Let me tell you how unions work. In one of the facilities I am responsible for we needed data cable installed to allow on the manufacturing floor quality control. The electrician employed at this facility did NOT have the tools or certification to install this cable. We hired an outside contractor to install the cable. A few weeks after the job was complete a lift truck operator filed a grievance against our company because he was "certified" to install data cable. We didn't ask him to do the job because he was working as a lift truck operator and we had NO idea that he was a certified data cable installer. He wanted $10,000 because he would have gotten OT when installing it. Two days of hearings, two attorneys, a Union representative, the plant union steward, and the employee as well as myself, HR and the plant manager. How much do you think that cost our company? That is one example! Many of these types of activities happen every year. The overhead that we have to pay for non value added expenses like workman's comp, unemployment, etc drives the overhead so high. The wages are one thing but FICA, insurances, and benefits are quite another. Lets not forget that the Union employees are paying dues out of their pay. We have to pay people for crazy things like, congested parking lot differential, opening day of deer season, and the process to fire an ineffective employee will make your head spin.
