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My main experience with unions has been those in the construction industry. While in general Iâ€m not a big fan of unions, I will say that union contractors are generally better than non-union. There is more consistency from worker to worker. This is especially important in larger more complicated projects. But that somewhat higher quality level comes at an increase in costs. Also, with a unionized firm they are much more likely to follow safety standards. This is important to me because I donâ€t want to see people get hurt.
But that doesnâ€t mean unionized firms are the best at all jobs, in particular small projects. For non-union companies I can not only usually get a cheaper cost and I can get more flexibility. Also, there are non-union firms that focus on very high quality work and are, accordingly, the most expensive.
"Don't, I say don't bother me dog, can't ya see I'm thinkin'?" Foghorn Leghorn
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Where I dislike unions the most is when a person does something illegal or unethical, they will support this person to the very end. An example is on a project of mine there was one worker who, in addition to disappearing for lengths of time on the job, was just a complete jerk to everyone around him. He was actually usually competent at his job but could not accept any sort of comment he deemed as slighting him. I mentioned that a door frame opening was not in the right place according to the plans, and he very loudly went off on me in the worst of ways in front of a lot of people. Now Iâ€ve been in this business for a very long time and have been a target of several rants by owners, developers and contractors, but this was the worst. I usually donâ€t get too unnerved by verbal blistering but this one was harder to maintain my composure through the ordeal. His union steward had a formal complaint written about me, wanted me banned from the job site and said I used unacceptable language.
What I actually said in an even tempered (but with a bit of frustration) tone was, “Damn it Billy, we talked about this, this is the third time, you have to pay closer attention to the drawings.†I had witnesses to what I said and had pictures of the other two times.
Well, after two weeks with several meetings on this issue, Billy was magically needed on another job and the mistakes got fixed. The union guy said that the only way I should be allowed on the job site would be if I sign a paper that I wouldnâ€t use the “abusive†word “damn†again to the workers. That didnâ€t happen. And I went merrily on my way on the site.
"Don't, I say don't bother me dog, can't ya see I'm thinkin'?" Foghorn Leghorn
