doing contracts under their belts? Each successive contract, some new union boss comes along and tries his hand at beating the old pros and gets spanked every time. They are pitiful losers and you have suffered every single contract. Why do they brag about this contract when they got their butt kicked at contract time?
You get what the company lets you have, period. It’s always been that way. You won’t get less without a union, because they are paying the going rate for skilled labor. This silly notion that you’ll get $12.98 an hour without a contract is juvenile. They can’t fill all the ranks they have now with the rates they pay, and the union bosses are telling you they’ll reduce it? At twelve dollars an hour, this company would be competing against telephone call centers for workers. The union must think the average worker is an idiot to believe that line of crap.
Then they tell you about the court case, Retirees against Raytheon, the greedy company, and the CONTRACT. But they never admitted to the fact that this union never fought for these retirees. They didn’t “pick a fight” for those who paid dues for their entire careers. Those retirees got their own lawyer and fought that fight without the union. One union official told me in 2006 that he was very upset that the union didn’t fight for their rights under the contract. Now they have the gall to say that they support those retirees? The only thing they do is tell union members they must parade around outside the Herman’s Road Gate with pickets! The union is the greedy corporation, they won’t even spend the legal fees on their own elderly loyalists. But they trick you into believing they are fighting for you. What a sham.
The third paragraph, first sentence of this letter is SPOT ON! “…advocates for and protects our membership.” Let’s break this down for the sake of clarifying the message. They advocate for membership. And they protect our membership!
Yep, they advocate for you to join them by attempting to convince you the company will screw you without them. They sew seeds of envy within your heart to make you hate the company officers. They offer stories of despair and hopelessness for the worker with the antidote being of course, joining the union so we can all have it better here.
Then they protect membership from the truth. They want to hide you from the facts that may cause you to leave membership status. They tell coworkers not to talk to those anti union types, there is something wrong with them. They are fools, and they are careless bastiches that don’t have the collective welfare of the workers at heart.
This union isn’t about safety, benefits, dignity and jobs. It’s not even about getting you better wages. It’s about taxing you the worker, and getting you to agree to make the payment. It’s a business. They raise the wages of crummy workers at the expense of the good workers. They protect those crummy workers at all cost, because they are loyalists who will pay for the protection, because they know in their hearts they suck at their real job, and need someone to keep them on the pay role. You good workers out there are paying thousands of dollars a year for this “protection" in the form of reduced compensation.
The union doesn’t want it’s members going to anti-union web sites. But it is loosing the battle. They are in a frenzy, and don’t know what to do when the truth is competing with their lies. Go ahead, get on Yahoo.com, and type iam933 and see by the numbers of hits what web site is getting viewed more. It’s obvious you are looking. We’re number One! They know it, but do you, the worker? You are concerned about how badly this union has hosed you down over the past few contracts. So are we. We promise change. They promise the same old prepackaged crappy representation.
I am so sure that this union is a complete failure, that I’ll stake a bet right here on line. If Raytheon screws us, then I’ll be one of the first to get on the band-wagon to restart a union. I’ll even become one of it’s officers and use my skills to benefit the new union. But I am betting that it’s not going to be needed. There are nine thousand salaried workers who enjoy working with us, and they have no union to protect them. They are not running to form a union. They have been laughing at us in the bargaining unit, because we haven’t been smart enough as a collective to free ourselves from the union. They are under orders not to tell us how they truly feel. It’s up to us to figure it out on our own.
Oh, and I love the last lines of their letter. They will continue to use the “moral high ground” campaign? HAHAHAHA! I fell out of my chair on that one. Tell that to my co-workers who are finding nails propped up against their tires, and getting damage done to their cars.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Are you willing to pay 65% more Union Tax?
Have you heard the grumbling from local union members lately about the IAMAW wants to raise your Union Dues (Tax) 35-65%? This September the National Grand Lodge will have meetings to determine once and for all the amount they plan to stick it to their members. Right now assemblers pay a whopping $41.94 per month in dues. This may not sound like much, but over the course of a year it adds up to $503 dollars. If you add 65% more it becomes $830!
What service does this union provide you that is worth 830 dollars a year? If you misbehave, and get 5 days off, is that 830 dollars? If they coerce you to strike, and loose 10 grand, is that worth it? So what tangible service do they provide? A cell phone might cost about as much, and you have communication nation-wide 24/7. Today you can get twenty gallons of fuel per month with those dues. I haven’t figured out how much beer you can buy, but I can imagine seventy dollars in beer a month will go farther than a pep talk from a smiling business representative.
