What's so bad about wanting a Union job?

[whatever]

I'm well educated and apparently "bright" according to people but I'm really not that ambitious when it comes to finding a job that people think would be "fitting" for me.

I don't want a job that makes me work weekends, I want 40 hours in and then be able to go home and forget about it. I want to be able to put in my time on a job during the weekdays, get paid decently, get good insurance and be able to retire with no real concerns. I don't want a job that invades my thoughts at home, or that I have to worry about how I dress as to how I will advance through the "corporate ladder." I want a union job!

Every time I voice this preference though, people tell me "oh, you shouldn't do that! you're so much better than that!" or worse yet "that would be such a waste!"

Why is it anyone else's concern what a person does for a living? And is it possible to be "too good" to do certain types of work?

[Lateralus]

I can understand why you'd value those aspects, but are you certain a union can provide them?

[whatever]

they've done a good job for those I know who have union jobs (teachers excluded)- most of my high school classmates are living a lot better than me, and the forwent college to go to the factories or trades

(and no- I don't want a factory job- they move away )

[FDG]

That's completely understandable. But also think that there are many jobs that don't imply the necessity of climbing the corporate ladder! You might want to try to widen your horizons after you start from wherever you're comfortable starting. Anyway, I agree with you that free time is an invaluable resource.

[Lateralus]

I don't see how union membership would determine whether or not a job invades your thoughts at home. Also, do you really expect a union to take care of your retirement? Considering how easy it is for union officials to become corrupt, I would personally have a big problem with letting a union or my employer manage my retirement funds. I'd rather hire a financial advisor, assuming I'm not managing the funds myself (which I am).

[cafe]

Sounds good to me. Some unions are crap, but there are some good ones still out there.

Edit: Maybe it's a combination of my blue collar background and the Protestant Work Ethic hammered into my head by the Baptist school, but all honest work is honorable in my mind and I can't understand why people look down on those who work with their hands, etc.

[Lookin4theBestNU]

I wouldn't say unions are bad or people are in any way bad for wanting to be in them at all if they actually deliver what they say. The only thing that I would keep in mind is that a)unions are a business b) the only thing they can guarantee is that you will pay their dues. Your experience with the people you know sounds opposite of the people I know including my husband. You can always join them and leave unless it is a union run shop. I wouldn't work anywhere I was forced to pay for representation I didn't feel I needed. Union battles can get fierce from the town I came from. Crossing the picket lines, strikes etc. all sound like a headache to me. I can't imagine going weeks without pay to prove a point in the event of the worst.

[Lateralus]

Unions aren't 'bad' any more than government is 'bad'. Unions are a tool, and when people are given power with little or no accountability, they're apt to abuse that power. This seems to be a problem for unions because...how do you judge success? It's so subjective. There's no profit and loss statement. You never really know if you were better off with or without them.

I don't see anything 'wrong' with wanting to join a union. Someone who has that desire simply values things differently than me.

[colmena]

One of the most promising young people I've ever met works in a cafe. He gets to have lots of fun and learns about different kinds of tea. He's happy.

[heart]

The only problem is that now union members on average are so apathetic. Their forefathers fought and won, hard earned workers rights in this country and yet they can't even be bothered to show up for the union meetings. When you don't watch what the people who in control are doing, you get what you deserve. They act like they are paying dues to a customer service type organization that will just do all the work on their behalf. It was never meant to be that way, the members are the union and that's the only way it could ever work. Since so many members no longer realize this, unions are crumbling.

The people who bitch the loudest about the union dues in the union are usually the people who never bother to go to the meetings, much less actually go and stand up and make the leadership answer for what they do and never vote in the elections.

There's an excellent movie called "Blue Collar" that really explores all of these issues.