Brothers and Sisters,
Many have asked, "what has the union done for me" and we have tried explaining what benefits and protections the union brings through our contract negotiations.
As you can see from the Yahoo.com story below, NO NON-BARGAINING MANAGER or EMPLOYEE will receive any BONUS PAYMENTS or PAY RASIES for this entire year. As a NON-BARGAINING "AT WILL" EMPLOYEE you have no choice in what happens to you and you have to accept what is handed down by the company.
BUT, because we are UNION and we NEGOTIATE OUR BENEFITS AND PROTECTIONS, we will continue to get our pay raises for the next 3 years (2.5%, 2.5%, 3% = 8% or an additional $9,000 to $12,000 over 3 years); we will continue to receive our additional 5 days of vacation for the 10 year and 20 year employees; we will continue to keep our full vacation allotment for new hires on the first calendar year after their hire date; we will continue to receive our increased Shift differentials, working leader differentials, and training differentials; we will continue to keep our enhanced EIPP of $26,400 with a potential of an additional cash payment and all other working conditions protections already in the agreement.
Although we may not get everything we want in each negotiate sessions, the fact that we DO NEGOTITATE and that WE ARE UNION guarantees protections and benefits for all.
So the next time you hear "What has the union done for me?" just read this story again or think back to what happen to Winter Park and why they pushed for representation.
More than 80 companies have announced bonuses, raises or improved benefits for workers, now that a new tax-cut law is likely to boost after-tax revenue for most big U.S. companies. But not CenturyLink ( CTL), the embattled telecom provider based in Monroe, La., which informed employees recently that there will be no raises this year.