Us vs. Us...

As if things weren't bad enough in general, I was reminded this morning that, it can indeed, be worse.

I was surfing Jim's message board, and found the following, posted by someone using the screenname Rat (who, judging by their other posts is a T&D)...

I love Dawn, but an NTBU should not utilize the word "solidarity".
I have nothing against the people, but the concept of NTBU flies in the face of union euphoria.

Wow...usually I'm happy to have a fan, but they generally aren't trying to throw me under the bus.

Thanks to Jim, who responded with the following...

Rat
I disagree a bit with u on this issue. NTBU NON TRADITIONAL BARGAINING UNIT. She still is in the bargaining unit and doesn't boss around traditional union members. I'm ok with it. 100's NBU, that was the sore spot.

Teachers, fireman, clerks, telemarketers, and office people can be union. If she obverves and respects the principles of unionism, I'm ok with it. It doesn't need to be a good guy bad buy, cowboys Vs Indians thing.

At this point, I think things are looking up! Alas, it was a short lived feeling of sunshine, as Rat came back with...

Though I understand they still pay dues, the nature of the positions, and more importantly how they're chosen, flies in the face of traditional seniority values. How often is the job filled prior to posting? Seniority works because it circumvents the suck-up technique.

There is no way an NTBU should remain on the floor while more senior people are in the jobs bank.

Well, of course, I couldn't remain silent for too long, now could I?

Well, Rat, if an NTBU shouldn't remain on the floor, then neither should the trades. As I recall, the 99s & 00s who where NTBUs went out the door with the rest of their seniority during the permanent layoffs, but those who had made it into the trades were still here. Union is union, regardless of job classification. We should all be on the same side.

After all, that is exactly what happened...the 99s & 00s that were in skilled trades didn't get to experience the joy of the permanent layoff, while all of the others did...including the NTBUs.

NTBU jobs were all posted publicly for anyone to apply for. I am personally sick to death of the perception that I'm a suck up, sell out, or whatever the insult of the week is for NTBUs. Every NTBU pays the same dues that every other bargaining unit employee does, and gets less representation. That's not the fault of our reps, that's the fault of the contract provisions that created our jobs. The union can't protect NTBU jobs, as was made brutally apparent in October.

Look people, we are all in this together, whether we choose to stay or go. I don't need someone from what has traditionally been a group of sacred cows to preach unionism or solidarity to me. I don't mean to be harsh (really), but it's a slap in the face to the remaining NTBUs to be treated by anyone as less than what we are.

In solidarity,
Dawn