Why I Started the Petition

The problem I have with this union is that we share diametrically opposed world views. The real world is not fair, so the expectations of entitlements is unrealistic. I’ve worked in the real world before coming to Raytheon. Most jobs I held didn’t have any “benefits”, and the wages were barely livable.

So I should be glad to join the union bandwagon, right? Not exactly. I truly believe in God and in the free will He instituted. Free will ungoverned by unconditional love always seeks its own. That’s why we have the “me generation”. What’s in it for me? I’m entitled to these benefits. Give me, give me.

Don’t get me wrong I like money and I like stuff, but I believe in earning the money I get. If my employer doesn’t pay me what I think my labor is worth, I quit. I don’t talk bad about them and get other people stirred up and dissatisfied with their lot in life. Eventually the employer will go out of business as he should if no one will work for him or else he will wake up and stop being greedy. This notion of a society based on threats, and intimidation sounds more like a communist dictatorship or al-Qaeda.

Join or die. In the Revolutionary War, join or die meant you can join us or do nothing and die when the enemy comes against you. It was a noble undertaking to join an organization to protect what you worked hard for. Nowadays, join or die means you join us or we kill you. If you don’t join us then you are our enemy. Doesn’t leave much room for free will, does it? I don’t think the God I worship likes that kind of fraternity, the god of al-Qaeda does.
It’s kind of like the concept of democracy which everyone touts as a good thing. Democracy always degenerates into mob rule. That’s why our forefathers chose to have a constitutional republican form of government. People create laws for society to function in, then institute punishment for not obeying those laws. That’s an orderly society instead of one run by every new whim or fad.

I am an independent voter who usually chooses to vote Republican. In the south where I grew up, it seemed that the people with conservative values were usually Democratic candidates, so I voted for them. I don’t like or trust big business, but I trust unions even less. They remind me of things I really don’t like. Things like socialists or communists, remember when those were bad things? Or what about Hoffa and his deals with the mafia, or should I say organized crime since we all know there’s no such thing as the mafia, wink, wink? I like to judge a tree by its fruit, and some trees have really bad root rot.

Maybe Hughes was so poorly managed that it needed a union to keep people from getting hurt on the job. People should stick up for their rights. We have new tools to deal with bad bosses these days. It’s called the internet. We can email them and if they don’t listen we can BLOG them, thank God! Unions’ usefulness has gone the way of the dinosaur, or the dodo. These days we have assertiveness training seminars and television programs that tell us “we’re not gonna take this, anymore”. The little guy has a voice cloaked in anonymity.

I applaud the courage of the union workers to choose to strike. It’s not easy standing up for what you believe, which gets to the point of why I circulated a petition to decertify the union while they were out fighting for me. Well my actions were governed by law. Unfortunately I found out more about that law after they went on strike, and the window of opportunity to act was a short one to collect the signatures according to the National Labor Relations Board rules. I’ve been wanting to get rid of this union for a long time.

I don’t like that they speak for me and I have no choice in the matter. Since the Local 933 has been in existence, I haven’t gotten to vote to get rid of them. I would think that if they are doing such a fine job I should get to give them a report card. They demand the right to rate Raytheon’s performance on how workers are treated. Where’s their report card? Who holds them accountable? When do their books get audited? I don’t like being forced to have the union speak for me.

Raytheon offered performance bonuses for programs that did well. I thought what a great idea, incentive. I work better with incentive. The union said our members (which I’m not) don’t want your bribery (they didn’t really say exactly that, I’m paraphrasing the concept) it would be unfair to people who work in other programs. I’m not even a member of their union, but I can’t take the incentive pay, which leaves me coming to work with no incentive. Actually I have an incentive which isn’t based on money. I have a son in the Army stationed in Korea. Our war fighters need a reliable product and that is what I intend to get them.

I chose to work for Raytheon for the pay and benefits which the union says they got for me. The union thinks I should be loyal to them for that. My loyalty lies in either my personal economics or my personal values. I choose who to work for and for how long based on those loyalties. If Raytheon didn’t offer what it did I would have gone elsewhere. Since Raytheon is helping to keep my son alive, I’d work for a whole lot less, that’s my personal values. Going back to my petition, I want the union decertified because they violated my personal values.

In a time of war they chose to strike rather than negotiate, if what I’m hearing is true. Raytheon offered a $500 bonus which the union refused, then they counter-offered with a $1000 bonus which I’ll bet the members of the union didn’t know about before they chose to vote to strike. I don’t like that kind of manipulation. Be true to your word. Stay on the job. Finish the course. We have men and women who need “Rosie the Riveters” while they are putting their lives on the frontlines. I say shame, shame. These folk aren’t cut from the same cloth as old Rosie was. She left home to keep her man alive. These folk left work to keep their paychecks lively. To me it just ain’t right.

Yeah, I circulated the petition and I appreciate all those who signed it. They are what makes America truly great. I takes a lot of courage to cross a picket line just like it does to walk one. You can call me a scab if you want to, but name calling don’t make it so. When two thirds of folks you thought were your friends took to the streets in protest, it’s awful hard not to join them. I really wanted to, but my son is in Korea and that’s personal. And shame on me for thinking only about MY son. I think about all my sons and daughters out there in the streets of Iraq. I may not be their father, but they are America’s sons and daughters and I’m an American, so they are just like my sons and daughters. And I am so proud of them.

Do I want to see this union, Local 933, broken up? I surely do, if they insist on speaking for me. They don’t share my beliefs. They support political candidates who oppose this war with union money. I don’t oppose the war. Saddam made promises after the first time we kicked his butt to allow inspectors and to respect the no fly zones. He shot missiles at our pilots. To me that’s all it took. He didn’t keep his word. It doesn’t matter if there were WMD’s or not. You don’t shoot one of us without stirring up the whole lot of us. We need to give Iraq back to their people.

Look how long it took America to get right after the Revolutionary War, and it was a document that represented our belief system. A modern day society is much harder to govern. The people of Iraq need a lot of help, but they will probably need a civil war before they truly figure out that freedom isn’t free and neither is free will. Somebody has to pay for freedom, just like the one who hung on a cross.

Don’t tell me what you’re entitled to. Grow up. Be glad you have a warm bed and food on your table. Take care of your own first and help people who need it. And don’t tell my boss that I don’t want more money if he’s willing to pass it my way. I can do a lot of good with that money in my pocket instead of theirs.

Maybe I’m entitled to it! HA!

Petition Failed, This Time

On January 13, 2007 the union took another bad turn. They slapped the striking workers in the face by accepting the same contract which they went on strike for. We needed 570 signatures to put the union’s representation to a vote, and fell short of this 30% figure. While our petition to decertify the union failed this go around, we will have another chance before the next contract expires. It is to this purpose that this webspace is dedicated.

Time to Dump 933

On 2 Nov 2003 this union made the mistake of not striking when Raytheon offered a mediocre contract. Out of anger over the last contract they chose to strike this past November without a whimper about their demands. Their negotiation skills are pre-historic at best. It is time for change and the best change is no union!