i hope this is not a sign of things to come

[Jess Tolbirt]

gas went up 25 cents a gallon last night here in Mid TN. that takes it up to 199.9/gal.

[dreamaker]

I heard some chatter, that the reason the gas prices are so low, is to take public pressure off the refineries. Because shortly up the road the prices will increase to $5.00 a gal.  Keep an eye out and ears open, for something catastrophic happening. I hope that chatter is wrong!!!

[Serk]

I heard some chatter, that the reason the gas prices are so low, is to take public pressure off the refineries. Because shortly up the road the prices will increase to $5.00 a gal.  Keep an eye out and ears open, for something catastrophic happening. I hope that chatter is wrong!!!

Something catastrophic is indeed happening, unions are doing their thing... 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-01/oil-workers-in-u-s-begin-first-large-scale-strike-since-1980

[baldo]

That's right...trying to get workers a good living wage and safe working conditions.

I'm curious what the wage and benefit situations are. What are the issues in negotiation?

[MP]

That's right...trying to get workers a good living wage and safe working conditions.

I'm curious what the wage and benefit situations are. What are the issues in negotiation?

Oil workers are among the best paid in the US.

[Jess Tolbirt]

my son works down there and he told me the strike is over safety issues and untrained personal running the plants,, the media is blowing everything way out of proportion..

[Serk]

my son works down there and he told me the strike is over safety issues and untrained personal running the plants,, the media is blowing everything way out of proportion..

In Union newspeak "Untrained personal running the plants" means non-union employees and has nothing to do with their level of training... 

[MP]

my son works down there and he told me the strike is over safety issues and untrained personal running the plants,, the media is blowing everything way out of proportion..

In Union newspeak "Untrained personal running the plants" means non-union employees and has nothing to do with their level of training... 

Absolutely.  See that all the time.  According to Unions, if you are not a member of the Union, you could have 20 years in the job, flawless performance, and they will call you untrained and unskilled.  But, a member of the union with 3 months on the job, is "trained and skilled".

MP

[Jess Tolbirt]

my son works down there and he told me the strike is over safety issues and untrained personal running the plants,, the media is blowing everything way out of proportion..

In Union newspeak "Untrained personal running the plants" means non-union employees and has nothing to do with their level of training...  

Absolutely.  See that all the time.  According to Unions, if you are not a member of the Union, you could have 20 years in the job, flawless performance, and they will call you untrained and unskilled.  But, a member of the union with 3 months on the job, is "trained and skilled".

MP

you know all that could be true, BUT, when i was at phillips in pasadena many years ago, 23 people were killed and 314 injured due to a mistake made by untrained person..i will look for the link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Disaster_of_1989

[..]

Cause all those oil workers were rounded up and shipped to the oil fields and forced at gun point to do their jobs. No free choice involved whatsoever.

It's nothing to do with the barrel price having sunk so low that some operations are being scaled back / shut down until the barrel value rises again. Yep nothing to do with that.

As supply reduces so the price will go up until the next round of over supply forces pricing down again.

Up 20 cents too here in Roswell. 1.89 to 2.09 overnight for regular.

I filled my Tahoe and gas cans up Sunday having read about the up tick in barrel price. Saved myself all of about $4.60 but oh man did it stick it to those foul oil companies.

Also filled up my Mazda at the local supermarket using their loyalty rewards. Got regular gas for $1.79 a gallon. Whoo-Hoo I'sa rolling in the dough I saved.

[..]

I heard some chatter, that the reason the gas prices are so low, is to take public pressure off the refineries. Because shortly up the road the prices will increase to $5.00 a gal.  Keep an eye out and ears open, for something catastrophic happening. I hope that chatter is wrong!!!

I believe gas prices are low due to the increasing supply from the USA combined with no cut back in OPEC production leading to a glut.

Ooops now that USA production has been scaled back due to over supply and falling barrel prices the OPEC countries can reap the rewards as gas ticks up.

http://www.fedprimerate.com/crude-oil-price-history.htm

[baldo]

my son works down there and he told me the strike is over safety issues and untrained personal running the plants,, the media is blowing everything way out of proportion..

In Union newspeak "Untrained personal running the plants" means non-union employees and has nothing to do with their level of training... 