I am really eager to hear from Union Supporters about the tangible value gained from union membership. I don't want to hear how good it used to be, I don't wanna hear how great it would be if everyone joined. I wanna hear what service the union offers the members of the bargaining unit. Union Members, please, level with me. What do I get out of the union if I join? And why should I pay a rate of increase that outstrips my pay raises they negotiated for me?
Clearly the union leadership is bothered by my stance against the union. Here is your opportunity to express the virtues of your side of the argument. I've stated before that this forum is open to both pro and anti union arguments. Yes I am personally biased against the union, but I am looking for someone with a pro union position to put their beliefs up against mine so the rest of the workers, both union and non-union can see the arguments and make a good decision in 2009.
What service does this union provide you that is worth 830 dollars a year? If you misbehave, and get 5 days off, is that 830 dollars? If they coerce you to strike, and loose 10 grand, is that worth it? So what tangible service do they provide? A cell phone might cost about as much, and you have communication nation-wide 24/7. Today you can get twenty gallons of fuel per month with those dues. I haven’t figured out how much beer you can buy, but I can imagine seventy dollars in beer a month will go farther than a pep talk from a smiling business representative.
I am really eager to hear from Union Supporters about the tangible value gained from union membership. I don't want to hear how good it used to be, I don't wanna hear how great it would be if everyone joined. I wanna hear what service the union offers the members of the bargaining unit. Union Members, please, level with me. What do I get out of the union if I join? And why should I pay a rate of increase that outstrips my pay raises they negotiated for me?
Clearly the union leadership is bothered by my stance against the union. Here is your opportunity to express the virtues of your side of the argument. I've stated before that this forum is open to both pro and anti union arguments. Yes I am personally biased against the union, but I am looking for someone with a pro union position to put their beliefs up against mine so the rest of the workers, both union and non-union can see the arguments and make a good decision in 2009.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Ladies and gentlemen, step right out into the monsoon
Today I got to see a flyer that states the union plans to have a demonstration out front of Herman's Road Entrance on Thursday 28 August at 3:00 pm. I want to announce their message after Company officials swept up the flyers. Why? Because I want the world to see how this union thinks. They ignored the retiree’s request when they first asked for help over two years ago. Frustrated, those retirees went off on their own, and found a lawyer to fight for them. Now the union wishes to bask in the light of the victory those four retirees won.
I challenged the union almost two weeks ago to contradict my statement, and they haven't said squat. This blog is an open forum, anyone can speak here. They read it daily. Still no response. Crickets chirping.......BUT NOW LETS HAVE A PARADE! *Carnival music please* Ladies and gentlemen, step right out into the monsoon and carry pickets to show our union pride in support of this great victory. We'll show this company! We'll show our critics! We won't back down; we have this lame, ehem, strong union to back us up! We will march out front in the rain to prove....what?!
Don't let these union saviors talk you into standing out on the corner to sweat and support what they refused to fund. The retirees paid dues for a whole career, and then they were neglected. They were forced to get their own legal representation, on their own dime. Now you members are getting corralled into a parade to make it look like the union supported the cause from the beginning. You are getting duped.
But meanwhile they will tell you that for the good of the collective, you must march. Show your pride. Show this company that you won't take it. Those greedy CEOs! Take PTO and come out to march, I say! Flex your time, but show your support for the commune! Do whatever it takes to...show you are following the orders of a radical activist. The stewards said, "Give until it hurts." "One more day." "Borrow money from your 401K". And you did.
They got you to move mountains. You sacrificed your retirement security for them. They take your dues, make you march, dictate who you talk to, & teach you union "pride". Did you know they have an agenda? And it isn't yours. You too will be refused after you retire. Support change at RMS. Dump the union.
I challenged the union almost two weeks ago to contradict my statement, and they haven't said squat. This blog is an open forum, anyone can speak here. They read it daily. Still no response. Crickets chirping.......BUT NOW LETS HAVE A PARADE! *Carnival music please* Ladies and gentlemen, step right out into the monsoon and carry pickets to show our union pride in support of this great victory. We'll show this company! We'll show our critics! We won't back down; we have this lame, ehem, strong union to back us up! We will march out front in the rain to prove....what?!
Don't let these union saviors talk you into standing out on the corner to sweat and support what they refused to fund. The retirees paid dues for a whole career, and then they were neglected. They were forced to get their own legal representation, on their own dime. Now you members are getting corralled into a parade to make it look like the union supported the cause from the beginning. You are getting duped.
