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.