Absolutely.  See that all the time.  According to Unions, if you are not a member of the Union, you could have 20 years in the job, flawless performance, and they will call you untrained and unskilled.  But, a member of the union with 3 months on the job, is "trained and skilled".

MP

Or.....it could mean that the company has hired desperate workers for the lowest wages possible, and they ARE untrained and unskilled. I don't trust a corporation to tell me the sky is blue.

[art]

SOS.

[old2soon]

Simple really. The oil companies will do what they WANT to do!  Period.  They KNOW with out having to check that NO MATTER WHAT happens-they have us over the old proverbial barrel.  Myself personally-I hate assuming the position!  Being as I KNOW ahead of time I ain't gonna like it none atall!  $1.80 ish or $8.0 ish a gal or more-well at $8 I'll ride a LOT less.    And IF we could burn water instead water would start at $4.00 a gal.  RIDE SAFE.

[CajunRider]

In Union newspeak "Untrained personal running the plants" means non-union employees and has nothing to do with their level of training... 

No lie... no exaggeration...

I had a complaint filed on me by a Union Member in Seattle because I opened an Ex d rated (explosion proof, a.k.a. "bomb box") panel to work on the PLC equipment inside.  The complaint said I was not trained in the mechanics of loosening a bolt that held the door closed... I needed a mechanic to do that.

I... a 14 year veteran of the Oil & Gas Drilling Industry with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering... am not properly trained to open an electrical panel.     


I'll keep this post rated PG by not saying what I think of Unions.

[DIGGER]

I'm an electrician in Houston, 42 yr member of the IBEW LU 716............retiring this September 1st at the aqe of 65.....gonna get a union pension that falls just a little short of what i make when you add social security to it.   I also have a descent 401k.    I've had good insurance for me and my family for the last 42 yrs.   .................If I had worked non union I wouldn't have any of that.....especially the pension part.      Going Union was the Best decision i ever made occupationally.   Wouldn't work any other way.  The workers at the plants on strike right now are just trying to make a liveable wage and to be able to work in a safe environment and be able to go home to their families every night.     Iffin they'd let me I'd walk picket with them.

[Bighead]

Went up in Middle TN $0.25 a gallon and went down here by about $0.06 last night.

[MP]

I'm an electrician in Houston, 42 yr member of the IBEW LU 716............retiring this September 1st at the aqe of 65.....gonna get a union pension that falls just a little short of what i make when you add social security to it.   I also have a descent 401k.    I've had good insurance for me and my family for the last 42 yrs.   .................If I had worked non union I wouldn't have any of that.....especially the pension part.      Going Union was the Best decision i ever made occupationally.   Wouldn't work any other way.  The workers at the plants on strike right now are just trying to make a liveable wage and to be able to work in a safe environment and be able to go home to their families every night.     Iffin they'd let me I'd walk picket with them.

From Government Bureau of Statistics:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 41,570 oil-refinery workers earned an average annual wage of $60,290, or $28.99 an hour, as of May 2011. The top 25 percent of earners made $71,330 or more, with the top 10 percent making $81,520 or more.


Ave. $60k in wages, plus benefits.  Seems to me like they are getting a "livable" wage.

[..]

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/03/investing/oil-price-rebound-opec-200/index.html

[..]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102390585

[MP]

These cheap gas prices are great, in the short run.  However, they are already causing massive cutbacks in exploration.  Rig counts are plummeting.  It takes years to develop new fields, and bring them into production.

As the world economies recover, oil demand will increase.  Cheap prices will cause even higher oil consumption.

So, down the road, when oil prices soar, look back, and realize that these really low prices, helped cause the very HIGH prices down the road.

However, I know that it will be blamed on oil company conspiracies.

MP

[baldo]

These cheap gas prices are great, in the short run.  However, they are already causing massive cutbacks in exploration.  Rig counts are plummeting.  It takes years to develop new fields, and bring them into production.

As the world economies recover, oil demand will increase.  Cheap prices will cause even higher oil consumption.

So, down the road, when oil prices soar, look back, and realize that these really low prices, helped cause the very HIGH prices down the road.

However, I know that it will be blamed on oil company conspiracies.

