[nj85z28]

this may come off as a super-biased statement from me, but understand i am a Union worker myself, being out of work. in my opinion, the unions should not have to give up the healthcare coverage they were given by GM in their contracts unless they get something in return.
for us IBEW members, we are paying 25 percent for our healthcare. seems like alot right> well, the coverage sucks. terribly. in fact, i had to call the financial group that handles it in order to get a card for the "new plan" they switched to without notice about a year and a half beforehand.
if union busting tactics continue to work in the same manner they are now, with Mr. Bush and his union hating lackeys, dont expect to make much more than those mexicans getting paid 25 cents an hour.
like it or hate it, most unions are big business now, funnelling millions and millions of dollars back into the economy every day.
in my biased opinion, the united states could not function without trained union workers, because we are paid more because we are trained more.
for us electricians, work is very bad now because of non union, unskilled workers. we have to take 5 years of school, and complete 1900 on the job hours a year in order to advance in pay, when your average non union electrician gets hired out of the newspaper with little or no training, resulting in poor quality of work, on the job accidents.

im not turning my thread into a union discussion, im simply giving my opinion on the thought that union workers are being asked to cut healthcare. i guess its easier being on the outside looking in, than on the recieving end of losing your benefits and pensions after so long. the simple fact is, we need a national healthcare program, IMO.