Join a Union!

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I agree.

Ah, yeah, some of our retail workers are still unionized and their wages aren't much above minimum wage anymore. I'm not sure if they receive any benefits like medical/dental etc so can't speak to whether their dues get them anything of value or not.

In general, though, labour/skilled labour unions = better pay & benefits vs. toiling away year after year with no raise.

I’m in a Union, been for 17 years. It’s very competitive though. If you dont produce you get laid off and another guy will be in your spot tomorrow.

Like everything there are broad extremes. I was so annoyed by the Autoeorkers Union a few years ago I bought a Subaru, any how not all are the same .

Also pay is greatly dictated by location. The North East has substantially greater pay than the South.

In all sectors, Union or not. Here where I live we have ~average-lowish incomes compared to the rest of the country, but the highest costs of living all around. Houses costs Millions of dollars while the average income Province wide is ~$53,000/yr (which is far more than I currently make as a new apprentice & I think includes statistical outliers with very high incomes, so the working class average is much lower I Think.)

What are you in?

I have been preparing my land so I can move out of California and found a website called wallethub. They not only rate states by income but also by cost of living.
Both the West Coast and the Northeast have higher income and much higher cost of living, so the net result is that you actually make less money in these places.

That’s great for your site, but the cost of living here is cheap. I’m not talking about NYC.

Many years ago, the hourly employees at a midwestern college were having a summer picnic before taking a vote on whether or not to form an independent union. About halfway through the schedule, about a half-dozen shiny black Cadillacs with out-of-state plates drove up and double-parked behind everyone else, blocking them in.

Out came a buncha executive-types, complete with tailored suits, Rolex watches, Gucci shoes and perfect hair. They used a megaphone to address the crowd. They announced that they were representatives of an internationally-known union that represented workers in the American automobile industry, and they tried to convince the picnickers that voting for their union to represent them was a better idea than forming a union of their own.

After they were done, one of the picnickers spoke up and asked, "If we go with your union, will you give us each a new Cadillac?" Some of the bigger, uglier union 'representatives' started moving toward the speaker until another asked, "What'd they cost your union members?" Still another said, "Yeah! How 'bout them suits and watches? How much did they cost?" Yet another asked, "How much of their dues go right into your pockets?"

Each time another person spoke up, the bigger, uglier 'representatives' would try to surround that person and 'convince' them to keep quiet. They soon realized that there were too many to surround, and that they were themselves surrounded. Someone started a chant of "Independence!". A few minor scuffles took place, and all of the uninvited representatives were soon surrounded by the invited picnic-goers, who led them back to their Cadillac cars. The reps all got in and drove away.

The vote went toward forming a small, independent union. It seems that the members didn't take kindly to wealthy people showing up uninvited to try to 'convince' them to join the big, wealthy, international labor union.

I belonged to a union before my retirement, and it did give me improved wages and transfer opportunities. They also had a grievance procedure that was somewhat useful.

However, I have zero respect for the leaders of that union. You never saw such a lazy, unprofessional (including cussing in tv interviews!) bunch of entitled jerks in your life!