MP

I wonder what the families of the 11 BP oil rig workers lost in the Gulf would have to say about safety.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/us/26spill.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[DIGGER]

I'm an electrician in Houston, 42 yr member of the IBEW LU 716............retiring this September 1st at the aqe of 65.....gonna get a union pension that falls just a little short of what i make when you add social security to it.   I also have a descent 401k.    I've had good insurance for me and my family for the last 42 yrs.   .................If I had worked non union I wouldn't have any of that.....especially the pension part.      Going Union was the Best decision i ever made occupationally.   Wouldn't work any other way.  The workers at the plants on strike right now are just trying to make a liveable wage and to be able to work in a safe environment and be able to go home to their families every night.     Iffin they'd let me I'd walk picket with them.

From Government Bureau of Statistics:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 41,570 oil-refinery workers earned an average annual wage of $60,290, or $28.99 an hour, as of May 2011. The top 25 percent of earners made $71,330 or more, with the top 10 percent making $81,520 or more.


Ave. $60k in wages, plus benefits.  Seems to me like they are getting a "livable" wage.

sounds like a livable wage alright......but i don't think they are striking over money.....from what I'm reading the strike is over safety issues.

[IamGCW]

In Union newspeak "Untrained personal running the plants" means non-union employees and has nothing to do with their level of training... 

No lie... no exaggeration...

I had a complaint filed on me by a Union Member in Seattle because I opened an Ex d rated (explosion proof, a.k.a. "bomb box") panel to work on the PLC equipment inside.  The complaint said I was not trained in the mechanics of loosening a bolt that held the door closed... I needed a mechanic to do that.

I... a 14 year veteran of the Oil & Gas Drilling Industry with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering... am not properly trained to open an electrical panel.     


I'll keep this post rated PG by not saying what I think of Unions.

I to have had some experiences with "trained union" members.  It usually broke down to the bribe, cash for their grandkids, or whatever.  Unions do protect the workers, which sometimes meant someone that should have been fired gets promoted.  I have also worked with several friends that could not open an electrical panel and a BS in Electrical Engineering is the standard in our group.  Common sense isn't so common. 

In the end I believe union issues can cause prices to vary due to perception on the market.  As can weather and many other factors.

Gil

[bscrive]

It has been said before.  The unions get the worker more money and everything else goes up because the unionized worker has to be paid more.  Now, the worker gets paid more but the barber charges more because the car that the unionized worker made is more expensive to buy.   It is a viscious cycle that if it escilates too fast then economies fail.  Unions are the main reason for the rapid rise on inflation in the last 80 years.  Look at what things cost in the hundred years before that.  Prices didn't rise much then without unions.  And yes...I am a unionized worker but I see the truth.

[DIGGER]

It has been said before.  The unions get the worker more money and everything else goes up because the unionized worker has to be paid more.  Now, the worker gets paid more but the barber charges more because the car that the unionized worker made is more expensive to buy.   It is a viscious cycle that if it escilates too fast then economies fail.  Unions are the main reason for the rapid rise on inflation in the last 80 years.  Look at what things cost in the hundred years before that.  Prices didn't rise much then without unions.  And yes...I am a unionized worker but I see the truth.

so.....if your company came to you workers and said "Hey, we are going to lower your wages, you will have to buy your own health insurance,   we are going to pay you straight time for your overtime hrs, you will no longer have a pension when you get older, and forget the 401k contribution we give........but don't worry......after a while things will get cheaper to buy..................you would go for that?

[MP]

It has been said before.  The unions get the worker more money and everything else goes up because the unionized worker has to be paid more.  Now, the worker gets paid more but the barber charges more because the car that the unionized worker made is more expensive to buy.   It is a viscious cycle that if it escilates too fast then economies fail.  Unions are the main reason for the rapid rise on inflation in the last 80 years.  Look at what things cost in the hundred years before that.  Prices didn't rise much then without unions.  And yes...I am a unionized worker but I see the truth.

so.....if your company came to you workers and said "Hey, we are going to lower your wages, you will have to buy your own health insurance,   we are going to pay you straight time for your overtime hrs, you will no longer have a pension when you get older, and forget the 401k contribution we give........but don't worry......after a while things will get cheaper to buy..................you would go for that?

You seem to think ONLY union workers can get any of that.  Non union workers in a lot of places get those things too.  Overtime pay is set by the Fed. gov't, NOT the union. It can set even higher ones though.  But, non union workers can get OT higher wages too.

