OT- Anyone got any advice?

[snapper]

Though it is not a done deal- as of Monday I will have to cross the Verizon union workers picket line to get to work.  We were told if we don't cross then we no longer have a job.  So there is no real choice in the matter.
Anyone ever cross a picket line before?  I am getting small amounts of advice here and lots of horror stories.

What irritates me is the union folks are gonna be pissy with me and I am just a consultant.  I am not a scab!!!  NO! NO! NO!  I am going to be doing the same job before during and after the strike!

I have also been told that if they hit me not to hit back... we will both be fired but when the strike is over the union person will be hired back.  I won't.  Nice- there is democracy for you!  

Thanks!
BTW I am not against the union workers... nor am I for Verizon.  I am in it for the money.

[JasonB]

You know those windbreakers that say FBI and SWAT etc..you could get one that says SCAB! Now I bet they wouldnt know what to do when they saw that and let you right thru!  :lol:

Ride your bike into work with leather pants and jacket and gloves and helmet etc and just keep it all on until you get in.  

[snapper]

I had someone tell me to ride my bike right into the building.
Thought it sounded like a good plan-  the revolving doors are stumping me though.  

[bob]

You're in a tough spot.
I've never been a union member, but I've been a salaried worker in union shops before.  Usually when there's been strikes or threats of strikes the rhetoric gets pretty thick & ugly, but usually nothing happens.
Do you know most/some of the union members in your shop?  How's your relationship with them?  I think they would understand the position you're in & wouldn't want to keep you from making a living, especially if you've been talking to them recently & have discussed the issue so that they know the position you're in & you know the way they feel.
The thing you have to look out for is paid professional strikers that the union may bring in from the outside just to picket.  They don't know you & don't care about you & are more likely to be confrontational.  If you can avoid passing through groups of people you don't know & stay near those you do you'll likely have no problems.
BTW, your company cannot fire you for avoiding a potentially dangerous situation.  If your safety is not secure & you choose not to cross the line because if it, you are entirely within your rights.
Best of luck & stay safe!!

[DGDM]

earplugs and a magazine or book.  That way if the bastards make you wait you jsut sit and read a book, earplugs to avoid hearing the terrible stuff they are gonna say to you to try and get you to attack them.  They won't attack you but will try and provoke you.  Bring lots of patience and ignore as much as possible.
dave

[ladybrid]

Just hang tough and do what you need to do.
I haven't been union, but I've been in similar situations.  Is there a back door?
Unfortunately some people don't understand that others can't afford to loose their jobs.  I remember a situation where tenured teachers were striking and they gave the untenured teachers shaZam! for crossing the line... refused to understand that if those untenured teachers didn't show up they would just be fired flat out.
Ah well, Unions are good for some things, and not so good for others.  
If anyone touches you, go straight to the nearest security or law enforcement and file a report.

[JeffD]

I like the Idea of keeping your gear on, all the way to your office.     Get some real armored gloves and just flip down your visor and walk through.

[john]

First day you cross if anyone touches you scream bloody murder and yell for the police and point out the person who tuched you and sccuse them of touching your boob, butt, crotch, whatever.  Fuggem, they'll leave you alone after that :mrgreen:

[snapper]

Thanks guys... I was also told not to park my bike anywhere nearby- due to the chance of vadalism.  So on nice days I will park it at a friends house and we will take the subway.  I wanted to get a mirrored visor to go through..add the ear plugs for the air horns etc.

Unfortunatly I do not know many of the union folks.  I work with them but mainly on the phone so they wouldn't know me at all.

I agree with the firing point... you could get a nice little lawsuit out of it if I were a direct employee.  Alas I am not.  My consultant firm has already stated that if I do not feel safe that I need not cross the line.  Yet if Verizon ends the contract then I don't have a job.  In other times it would be fine because another job would be easy to find.  Not in these times though.

[JeffD]

Ooo now you got me thinking.  Could a person get in trouble for having some sort of strobe light to distract those people getting in the way.  For example someone is harassing you and you pull out this little wand (like M.I.B. memory eraser) and *poof* they are temporarily blinded?  like using tear gas.  !?!?    what do you think.

[octane]

That sucks man. Unions are bullsnot.

[Yohan]

[img]

:guns:  :guns:  :guns:  :guns:  :guns:

[snapper]

John- you may have something there!
The strobe..hmmm...
Granted the last thing I want to do is rile em up!

