Leaving collections
Discussion
Like many others, the large company I work for had a pay dispute with the unions a couple of years ago which led to industrial action.
Most people took part in the strikes, but locally there was a small group of people who came into work. Not even discretely I may add. They seemed almost proud about it. Most of them were looking for promotion and a couple have since got it.
When the company eventually offered a sensible pay deal and ended the strikes, these strike breakers happily took the pay rise that all the others had fought for (and were over £1K down in lost wages).
I’m not some militant trade unionist, but to me this is unforgivable. Deliberately undermining the collective efforts of others, whilst still reaping the eventual rewards.
Whilst I may always harbour resentment towards them, I’ve always remained polite and professional towards this group of people.
Anyhow, now one of the group is leaving the company, and I am being asked to contribute to a whip round for him (organised by one of the other strike breakers), and I don’t feel like giving anything, for the reasons mentioned above.
Am I the asshole for not wanting to contribute to this particular leaving collection, when I’ve given to others?
Most people took part in the strikes, but locally there was a small group of people who came into work. Not even discretely I may add. They seemed almost proud about it. Most of them were looking for promotion and a couple have since got it.
When the company eventually offered a sensible pay deal and ended the strikes, these strike breakers happily took the pay rise that all the others had fought for (and were over £1K down in lost wages).
I’m not some militant trade unionist, but to me this is unforgivable. Deliberately undermining the collective efforts of others, whilst still reaping the eventual rewards.
Whilst I may always harbour resentment towards them, I’ve always remained polite and professional towards this group of people.
Anyhow, now one of the group is leaving the company, and I am being asked to contribute to a whip round for him (organised by one of the other strike breakers), and I don’t feel like giving anything, for the reasons mentioned above.
Am I the asshole for not wanting to contribute to this particular leaving collection, when I’ve given to others?
k emDo you know tat this person is also a member of the union? Do you know what their financial situation is like? They might have been in debt over their ears and could not afford to take a short-term hit in the hopes of future gains. Or perhaps that person is strongly opposed to the idea of industrial action. Either way, it's their choice whether to break picket lines or not and it's your choice whether to contribute to the pot or not. It's really not difficult!
This is the problem with Union's - whilst having their uses, they also create unnecessary tribalism and antagonism amongst colleagues.
Without knowing the full details, what you've described is a group of workers who managed to extract a few quid more per week but have castigated those who's focus was on a bigger picture, one of whom is now in a better job earning much better money.
What was stopping you from pursuing the same thing?
The answer is that not everyone is cut-out for promotion. Many are either happy as they are or that's the max they are ever likely to achieve. And that's fine and it's also right that those people protect their collective rights and views and if that requires industrial action, then so be it. But to view those who choose a different path as 'scum', 'scabs' or 'traitors' or any of the other disingenuous nouns that permeate Union life is wrong.
And as LunaOne says, without knowing their personal circumstances, it is impossible to judge their actions fairly.
My Dad was a Ford man. Member of a Union - paid his dues, went to the meetings. In 1977, a strike was called for reasons my Dad and many others felt was politically motivated over any desire to improve the lives of members. It lasted 11 months and my Dad was supposed to receive salary compensation from the Union provided he attended pickets. When he went to collect his money, he was told he was not entitled to any because he was buying his own home ... he was told bluntly 'you're not one of us'. Despite this, out of loyalty, he continued to attend the picket line. But as the months wore in, his debt increased and he and my Mum were of a generation that abhorred debt. The pressure of the debts eventually got to him. I was only 10, myself sister, 6 so the ability for my Mum to work was limited. To simply put food on the table, he had no choice but return to work. The Union made his life a living hell, including the sending of 'robustly built reps' to the house to encourage him to return to the picket line. This all resulted him having a heart attack aged 44, something he never truly recovered from.
Without knowing the full details, what you've described is a group of workers who managed to extract a few quid more per week but have castigated those who's focus was on a bigger picture, one of whom is now in a better job earning much better money.
What was stopping you from pursuing the same thing?