Most workers that have voted lately on if they want to join a union, have voted NO, over and over again.  They are happy with the package they get from their employer.

If people want to join a union, and voluntarily join, I have NO PROBLEM with that.  I do have a problem with being forced to join, if I want to work. Slavery a lot of places would call it.  Join our union, or no work.  Let your family starve.  I object to that.

MP

[musclehead]

These cheap gas prices are great, in the short run.  However, they are already causing massive cutbacks in exploration.  Rig counts are plummeting.  It takes years to develop new fields, and bring them into production.

As the world economies recover, oil demand will increase.  Cheap prices will cause even higher oil consumption.

So, down the road, when oil prices soar, look back, and realize that these really low prices, helped cause the very HIGH prices down the road.

However, I know that it will be blamed on oil company conspiracies.

MP

I wonder what the families of the 11 BP oil rig workers lost in the Gulf would have to say about safety.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/us/26spill.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I bet they would be wondering why the rig got a clean inspection before it blew.

[bscrive]

It has been said before.  The unions get the worker more money and everything else goes up because the unionized worker has to be paid more.  Now, the worker gets paid more but the barber charges more because the car that the unionized worker made is more expensive to buy.   It is a viscious cycle that if it escilates too fast then economies fail.  Unions are the main reason for the rapid rise on inflation in the last 80 years.  Look at what things cost in the hundred years before that.  Prices didn't rise much then without unions.  And yes...I am a unionized worker but I see the truth.

so.....if your company came to you workers and said "Hey, we are going to lower your wages, you will have to buy your own health insurance,   we are going to pay you straight time for your overtime hrs, you will no longer have a pension when you get older, and forget the 401k contribution we give........but don't worry......after a while things will get cheaper to buy..................you would go for that?

That is basically what they do now.  They give us a raise of nothing to 1% but the real cost of living is 4%.  Did you not have more money to spend 5 years ago than you do now.  I know I did.  Unfortunately, the train has been set in motion for the last 80 years and it doesn't stop that quickly.  Couple that with the way the last couple of generations have lived with the increase in everything because corporations just want to make more money means that bad news in in the forecast.  Our way of life is headed for a sharp change in the not so near future.  This model of increased prices will hit a tipping point and economies will and have crashed.  Wait until the real truth about the world's economies come out.  It will be worst than the 20's.

[DIGGER]

It has been said before.  The unions get the worker more money and everything else goes up because the unionized worker has to be paid more.  Now, the worker gets paid more but the barber charges more because the car that the unionized worker made is more expensive to buy.   It is a viscious cycle that if it escilates too fast then economies fail.  Unions are the main reason for the rapid rise on inflation in the last 80 years.  Look at what things cost in the hundred years before that.  Prices didn't rise much then without unions.  And yes...I am a unionized worker but I see the truth.

so.....if your company came to you workers and said "Hey, we are going to lower your wages, you will have to buy your own health insurance,   we are going to pay you straight time for your overtime hrs, you will no longer have a pension when you get older, and forget the 401k contribution we give........but don't worry......after a while things will get cheaper to buy..................you would go for that?

You seem to think ONLY union workers can get any of that.  Non union workers in a lot of places get those things too.  Overtime pay is set by the Fed. gov't, NOT the union. It can set even higher ones though.  But, non union workers can get OT higher wages too.

Most workers that have voted lately on if they want to join a union, have voted NO, over and over again.  They are happy with the package they get from their employer.

If people want to join a union, and voluntarily join, I have NO PROBLEM with that.  I do have a problem with being forced to join, if I want to work. Slavery a lot of places would call it.  Join our union, or no work.  Let your family starve.  I object to that.

MP

I have never...ever..heard of a non union electrician getting a pension.  Virtually every non union worker 's insurance he has to pay most of it and the employer kicks in a little.  Some get a 401K...that is kept by the electrical employer and have heard of cases where the money got spent before the worker got it.  Lets don't even talk about safe work practices.....no comparison between Union and non union.    If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union.   there are people out there that will work for no benefits. 

[Serk]

If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union. 

And that right there ladies and gentlemen, is the best argument against unions I've ever seen...

[DIGGER]

If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union. 

And that right there ladies and gentlemen, is the best argument against unions I've ever seen...

to each his own view........me.....I'll stay union.....till Sept 1st.......then I'll retire and enjoy my union pension ........and not have to work till I'm 80 like the non union guys do.