Take a look at this!
http://www.massjwj.net/vsab030723.html

Too organized for my liking!  We are not that organized HERE!

[dmp221]

Wanna borrow my 105 lb German Shepherd??  He has the uncanny ability to part a crowd like Moses parted the Red Sea.

[yamahonkawazuki]

:x dont even get me started on unions. when they dont get what they want, they whine and cry and strike. and companies cant do much about it. yet if i whine and cry and strike, im out of a job. :x  :x im thinkin they could just shut the place down for a few days, till they leave. (place around here did that.)or you could go in shootin, :guns:  :guns:  :guns:   , (probly not good idea) mace, if building has security have them escort you in. (ive had to play escort in the past), police escort, head toward the line at say 50 mph.  :mrgreen: but seriously, if for safetys sake, you decide to not cross, and you end up without a job., well at least you'll still be in one piece. a little more broke, but again in one piece. good luck to you what ever you decide

[Casimir]

Perhaps you could wear a T-Shirt/Golf Shirt with your employer's name on it? Maybe have one made up that says "I work for Contractco, not Verizon!" and wear it over your work clothes.

I've never had to deal with unions. None in my industry and I only occasionally see any union activity in Houston, never directly.

It's really annoying that some union members expect non-union people to give up their livelihood so that they can get what they want.  :x

[Diderich]

unions ain't treated too kindly round these here parts.  (Yes, a redneck accent can come in mighty handy sometimes...)  Texas is a right to work state.

Anyway, we aren't talking about the united body building ninja union, here, it's a cellphone company.  I reckon they are pretty even keel.  I wouldn't sweat it.  Don't paint "scab" on your ass and moon them or anything, but I don't think you'll have any trouble if you just stroll in.

If all else fails there is a famous story about a lone texas ranger stopping a mob at city hall.  There was a pretty ornery crowd outside of city hall and so the Rangers sent a man out to quiet it down.  As the crowd was about to charge the ranger and ransack the building, he picked out one of the leaders and leveled his shotgun at him.  He said "I don't give a rats ass about the rest of these people or what they do to me.  But if one person sets foot on these stairs, I'll blow YOUR head off, understand?"  That quieted things down.  You should try it.

[shep_bannister]

dont even get me started on unions. when they dont get what they want, they whine and cry and strike. and companies cant do much about it. yet if i whine and cry and strike, im out of a job.

Folks, don't blame the Union for the fact that your company will fire you for complaining.  It sounds to me like you need a Union.  As a worker in the software industry watching the jobs in my industry flying over seas at an incredible rate, I'm beginning to wish there was a Software Developer union out there.  Granted, there is a big history of corruptness in unions, but not any more so than the corruptness in corporate management.

Do you people who are bad mouthing unions really think that it is acceptable to charge retirees for the cost of the CEOs stock options?  Come on.  How would you feel if you read an article in a magazine stating that the _average_ salary for your job is 35% more than what you make?  

:nana:

[snapper]

ACtually what you say is something we have actively been talking about.  We don't have a union to save our butts.  We don;t have anyone to stand up for us.  So we have two paths that we mentally take:  1.  I want to be union so I can save my job and get equal pay.  2.  The unions at some point are asking for things that are just not logical (3 day work week).  

The other part is that I don't want to hear these guys complain.  As or right now they have medical paid for 100%- that continues with their pension.  For sick leave they do this bizare step system.. but what it does is if you are sick on day... then you might as well be out 5 full days because on the 6th you need a drs note.  THese 5 days count as 1!  You get stepped up for a time.. but after 3 months of not being out you can do it again.  So every 3 months you can take a week off cause you're just not feeling so well.     Then in the contract they make it impossible to lay folks off... so if we can't lay them off who goes?  ME!  (Selfish I know)

Its like they have no clue how good tehy have it.  Now I do not want to work in those call centers and I don't want to climb a pole in the winter.. but thats my choice.   These forlks are making like 60+K a year with a highschool diploma.  That ain't bad at all.

Now I don't understand why our CEOs make SOOO much money.  Its disgusting!  But its also disgusting how much some of these sport players make.  Football etc.  We pay our teachers crap (and treat them like crap) and yet society at large wonders whats wrong with our schools etc.

OK- I am off my soap box now.

[glenn9171]

I agree with Yohan.  Might I recommend a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum in full titanium frame?  7 shot, snub-nose.  Walnut grips optional.  Fully loaded weighs just 7 ounces or so.  People from Texas and Louisiana think alike a lot of times.   :nana: