[quote=meadandale][quote=SOCALAPPRAISER]
Having worked in a union and also been a member of “management” I could never understand how unions think that “time in” & not merit or performance would work in the long run. Your achievers and “do”ers have to sit and take the same raise given to the pieces of garbage that you can’t get rid of due to union rules. Pretty soon those “do” ers throw their hands up and join the mediocrity or leave. Pretty much what happened to communism. [/quote]

I’ve never been able to figure out why more people don’t understand this. This is EXACTLY what a Romanian, fresh off the boat and having suffered through Ceausescu told me. “They treat us like children so we act like children.”

People don’t work hard in communist countries for the most part. There is no point, you get the same pay as the person next to you loafing.

Unions, like Communism, reward mediocrity and laziness.[/quote]

I think the original intention behind the seniority policies is very good. They were trying to ward against age discrimination. It’s easy for young, attractive, energetic people to push older people out. That’s life. Unfortunately, older people get pushed out at exactly the time they cannot afford it — when they are entering their senior years and begin to suffer health problems, and cannot easily replace a lost job or income.

While I’m very pro-union and pro-labor, I agree that some changes need to be made. Wouldn’t touch seniority, but people should definitely get bonuses for doing superior work.