[fudgie]

If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union. 

And that right there ladies and gentlemen, is the best argument against unions I've ever seen...

ind passed a law where u dont hv to belong to a union to work at the place

[Serk]

If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union. 

And that right there ladies and gentlemen, is the best argument against unions I've ever seen...

ind passed a law where u dont hv to belong to a union to work at the place

Right to Work laws...

States that currently have right to work laws are in red.



I've worked a few jobs over the years that had heavy union influence, and flat out refused to join. I got harassed by the union thugs for it, but legally they couldn't do anything... (But I learned to keep an air pump in my car for all those times my tires were mysteriously flat at the end of my work day.)

[baldo]

If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union. 

And that right there ladies and gentlemen, is the best argument against unions I've ever seen...

I think you left out the rest of it.....

[CajunRider]

I have never...ever..heard of a non union electrician getting a pension.  Virtually every non union worker 's insurance he has to pay most of it and the employer kicks in a little.  Some get a 401K...that is kept by the electrical employer and have heard of cases where the money got spent before the worker got it.  Lets don't even talk about safe work practices.....no comparison between Union and non union.    If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union.   there are people out there that will work for no benefits. 

OK... I'll give you the pension...

My insurance is 90% payed by my employer.  VERY good insurance.

My 401K is matched at 4% and has thus far only increased (even in a bad economy). I get a quarterly report along with a few IRA accounts I have.

My company has never had a death (30+ years in operation in the oil field)...
only 2 major injuries (a few missing teeth from a stray high pressure hose and a broken ankle from someone walking in an area he shouldn't have been)...
and thus far only a few minor injuries (can be counted on one hand)...
ALL medical bills were paid by the company AND each person was paid full salary for ALL work days missed due to the injury. 

Does that make my company the exception???  Cause I know of about 20 other local companies that have similar benefits without the help of unions. 

[DIGGER]

I have never...ever..heard of a non union electrician getting a pension.  Virtually every non union worker 's insurance he has to pay most of it and the employer kicks in a little.  Some get a 401K...that is kept by the electrical employer and have heard of cases where the money got spent before the worker got it.  Lets don't even talk about safe work practices.....no comparison between Union and non union.    If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union.   there are people out there that will work for no benefits. 

OK... I'll give you the pension...

My insurance is 90% payed by my employer.  VERY good insurance.

My 401K is matched at 4% and has thus far only increased (even in a bad economy). I get a quarterly report along with a few IRA accounts I have.

My company has never had a death (30+ years in operation in the oil field)...
only 2 major injuries (a few missing teeth from a stray high pressure hose and a broken ankle from someone walking in an area he shouldn't have been)...
and thus far only a few minor injuries (can be counted on one hand)...
ALL medical bills were paid by the company AND each person was paid full salary for ALL work days missed due to the injury. 

Does that make my company the exception???  Cause I know of about 20 other local companies that have similar benefits without the help of unions. 

sounds like a really good company to work for.   man....jjust think what you guys could have if you went union.....ha.   No, really, why do you guys have such a hate for unions?  Definition of a union is a group of people with a common goal working together to advance theirselves as much as possible.  In thhe civil war the union was a group of states that worked together to reach their goal.   why do firefighters and LEO's have unions?   They are groups of people working together to advance theirselves as much as possible.   If you go to church you are in a union.   People in a church are a group of people working together  to advance their religous beliefs....they elect pastors and clergymen to be their spokesmen.....and yes you have to pay dues there too.    Lawyers belong to a Bar association (union), realestate people have to belong to the RealEstate Commission (union).
Pilots have to belong to the Pilots Association (Union).....etc..etc.  Nearly everyone belongs to a union of some kind. 

also, I get the feeling you guys think that unions force themselves on their employers.   In the IBEW the contractor employers don't HAVE to hire union employees......they want to.   They don't HAVE to sign a contract with the IBEW...they want to.  They can bid better and easier if they know the wage rate they have to pay up front, they don't have to waste time negotiating with each and every emploee over wages and benefits.....they know up front what the deal is.     They can hire employees when they need them and lay off employees when the job is over.  No having to try to find work for them and pay them in the off times.        My son went through the Pipefitters Union School Local 211.   5 yrs later he left the union and opened his own non union air conditioning company.   His company has gotten bigger now after 5 yrs .  As the type of jobs he has been getting gets larger and larger and as he needs more and more skilled men...He got tired of hiring and firing unskilled people who claimed they knew ac work and went down and signed a contract with Pipefitters Local 211 in Houston and for the last year it has worked out great for him.   When he gets large jobs now he can  immediately hire as many skilled ac men as is needed and when the job is over he can let them go..it's working out great for him and the union.   

