Back to the subject, the time has always been right for some kind of change - union or otherwise.
The question that comes up lately is, "what union?"
IBEW didn't give much help 18 years ago, which is why I didn't walk with my coworkers. But, I did support unionizing my plant when I was a house tech. It didn't work either.
Today, there is an organization that calls itself a union circulating some literature. They call for you to walk out or hold out and work only for one company. This organization has not ties whatsoever to the recognized labor organizations. To me, it looks like a "back-door" strategy to push this one company into the place of Bartlett and Atlantic.
Notably absent in their literature is any mention of benefits, dues, training, or any of the other things offered or required by a union. All they promis is that you will get more per hour and GSA per diem if you work for a particular company.
Smells fishy to me. The same strategy failed a few years ago when a particular company implored RP's to hold out so that Bartlett and Numanco, et. al. would be unable to staff. Then, he figured to swoop in with the hold-outs at higher pay and per diem. He is a decent guy with his heart in the right place but the whole strategy was just plain dishonest and could have hurt some folks financially.
The current version seems even more under-handed and I wouldn't go there if I were you.
Just my $.02.
Bud has a point, though. He's doing alright where he is.
Khak-Hater, you are correct that getting as much as you can as quickly as you can is a good thing, but that is just not happening in the current environment. Union Laborers have a much better package than contract RP's. You also have to consider the value of things like health insurance, annuities, pensions, and training that are provided by unions when you are tallying up the financial gain that you expect from working. But, maybe President Obama will give those things to the techs and they won't need to get them from their employers or unions.
I’ll respond to this in the best way I know without offending anyone. To start with, my Dad always taught me not to open my mouth until I got ALL the facts. Pretty good advice he gave me. So I would say to you Beercourt or anybody else on here that SEEMS like they know it all and has everything & everyone “figured out”, to GET THE FACTS! Has anyone actually called to talk to the people behind this? Have you researched the website? Have you asked any questions without forming your OWN answers? My guess would be a big NO!
It really gets me when people try and form opinions and they don’t even take the time nor have the decency to check out the facts. I, for one have. And I have found out that these people are actually trying to do something for us. They aren’t anti-Bartlett or anti-Atlantic, or anti anyone. They are just trying to do what Bartlett, Atlantic or for that matter anyone else, has failed to do for the last 20 years. And that is to get these utilities attention about RP & Deconners compensation. Every other trade (craft) in nuclear has kept up with pay increases, benefits and travel except us. For me, I don’t care whom I work for, as long as they are actively trying to get me the best deal for my services, or at least industry wide compensation. But they don’t seem to want to do that. If we continue to accept compensation at these levels, we don’t have any right to whine about it. But it’s really sad to hear these comments. Go back and read through some of these. My Lord! You all have a defeatist (negative) attitude about everything. What are you so suspicious about? You keep talking about what happened 20 years ago! Get over it folks. Move on and get a life. Maybe people didn’t organize it properly back then. Then is then. Now is now.
At least these folks are trying to do SOMETHING. And for you suspicious characters out there that say that….. all they want to do is take your money and sit on their butts, here are the facts. I know these people have been working on this every waking moment for the last 2 years doing research, talking to unions, attorneys, industry wide contacts and getting what they need to address ALL of the concerns I keep hearing being brought up in this forum. If you would just contact them direct, they would answer those concerns. Why would you be so negative & suspicious about being taken advantage of? Is that because it is the way you would do it? These people are solid and honest. In fact they would probably be upset for me sharing this, but they have also invested well over $30,000 of their own capital to get this off the ground. And we got these suspicious intelligent people out here that holler about $40 a month. We were paying $112 a month at Diablo and out of 120 techs didn’t hear 1 complaint about monthly dues!!!
Why should anyone care about what the people behind this are making? Does anyone ask what the Bartlett principals make? How about Atlantic people? Or Entergy folks? I for one could care less what they make. As long as they put more money in my pocket, more power to them. They make $100,000 a year and they put $40,000 extra a year in my pocket, you darn right they deserve it! Gosh, folks you guys can’t see the trees because of the forest!
Sorry for being so long. But this is my career. Everyone has the right to support a cause or not support it. But please, for the sake of all us techs out here, get all the facts before you go around shouting your opinions to everyone. Let me add one more thing. NO, I am NOT affiliated in any way with being one of the principals of this effort or board member. I am just a road tech for 31 years that is tired of having these utilities think our profession is less important than the rest of the craft/trades that come to their outages. At least this organization is trying to change that. I fully support that and hope & pray that many others will check it out and get on board with us. This is a great opportunity to come together for once and stop tearing down each other. This site (Nukeworker) was created years ago the help the fellow nuclear worker. Right? Well then, help…..don’t hinder. If you truly are out to help the nuclear workers, then get your good ideas and strategies together and let’s help each other out! Why would you want to be negative about a better work environment? It just doesn’t make any sense. It also isn’t going to be built in a day. No, not all the benefits and advantages this thing will bring us are in place yet. It will take time. Just like anything else worth doing. But it has to start somewhere.
I challenge anyone to contact the NPUA and research the facts. It won’t cost you anything. Knowledge truly is power. But a lack of knowledge will cost you everything.
Good Luck to Everyone & God Bless!!!