That's an uninformed mentality.

My brother-in-law is a police office in Albuquerque, NM. He deals with shootings daily. His starting pay was < $30K, and currently only makes $50K. How much does a police officer make here? 70K after 4 years? and how cushy is their job?

I've done police ride-alongs, officers here have it easy. Its a difficult job, yet not as difficult as you imagine.

Another mis-informed opinion.

Most private schools pay their teachers less, yet the quality of education is better. Why? The quality of the students. In the nature vs nuture debate, nature wins, nuture can only do so much - so why are we wasting it expensive teachers?

This is correct. Both my sisters have left Canada to pursue more money in the US. Both are in the medical industry, one is a nurse. This isn't as big a deal as it seems, cause schools are cranking out more medical students as people made the switch after the tech bubble popped.

I mean within the unions themselves. They tend to overpay their support staff and council.

Agreed!
OP, Union dues wont keep them alive for long, and if they dont settle you're just starving your own employees. How many do you pay out a day to your employees on a day during a strike? $50?

What are some numbers you can throw out? Does an admin make more than 40k? How much does Jim Sinclair make anyways? How much did Buzz Hargrove make?

I disagree with the teachers being over-paid. On average, a highschool teacher brings in barely $48k a year (mind you, you have the whole summer off). TAs on the other hand, are eff-ing overpaid!!!!

out of of the five i think firefighters deserve the most, cause they risk their lives every time they have a call... i mean would u be willing to run into a building full of flames for 50k a year?

^ how often do they actually do that though? I know they're first response so they go to everything and they put out a lot of fires but this isn't a movie, I doubt the entire group goes charging into burning buildings on a daily basis.

I really hope you mean LPN's and not RN's.

Yes, yet I still believe they're underpaid. I guess I'm comparing their job to my job. Fortunately, for me, I pay more in taxes than what a typical RCMP officer receives in a year in salary. Like you said, it's difficult. But I'm not the type of guy who likes to bring the work home, gets threatened, and has the potential of endangering my life and my family ( worst case scenario of course ). Also, having lived in a 3rd world country half of my life, I would witness first hand the deterioration in integrity and the immediate corruption that transpires (and not to mention crimes committed) among cops who are paid very poorly (it pretty much became the culture).

Worst case scenario for me if I mess up, I lose my occupation. That's it.

You pay to get the talent. I went to school to learn. Not my fault if I got an A in a certain subject while the guy in the same lecture/class as me is a slacker and barely passes.

Also, you pay the teachers to compensate for being in a public system. Like you stated, the quality of the students is better (less underachieving students and juvenile delinquents in a private school setting). I went to a private school when I was younger. And I can tell you that the teachers there got paid more than the public schools (keep in mind, this was in the Philippines. My parents would tell me my tuition was more than my college tuition here).

I don't know if this is trivial or if it depends on a person's point of view. But if you get paid more, doesn't that bring prestige/integrity to the the job? Also, the onus is placed on that individual to perform the best he can since he cannot use the low salary excuse to slack off.



blehh.. going off topic here. As for the OP, it's business. If you get what you want - great. If not, I hope your union has considered other options to settle.

I remember 15 years ago. The President of BCNU ( McPhail was her last name) was geting paid $100k-$120k a year by the union.

Nuture can only accomplish so much, why waste the $$$ for diminishing returns?

No.

I get paid very well, and cause I have little room to move up I don't have much inclination to perform better. Moreso, cause I'm paid well I don't have much motivation to try and move up, I'm comfortable where I am.

Like I mentioned about the strike - its about merit. Giving someone more for no reason, means they'll continue to expect more for no reason. Its gotta be given on merit and earned.

I like the police.. but i HATE unions..

Im currently in a union right now and all it does is take my money honestly..
Med/hleath care benefits??? my school covers that shit! i dont need them all there doing is giving me another fucking tax to pay! (i make about 10 subtract tax + union fees = im like making 9 bucks an hour)

So tell me how the union helps me?? (keeps me from being fired???, my ass lol if i quit on them right now they'd be even shorter on staff then they are!)

Im in the EXACT same position:p

You get your union dues back when you file your taxes. You're a student and hence when you file your taxes, you get all your unions dues back.

So basically, you're in a union but you're not really paying for it. I could've sworn we had this conversation before.

You're paying for those school benefits ya know? You can use your union benefits, which are probably mandatory, to opt out of the school benefits program and get that money back.

Lots of unions also have scholarships that you can apply for. Most people are unaware of this, so even someone like you has a good chance of getting them.

There are tons of situations where a union can be beneficial and of course many situations where it's not. Unions don't just pop outta nowhere. Past employees probably felt they were not being treated well. Sure things are going smoothly now, but are you sure it will still be like this without the union, or at least the threat of forming a union?

And hey like everyone says, if you don't like it, go get another fucken job.

lol after i paid my student benefit fee, i was given my benefits from work(u dont get it right off the bat once u start work..) so when i went back to my school they wouldnt let me OP out cause it was to late (i got screwed now i got 2 dental health plans)

The reason i dont get another job is cause im going to school chump lick, i only work like twice a week (not alot of places liek that) and i want to build my resume asap so i CAN get a better job later (staying at a job for less then 1 year doesnt look that good on your resume!) but anyways! I aint saying unions are all bad but for me at least it does pretty much nothing.. (its good if its your career job, other wise i couldn't care less about'em)

lol.. ya i gota ask about that.. i went to H&R to do my tax's .. like motnhs ago but i still havent recieved any of my money :(.. and i dont think i got any of my unions fee's back.. (apparently only getting back about 400) =/

I have absolutely no respect for unions who abuse their powers. A union is there to protect employees/members, not to use them as a bargaining chip when it comes to "asking" for wage increases. You have to keep in mind, even those who are currently more than happy with their wage are REQUIRED to go on strike, meaning they don't get paid UNLESS they walk the picket line.

Honestly, unions need to either GTFO, restructure, or be regulated by the government.

Like that stupid paramedic strike - sometimes when I see an ambulance I just want to go and rip that stupid ass "On Strike" sticker off.

Unions were great many years ago, not so nowadays. There is no need for unions in today's state.

I just wanted to thank everyone who came out.

We had people from BCFED, BCGEU, IAM, COPE, CUPE etc..
Jim Sinclair made a speech as well as respective members of our communities. I appreciate the time everyone took out of their day to come out and support the brothers and sisters on the line.
Like Jim roughly said,
(There is going to be a lot of talk about the olympics. People are excited to see their heroes win gold. In my opinion the people who have been out on the line since last december are the real heroes.)

To the thread MODS - PLEASE CLOSE THIS THREAD AS THE EVENT HAS PASSED.

Thanks again,

Paul