Nearly all of you belong to a Union of some kind...even thoght it's not called a union.  Nothing wrong with a group of people banding together to advance their pay scales.

[Willow]

Unions essentially hold up the company, and by association the customers, by a threat a lot like the point of a gun.  Whether it's good depends largely upon the side of the gun on which you're standing.

Honestly companies (corporations) left unopposed will do the same thing.  If either unions or employing corporations get too strong almost everyone else loses.  If unions went away tomorrow we would need them back in two days.  If unions get too strong unrestricted we'll need them to be bridled back pretty quickly.

Unions and corporations are exactly the same in intent.  The only difference between them is in whom it is they represent.  They are each very good for whomever is on the inside at the expense of whomever is on the outside.   

[The emperor has no clothes]

I have never...ever..heard of a non union electrician getting a pension.  Virtually every non union worker 's insurance he has to pay most of it and the employer kicks in a little.  Some get a 401K...that is kept by the electrical employer and have heard of cases where the money got spent before the worker got it.  Lets don't even talk about safe work practices.....no comparison between Union and non union.    If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union.   there are people out there that will work for no benefits. 

OK... I'll give you the pension...

My insurance is 90% payed by my employer.  VERY good insurance.

My 401K is matched at 4% and has thus far only increased (even in a bad economy). I get a quarterly report along with a few IRA accounts I have.

My company has never had a death (30+ years in operation in the oil field)...
only 2 major injuries (a few missing teeth from a stray high pressure hose and a broken ankle from someone walking in an area he shouldn't have been)...
and thus far only a few minor injuries (can be counted on one hand)...
ALL medical bills were paid by the company AND each person was paid full salary for ALL work days missed due to the injury. 

Does that make my company the exception???  Cause I know of about 20 other local companies that have similar benefits without the help of unions. 

I've worked in Union shops and Non-Union shops. I've found one of the biggest misconceptions from non-Union employees is that their wages and benefits are close or comparable to union and why should they belong and pay dues. What they don't grasp is they are riding on the coat tails of Union members who fought for those wages and benefits. Companies don't give out raises and benefits out of the goodness in their hearts.

[DIGGER]

I have never...ever..heard of a non union electrician getting a pension.  Virtually every non union worker 's insurance he has to pay most of it and the employer kicks in a little.  Some get a 401K...that is kept by the electrical employer and have heard of cases where the money got spent before the worker got it.  Lets don't even talk about safe work practices.....no comparison between Union and non union.    If they made being in the union optional.....there would be no union.   there are people out there that will work for no benefits. 

OK... I'll give you the pension...

My insurance is 90% payed by my employer.  VERY good insurance.

My 401K is matched at 4% and has thus far only increased (even in a bad economy). I get a quarterly report along with a few IRA accounts I have.

My company has never had a death (30+ years in operation in the oil field)...
only 2 major injuries (a few missing teeth from a stray high pressure hose and a broken ankle from someone walking in an area he shouldn't have been)...
and thus far only a few minor injuries (can be counted on one hand)...
ALL medical bills were paid by the company AND each person was paid full salary for ALL work days missed due to the injury. 

Does that make my company the exception???  Cause I know of about 20 other local companies that have similar benefits without the help of unions. 

I've worked in Union shops and Non-Union shops. I've found one of the biggest misconceptions from non-Union employees is that their wages and benefits are close or comparable to union and why should they belong and pay dues. What they don't grasp is they are riding on the coat tails of Union members who fought for those wages and benefits. Companies don't give out raises and benefits out of the goodness in their hearts.

I just love it when I'm talking with a non union electrician and the first thing they throw out there is "I don't have to pay any union dues."    I have to keep from laughing.    My answer to them is "Well, I payed about $4000 in union dues last year.....but the average union electrician makes about $20,000 a yr more than you.....do the math.