The AZ Daily Star recently published a couple articles showing how the union at Raytheon is dropping five years straight. Too bad reporter Becky Pallack didn't look deeper into the LM-2 form. She would have noticed the union has less clout than reported. I give her a 'B' for effort. She did contact President Jimbo Watson, and he confirmed the union is holding strong at Raytheon, even increasing in numbers! *chuckle*
What keeps her reports from being an 'A' is the simple fact that she could have dug deeper into the form and asked questions like "where are these active members employed?" "How many work where?"
IAM-933 represent Boeing, HE Microwave, CAE Reflectone, RMS Rescue & Fire, and L-3 Communications in addition to Raytheon Missile Systems. How many members does that leave at RMS?
Here are the facts, as reported by President Harry Anthros using the LM-2 for 2007. Also the two previous annual statements of representation. It shows total membership, the number of active members who have a vote, and the others with no voice.
Year -- Total members -- Active Members -- retired/other
2007 -- 1671 ----------------- 1165 ----------------- 506
2006 -- 1699 ----------------- 1258 ----------------- 441
2005 -- 1765 ----------------- 1392 ----------------- 373
The union has 1671 total members. But only 1165 of them count. The rest are retired members, or unemployed. Notice the "Other" category is growing, padding the numbers to make it look like strength.
With only 1165 active members across all the companies they represent, and aproximately 1730 laborers at Raytheon, it appears they fall below the 50% representation mark at RMS.
3 comments:
I recently hired in at Raytheon and was approached by one of your committee people on second shift and then approached by the shop steward on second shift and was concerned as to how I as treated by your committee. I felt more intimidated by "D" then I did from the shop steward. I will keep thier names out of print, because at this time I do not know who to believe. I have evaluated the sites and the blogs and I have a couple of concerns. Since being honorably discharged from the service I have worked for Union and Non-Union Aerospace Companies. With the non-union companies I always have felt uneasy and paid less. An example here in Tucson with a AA in Communications Electronics best pay $13.50. I am currently working towards a BS in Engineering. Prior to Tucson I worked at a Union Aerospace Company in Texas and I made 24.50 an hour and had numerous other benefits. We had to relocate here to Tucson due to my wife's job and could not believe the pay disparity. I am concerned that you could possibly leading people down a dangerous path. How do you plan to keep our pay above standards? and How do you plan to accomplish the task?
I would like some answers that have solid reasoning and not rhetoric. This is another issue I have with the blogs. Based on the websites and the person I spoke with, it appears that it seems like a good idea to decertify, but the arguments are based on emotion over what some claim to be ineffective representation. I would have liked to have seen factual data on how you benchmarked to make these claims. Some of the bloggers claim that the union is not using sound reasoning, but neither is the website. Essentially what the website does is attempt to make the Union look bad, in an effort to elevate your cause. (Manipulation) Which make me feel or the audience feel that your group doesn’t value our intelligence?
At this point I am not in favor of supporting any group until some concrete information appears. Maybe produce a study that show non-union people make more then Union people, or a benefits impact study.
Dear Astrofan,
Thank you for keeping the names out of print foremost. The entire reason we wish this to continue is the simple fact that we anti-union types are the intimidated ones. If someone talked to you on behalf of our committee and you got concerned about how he or she intimidated you, then please accept my apology. I have learned what this union is about, and seen both sides of these kind stewards. Since you didn't live through the strike or live through the childish behavior the union members have foisted upon the rest of the labor force, you've not been subject to blackballing. They intimidate anyone that doesn't follow their orders. Don't mistake their kindness to you as anything but that they are desperate to recruit you.
Your concern about union VS non-union pay valid. I sat on the fence for a long time before coming to the conclusion that they are hurting us more than helping. Were the Aerospace Companies you worked for in the defense industry? Did you need a DoD security clearance to get hired? One of the main reasons this company pays well for labor is that they simply can't afford to hire people for lower wages. Who is going to move to Tucson and work for poor man's wages with an associates degree and a security clearance? Your pay would be higher than it is now without a union, because RMS would be willing to pay more for your talent. They can't hire workers that meet all their requirements with low pay. The union's contract prohibits the company from offering you what you are worth. Wages are set by union negotiators, not you and your employer.
You mentioned in your note that you are finishing up your degree. Great! I suppose you plan to get hired at RMS as an engineer. By moving into the salaried ranks, you reject unionism already. You've chosen to pursue higher education and to compete for better compensation without union interference. Our engineers have not chosen to form a union on their own. I challenge you to ask them why not!
My goal is to stop the union from holding us down in the pool of despair that they have created. I am willing to work for my pay, and I believe I'll be rewarded for my performance. I regularly see my union brothers sluffing off at work and taking home the same wages as I do. If the union is disbanded, the company could slow the rate of their wage increases until they meet their true worth. Your wages are held down by the same amount slacker wages are held up despite your efforts.
If after decertification the company decides that it will pay us bad wages, the simple answer is to quit working for RMS and get a job elsewhere. They can't make money when employees quit in droves. A more complicated answer would be to invite a different union into RMS. Whatever the outcome, it's very obvious that IAM-933 has failed us miserably. And the company won't reduce our pay. Fact is, the company knows aerospace workers like us are getting harder to find as the baby boom retires.
On the subject of facts - not emotion, we can only offer what we know. The company can't offer rewards or promises to entice us to decertify the union. That is against the law, and could be a great liability to the company. Why not compare your wages to lower level engineering jobs that are occupied by non-degreed engineers working around the company. Compare your benefits to theirs and see how much the "protection" helps out. Recently I saw a non-degreed tester take a job as an engineer for a $15K raise in base pay. That tells me that the wages are wrong. With the union, we have no legal ability negotiate a fix for our wages.
What may appear to you as a group of people trying to make the union look bad, is simply a bunch of people who have all come to the same conclusion that I have. This union has hurt us while claiming to help us. The benefits of loosing the union outweigh the benefits of keeping them. The union has been in control of our wages and benefits since 1952. Give Raytheon one year to prove it is not the monster the union says it is. Vote IAM933 out. If after one year we think there should be a union, we can re-organize and vote one back in. It's a free country with strong laws to protect workers rights.
Astrofan
Superbia failed to answer completely, so I'll take a shot. Your question "How do you plan to keep our pay above standards? And how do you plan to accomplish the task?"
Get real! We are non-organized laborers who want out from under the union umbrella. WE don't plan to keep your pay high. YOU DO! You are already going to school to finish your BS. That alone will help you more than the fighting machinist's. Believe in yourself!
You want to see solid answers and reasoning? Or factual data that was used for benchmarking? Look at the main website (www.iam933.net)and the solid info there. They have facts about how much it costs you to pay dues. Facts about how the union doesn't let us get merit pay, or profit sharing pay. There are fact sheets showing where your union dues are getting spent.
If it's benchmarking you want, then you are asking the wrong crowd. We're labor. We fix things, make things and test things. We didn't study benchmarking, and six sigma. We've never done a "benefit impact study". But we're working hard to uncover the facts so you can see how much of a good deal it is to leave this union to the history books. Stay tuned.
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