VietVet wrote: Irisner- I have a question for you. I'm not trying to be argumentative. Just trying to learn something from a union person as I have never worked in a union environment before. Question: (please don't answer if this gets too personal- I understand) You obviously have health, dental, probably vision and some type of retirement package, do you not? If so, what is your contribution to these programs out of your wages in percentage? If your answer is that I don't contribute anything, it is all paid for by my employer, you are already light years ahead of most of us. We are asked to contribute more as time goes by to our dental, health, vision premiums and some employers have cut way back on the amount of money they are plowing into ones retirement. That means, if we are going to have a decent 401K at the end of our working days, we will need to have more and more deducted from our pay to make up for what the employer use to put in...if we can afford to do so. Most can't as the wages aren't that terrific to dedicate a large portion to one's retirement. Question: Have you ever had a year when you got no raise? How about a .5% raise? 1% anytime? I have on several occasions during my 40+ years of working. Just the way it is in a non-union environment and there's no one to go to to "air a grievance" or bargain. You take it and go on because there is no one to listen to your dissatisfaction. OR, do the union folks usually....always get a 3 percenter every year like clockwork that is based on contract negotiations BEFORE the work is actually done rather than on contributions or merit for the year based on work that has BEEN DONE? Thanks, in advance, for your input if you choose to participate.

Mr Nagy, you could not be more wrong.You have always seemed to be reasonable and I will assume yourcomments here are for being uninformed. MOST on this site areuniformed on Labor matters. Wasteful and Pacman are so out of theinfo loop, they might as well be 1st Graders trying to do AstroPhysics.

As to the question of what Icontributed from my pay. Nothing because it was a non-contributoryPlan. That is something laid out by Law. It means that the Employerpays on the behalf of the Employee. Now, if you all will put yourthinking caps on and forget the angry emotion you usually use todecide an issue, you will remember in Economics, the TOTAL Labor costis what matters. If an Employer is paying x number of dollars on anEmployee's behalf, guess what? The employee has LESS chance of greaterraises because of that existing cost.

I tried to educate some before abouttotal labor cost but they only want to hear what they want to hear.

Who cares if the employer pays or theemployee makes MORE in pay and pays the bens themselves. Whatdifference does it make? NONE!

As to the AK reference, you probablySTILL think it was strike. Many do and are stupid for doing so. Doyou know ANYTHING about the issue. Obviously not, or you would nothave made the reference.

The jist of this issue is the fact thatlabor laws have systematically been altered in the past 25 years tobe very unfair to the Worker. Companies now get better Deals withtheir Unions now because they can be UNFAIR. This is about the Citynot liking the fact the fact that disputes are decided by an Abitorand they do not have the same option of unfairness to use against theUnion the way the Private Sector does.

Also, have I never had a raise?Hell yes, many Contracts. We gave BACK on one Contract and Waivedraises on two others. One of the raises waived Contracts was in tradefor Pension Contributions.

DUH! So I have never contributed? Ihave contributed a lot!