The answer is that not everyone is cut-out for promotion. Many are either happy as they are or that's the max they are ever likely to achieve. And that's fine and it's also right that those people protect their collective rights and views and if that requires industrial action, then so be it. But to view those who choose a different path as 'scum', 'scabs' or 'traitors' or any of the other disingenuous nouns that permeate Union life is wrong.
And as LunaOne says, without knowing their personal circumstances, it is impossible to judge their actions fairly.
My Dad was a Ford man. Member of a Union - paid his dues, went to the meetings. In 1977, a strike was called for reasons my Dad and many others felt was politically motivated over any desire to improve the lives of members. It lasted 11 months and my Dad was supposed to receive salary compensation from the Union provided he attended pickets. When he went to collect his money, he was told he was not entitled to any because he was buying his own home ... he was told bluntly 'you're not one of us'. Despite this, out of loyalty, he continued to attend the picket line. But as the months wore in, his debt increased and he and my Mum were of a generation that abhorred debt. The pressure of the debts eventually got to him. I was only 10, myself sister, 6 so the ability for my Mum to work was limited. To simply put food on the table, he had no choice but return to work. The Union made his life a living hell, including the sending of 'robustly built reps' to the house to encourage him to return to the picket line. This all resulted him having a heart attack aged 44, something he never truly recovered from.
LunarOne said:
Do you know tat this person is also a member of the union?
I think this is an important point. If they weren't members of the Union there was no obligation on them to strike. To be fair even if they WERE members of the Union there's no obligation on them to strike.Anyway, in relation to the original questions, if you don't like somebody there's no obligation on you to donate. He'll never know and nobody else will care.
I'm in my union, when they went on strike last year, I was still working.
This is because the union includes multiple different groups, and the salary/bargaining group the strike was for wasn't mine, so I was not meant to participate.
My obligation was to not undermine the strike action by supplementing the "missing" labour, so not carrying out tasks that are outside my role (but within my capability) that were normally done by someone who was on strike.
This is because the union includes multiple different groups, and the salary/bargaining group the strike was for wasn't mine, so I was not meant to participate.
My obligation was to not undermine the strike action by supplementing the "missing" labour, so not carrying out tasks that are outside my role (but within my capability) that were normally done by someone who was on strike.
Blockbuster said:
Like many others, the large company I work for had a pay dispute with the unions a couple of years ago which led to industrial action.
Most people took part in the strikes, but locally there was a small group of people who came into work. Not even discretely I may add. They seemed almost proud about it. Most of them were looking for promotion and a couple have since got it.
When the company eventually offered a sensible pay deal and ended the strikes, these strike breakers happily took the pay rise that all the others had fought for (and were over £1K down in lost wages).
I’m not some militant trade unionist, but to me this is unforgivable. Deliberately undermining the collective efforts of others, whilst still reaping the eventual rewards.
Whilst I may always harbour resentment towards them, I’ve always remained polite and professional towards this group of people.
Anyhow, now one of the group is leaving the company, and I am being asked to contribute to a whip round for him (organised by one of the other strike breakers), and I don’t feel like giving anything, for the reasons mentioned above.
Am I the asshole for not wanting to contribute to this particular leaving collection, when I’ve given to others?
I think your the asshole but not because you don't want to contribute to this collection.Most people took part in the strikes, but locally there was a small group of people who came into work. Not even discretely I may add. They seemed almost proud about it. Most of them were looking for promotion and a couple have since got it.
When the company eventually offered a sensible pay deal and ended the strikes, these strike breakers happily took the pay rise that all the others had fought for (and were over £1K down in lost wages).
I’m not some militant trade unionist, but to me this is unforgivable. Deliberately undermining the collective efforts of others, whilst still reaping the eventual rewards.
Whilst I may always harbour resentment towards them, I’ve always remained polite and professional towards this group of people.
Anyhow, now one of the group is leaving the company, and I am being asked to contribute to a whip round for him (organised by one of the other strike breakers), and I don’t feel like giving anything, for the reasons mentioned above.
Am I the asshole for not wanting to contribute to this particular leaving collection, when I’ve given to others?
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