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BA’s Desk: Check out the Labor Day Pics.
Local News:(KC, Topeka, & St. Joe)
Retiree’s luncheons: Nov 17 - Pipo's Italiano, 6516 Raytown Rd., Raytown Mo., (816) 313-7476 Dec -
Union Christmas Party See web site for more info. WWW.IUEC12.Com
Land of Oz & Beyond:(Wichita, & Springfield)
Do you retirees down in Wichita or Springfield get together? Email me with the dates and times; put “IUEC12” in the subject line, so I know it is not junk mail.
Commentary: I recently had breakfast with a friend from years past. He’s a management type, and we got to talking about unions. He says to me: “ The thing I don’t like about unions is that when his department went union and everyone got the same wages, there was no incentive to do a better job.” I didn’t have an answer for him and have been pondering it every since. In our craft I see this dilemma also. When a mechanic 1st turns out they’re not as valuable as an experienced mechanic, yet they are paid the same. This angers some, but I realized that when I was a young mechanic I too was paid the same as the more experienced man who was training me how to fix elevators. I was being compensated early on for what I was going to return back to the craft later. I am now at the age of payback. My obligation to all these new mechanics and apprentices is to give them the experience I was passed, oh so many years ago. After all those years of investment, I’m a more valuable asset to the company, and now is when I payback to the company what they have invested in me and very other old hand. And at what a bargain, the extra I should have received was paid at yesterday’s prices. Now this is not to say that there are not some of our brothers who are truly better at this stuff than the rest of us, and these people should command as good a deal as they & their BA can swing for them. Also there are circumstances that increase value and compensation. Wise companies are willing to negotiate these opportunities, knowing that it will increase their markets and that other companies would be more than happy to pick-up their best people, with their years of training. I now have an answer for my friend. In the elevator industry, we are paid the same base but our incentive is we are craftsmen, doing the best job gives us pride and that pride is important. Our incentive is to do the job right and pass on this craft to the next generation. When you stop and think about it, which do you think would be the better worker, the employee out for the bucks or the employee that takes pride in their craftsmanship everyday?
Opposing views are good… Jim Linn Back to Publications |
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