Topic: Union, why not?

[Andy]

America works best when we say union yes. Yeah, I grew up in the trailers down off of south central. I remember that sayin' but I can tell you a few damn things a union did for me. First off they give my daddy the best damn pay he ever got. See my daddy spent two years workin' a close confidant to Moe. I ain't gonna say his last name. Moe made his considerable fortune by gettin' the unions to organize workers and then investin' teamster union dues in various legit businesses. Contrary to what some people have to say, Moe was a great guy.

In fact, 8 years after his death, a buddy decided to take some bookies' advice and bet on a sure thing, when the sure thing turned out to be not so sure, my buddy called up the flooser bookie and told him what the real deal was. The flooser was such a prick that he called back the office phone and proceeded to curse my friend out and threaten him with mob heavies from Vegas. Yeah right.

I took the phone and told them to send their boys on down from Vegas, or better yet have them give me call. 15 minutes later I got a call from the "Vegas" heavies. They claimed to be mobster freaks from Vegas, yeah right, pricks they were. I told them, if they was mafioso then they would know who Moe was. Didn't know him? Then give your f*cking name so I can call my peeps in Vegas and they can visit you to settle this amicably. I told them, if you think I'm jerkin ya then ask anyone who Moe is and they will set you straight. They hung up and the floosers never call again.

Good thing unions can be. Want a TEFL teacher union or just an organization? I personally don't want some corrupt organization that makes its money off of getting gullible teachers to pay some dues while a fat cat profits. If this is gonna be done and wants any kind of clout then it needs to be transparent and free, run by donation only. Peeps, I am working on makin' it a reality, but I want your input. I'm giving myself 12 months to form one and I want your help.

Give me your ideas. I will help out with idea #1

1) No charge for membership

 

[RobRoy]

Unions and Thailand....oxymoronic......how can a teacher making 30,000 baht make a complaint to the law with a school owner with just a little bit more money...a lot more money ...


At the end of the day, everyone here wants to take care of their families, and extended families....the more money from tution, bribes and good deeds that allows the family and the business (school) to do better is a good thing...thats the way Thais think...not necessarily a bad thing, because they put family first, quality second


But I've only been here a short time, I'm very inexperienced
Bob

[Andy]

Yo dawg, that's why I'm askin' for your help. What could a union even hope to accomplish, nothing. If it was backed by 5000 to 10,000 teachers then would that make any difference? I thought Asian were about savin' face or are Thais different?

[bomha]

Unions work better in some countries  than they work in other countries.  Hey Andy - are the federal Mexican police still killing and burning those UNION TEACHERS  in Jaxaca?  They were last week, I think.

[RobRoy]

Andy,

Here is you argue with a boss, elder, someone with more authority with you its a loss of face. Here, you never question authority unless you are rude.   You might question a decision in a indirect way but calling your boss or bosses not good (starting a union) would be too much loss of face for the workers.

[Mods-Rockers]

Well I would tend to disagree with you regarding unions in the UK, they killed more industries than anything: shipbuilding, mining and steel to name a few. Getting your members a 10% pay rise which then causes 12% inflation and the death of the mens industry does not seem like a good idea to me.

[RobRoy]

Maybe I didn't explain clearly....In Thailand, no union will or can happen because its a loss of face to the workers

[hero]

Well I would tend to disagree with you regarding unions in the UK, they killed more industries than anything: shipbuilding, mining and steel to name a few.

Not really.  I don't think the UK would be a competitive force in any of those industries had their never been unions.  Either that or the UK would still be operating on salary levels that would allow it to compete with second-world former Soviet bloc countries.

It's a very complex economic argument IMO, bit like the old chicken and egg quandry!

In the UK one could say that in education and healthcare (as two examples where public goods are provided) the unions have done very well over the years to keep the relevant issues near the top of the political agenda, along with keeping upward pressure on both salaries and standards.

[anyonefortennis]

Unions in the UK have never recovered from Maggie stamping all over them in her Jack boots throughout the 80's, poor old Arthur and his buddy Kinnock never stood a chance!

M-R, I thought the Tories wiped out British industry, you mean to say it was the unions? 

[Mods-Rockers]

Yes one could argue that maggies dogs administered the coup de grace to both ship building and the pits but both had been in the death throws for  at least a decade before that. Steel is still limping along but good old tony has administered the poison pill there in fully allowing an american conglomorate to take over, their performance to date has been abysmal especially in areas of H&S, but even so British steel is a mere shadow of its former self.
And yes most of the problems can be traced back to union action!

[Nemesis]

 

You're right, most of the problems can be traced back to people fighting for a fair wage.

[Mods-Rockers]

I refuse to be drawn into a fight over this issue Nemisis, A fair wage for a fair days work is not now nor has it ever been an issue. The death knell for the shipbuilding industries in the UK was not about money, wages or working conditions caused by the bosses, but a stupid hissy fit between two different unions regarding job demarcation. You might want to look up the "who twangs the string" incident from the early 60's, In fact many of the strike during that period were caused more by the union fat cats trying to get more of the cream than anything else. I come from a family which traditionally had very strong union connections going back to Tolpuddle, but all with the exception of two rabid communists gave up their union memberships in that period due to utter disgust with what was happening to a once proud tradition.

[Nemesis]

Point taken, touche. Ain't it always about power and money?

[Mods-Rockers]

that we agree on!

[RobRoy]

Sorry, got confused, thought that this was a Thailand thread....good to know how unions have helped or "confused" labor issues in England....but I thought the OP was about forming a union in Thailand.....

But I may be wrong...what do I know...

Bob