After All I went through with Bankruptcy, now this...

[6ftladycop]

Does anybody know anything about SPFPA Security,Police,Fire Professionals of America? I got to work this evening and there was a lot of energy in the place. It seems that the police officers and security officers want a union and have gone outside to find someone to represent them. They say that the administration in our department does not look out for them as they should and that they needed outside help.

There are a lot of folks in our law enforcement division...dispatchers, telecomunications staff, computer operators, police clerks, front desk staff, parking ticket officers, civillian workers etc. How does a union representing police officers, firemen, security officers affect people like that who clearly have no idea what having a union vote will do to our jobs here in the police department. We also have no idea what voting against them will do either. So my question is this, does anybody know about this group that I mention above and if so, are all parties required to vote for a union or can you be neutral and just ignore the situation or if the majority of votes is for a union, how will this effect all of us other law enforcement workers? As a single mom, I sure in the hell did not need this drama.

[lrprn]

Here's their website (lots of scrolling, not very professional) - http://www.spfpa.org/

And here's something about the SPFPA that proves you are right to feel uneasy - http://www.nrtw.org/b/nr_614.php and http://www.nrtw.org/b/nr_593.php . They tell the story of a security guard who sued the SPFPA for threatening to have him fired because he declined to join the uinion earlier this year.

[Minnymouth]

Unfortunately, if a company, utility, city officials, or division of a company go union, ALL persons must join or their job is on the line. That's ONE MAJOR REASON why a lot of companies and folks fight to keep the unions out.

The unions are still fighting to try to get into companies..... but most people fight to keep them out.

Being forced to join a union (such as Krogers) to be employed is just NOT RIGHT. A parttime employee at Krogers, making minimum wage, is forced to join the union if they work at Krogers. By the time they pay their taxes, etc, and their union dues, that parttime employee has worked for NOTHING all week, yet he is employed by Krogers. My cousin went thru this for years as a student in college. They had to be a union member and pay union dues, BUT as a parttime employee they had NO BENEFITS. All they could say was they worked for Krogers.

The days of the BIG unions is almost over. Oh yeah, the teamsters, coal miners, etc are all alive and well, but going down hill every day. The big companies are relocating, leaving the unions behind. Many companies from the North moved south to Georgia where there very, very, very few unions. Thus they pay lower wages, less benefits, etc.

Its hard to get a union into a place and even harder to get them out. When the unions go on strike, you do too, no matter WHAT it cost you in wages, etc. and you hope you survive till its over.

When the unions do fail and companies leave, then we're right back to the low paying jobs, no benefits, etc.

It's just a viscious cycle of the good, the bad, and the ugly....