The unions are not as powerful as they used to be for the guys and gals that join them but they do make sure that you receive the benefits you need in order to sustain a life above the poverty level. The health insurance alone, that we are guaranteed as long as my husband puts in the hours outweighs the benefits of any non-union job.

People and politicians complain that union wages are too high and that the workers aren’t worth the pay. That’s simply NOT TRUE. For one, not all union workers are lazy and make spectacles of themselves like the Chrysler workers recently fired for their bad behavior. For two, most of these people work their tail off doing jobs that deserve the pay they receive. As a matter of fact, my husband, a Michigan Union Ironworker, recently had his wages and vacation pay cut. Not to mention that because of a few bad decisions on the part of financial advisers for the union during the stock market crash these guys have no pension to speak of.

When you think that union wages are too high think about this….

The Day in the Life of a Michigan Union Ironworker

For the last 14 years being the wife of an ironworker has brought its toll with the early mornings, long hours and the constant worrying. You see, Ironwork in Michigan is usually done in the metropolitan cities (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, ect.) meaning that if you want to work as an ironworker you better be prepared to travel.

My husband Chad starts his day between 3 – 4 am depending on the location of the job he’s working. Due to the area we live in he has to travel on average of 1 ½ to 2 hours in the morning to work and at night after work. That’s over 15 hours a week on the road which is more dangerous than the actual ironwork that he does. Spending 13 – 14 hours a day away from home for a 40 hour paycheck hardly seems worth it. Not to mention what he spends on gas and car maintenance.

Once he finally arrives at the job site its 7 am “grind time” until the end of the day. We’re not talking sitting in a shop pushing a button we’re talking many feet in the air lifting, placing and securing hundreds of pounds of steel.

The union ironworkers also have to deal with a ton of new regulations that are changed almost daily on the job site. They now mostly work from lifts (which in my opinion is sometimes more dangerous than being on the steel). OSHA is making the standards harder on these guys every day and it seems they put more of the responsibility on the worker than they do the company. The ever changing regulations have these ironworkers taking a multitude of training classes just to keep caught up and legal to work. Did I mention the classes are not “paid on the job”, they are after work and in Novi (1 ½ hours away).

At the end of the day, Chad’s body has been maxed out and he’s exhausted (remember, he still has almost two hours of drive time before he reaches home.) He gets to spend a few hours with the family before going to bed to get up early again.

So when you gripe that union workers don’t deserve the high wages they are making think of it this way…

• 55 hours away from home for 40 hours worth of pay
• The increase of being seriously injured in a car accident driving almost 4 hours a day
• The cost of gas to make that drive and the miles that rack up on your car
• The cost of the equipment, tools, clothing and any thing needed for the job (the companies pay for NOTHING!)
• The danger that many union workers are placed in every day and the ridicule they get from many in the country that stereotype them with the UAW

When you take the good and the bad I believe the union worker wins overall. You have a diplomatic means to making sure your worker rights are being taken care of. Benefits that are commonly unavailable in the normal workplace are there for you. You are part of a “Brotherhood/Sisterhood” that looks out for each other…like an extended family.

It’s now Friday morning, where did the week go? It has been crazy for me, yet I am considering doing the same next week, minus the parent teacher conferences. :-) The recruiter offered me another install for next Thursday, I can work as many hours as I want in my “paying” job and we could use the extra money. I can’t believe that I am actually bringing in a real paycheck without working for a crappy corporate company.

Yet, a huge sadness fills my heart, the sadness of missing Boiled Over and all our blogging friends we have met. My new goal is to find a way to manage all of this life change without going insane. I am going to start by writing the article about Kids and Cars for Monday morning.

Friend #1 is almost out of unemployment and is complaining that he does not know what he is going to do. Well stop sitting around waiting for a job to land in your lap and go find one. Reading the local newspaper once a day does not count as job hunting.

Friend #2 was “let go” from his job in the fall, he does not have any steady income. He was able to sell things around his house to keep him going for a couple months, but then nothing. He just keeps complaining that there is no work. This Friend has had one small side job that lasted a month or so, but will not take a job an hour away due to the high gas prices. If you are turning down work than don’t complain.

There may not be a vast amount of good jobs out there at the moment, but all the local fast food restaurants are hiring. Yeah it would suck to flip burgers to get by, but at least it’s something. It would be equal to what Friend #1’s unemployment is and Friend #2 has no income so it has to be better.

We agree that something has to be done about the lack of decent jobs in this country, but any job is better than no job. Life will only give back what you put in, so GET A JOB!

  So many big businesses out there forget about the little guy that helps their company run on a daily basis, now it is overflowing into our unions who are supposed be there to protect the worker. Where will it stop? If the money makers of this country realized that helping the average everyday American helps them as well this country would not be in the economic downfall it is in.

  We all want to tell that boss from hell to “Take This Job and Shove It”! Until then, I need the paycheck. We will see what he  blow’s up about today. Maybe I should tell him to save the company some money and stop trying to chop down the steel column with a level.

My boiling point is how you could work for the union, born in America, for America, to protect American workers and not pay your people for holidays. This is a time of year you should enjoy and not be stressed out about a lost day at work, that you did not have a choice over. When you are in the construction field you are already worrying about the “rain” days let alone a four day weekend with no pay. Although the union has been good to us in the past, it gets worse every year. Like “Big Business” they are always looking out for themselves and not the workers. It is not like the old days where you felt secure with your union. These days you make $840.00 for your pension and they take $800.00 you get $40.00. Who can retire on that especially with no paid Holidays?

So let us know what boils you over about your everyday life.
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Once approved we will post them with your boiling point.