But meanwhile they will tell you that for the good of the collective, you must march. Show your pride. Show this company that you won't take it. Those greedy CEOs! Take PTO and come out to march, I say! Flex your time, but show your support for the commune! Do whatever it takes to...show you are following the orders of a radical activist. The stewards said, "Give until it hurts." "One more day." "Borrow money from your 401K". And you did.
They got you to move mountains. You sacrificed your retirement security for them. They take your dues, make you march, dictate who you talk to, & teach you union "pride". Did you know they have an agenda? And it isn't yours. You too will be refused after you retire. Support change at RMS. Dump the union.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The War is Over
Aight, team Oust, it's official "The War is Over"! No more orange shirts. No more being harassed by the union. We are done. I checked my mail on Friday, and to my amazement the union has finally sent me something worthwhile. I've been bought out by them. No more de-cert talk. They have done won me over. I'm sorry if yall didn't git nuthin' good from them like I did, but too bad. I'm callin' it quits. We can't talk bad about them no more since they finally sent me somethin' to prove they aren't totally useless.
Me and my rat stinky approve of this union, so yall just stop it already!
Me and my rat stinky approve of this union, so yall just stop it already!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Why are you paying dues again?
Congratulations! The union is celebrating a huge victory this week. I too would like to congratulate Mark Argraves, Ronald Geuder, Clare L'Armee and David Lillie for a triumph well deserved. These individuals collectively took Raytheon to court and won a class action lawsuit. The union didn't. It was a retired medical benefits dispute that had over 1000 retired RMS workers reeling with health care costs after the company refused to honor a series of labor contracts to cover their health care at no cost until age 65.
The Directing Business Representative, Jimbo Watson said; “they deserve the benefits they fought for”… however no one said that it was these four retired RMS workers who filed their own suit. They spoke for themselves. Look at the text of the newspaper articles, IAM web pages, and all other sources. Nowhere does it say the union filed the suit, or retained the lawyers, or paid for anything.
The union didn’t win this fight for the workers. They didn’t even start this fight. It was the retired workers who fought for them selves. Oh sure, they sent representatives to testify at the trial. A few words attesting that this union contract was effective in the 1990’s. But they made no financial wager, nor battle as they want you to believe. They didn’t pick this fight.
We can learn two lessons from this trial. First, Raytheon, and it's predecessor should not have written the language in the contract if they were not willing to honor it. Second, this union doesn’t fight for you as they claim. They are willing to bask in the glow of your victory after you win a lawsuit and show the world just how great they are. Some protection! So what are you paying dues for again? Workers, think!
The Directing Business Representative, Jimbo Watson said; “they deserve the benefits they fought for”… however no one said that it was these four retired RMS workers who filed their own suit. They spoke for themselves. Look at the text of the newspaper articles, IAM web pages, and all other sources. Nowhere does it say the union filed the suit, or retained the lawyers, or paid for anything.
The union didn’t win this fight for the workers. They didn’t even start this fight. It was the retired workers who fought for them selves. Oh sure, they sent representatives to testify at the trial. A few words attesting that this union contract was effective in the 1990’s. But they made no financial wager, nor battle as they want you to believe. They didn’t pick this fight.
We can learn two lessons from this trial. First, Raytheon, and it's predecessor should not have written the language in the contract if they were not willing to honor it. Second, this union doesn’t fight for you as they claim. They are willing to bask in the glow of your victory after you win a lawsuit and show the world just how great they are. Some protection! So what are you paying dues for again? Workers, think!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Rusty Gear
A friend of our cause has reported to one of our members that Mr. Quintana, IAM933 President wants a meeting with some of our anti-union friends. Maybe he hopes to convince us to stop our campaign. We suppose an exchange of ideas is what he's looking for, maybe a forum to debate. Well, Mr. Quintana, we've been asking to debate for ten months now! In an e-mail to one of our pages last November, your Secretary Treasurer challenged a debate on line. He never responded after we answered his challenge. Well Mr. Quintana, BRING IT ON! Right here on this web site, for all to see! Tell your members to read what is said about union officials, policies, and IAM933 history. We are confident that after all the facts are discussed, your union members are going to vote your union down.
Union Members, your nightmare with this union is nearly over. They coerced you into following them on a strike that was a lost cause. They've taught good people to hate their fellow co-workers. They've chewed you out for talking to non members. They've asked you to snitch on or fight with non members when they speak freely against union politics. Those conflicting feelings you have about the bad stuff the union does, compared to the promises they made is finally going to get resolved.
You will see how this union has hoodwinked you. They've used you. They've abused you. And they are going to do anything possible to stop this decertification election. They know you are sick and tired of the lies and abuse. They know you'll vote the bums out!
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