General Discussion

Always have been; always will be. Years ago, my mother and I went to Chicago and as we pulled up to the hotel that we had booked, the workers were out front, picketing. I went into the vestibule where the pay phones were (this was in pre-cell phone days), called the front desk, cancelled my reservation and told them why. They said they would charge me for the room anyway and I said "Then I'll take it up with Mastercard." One of the picketers handed us a list of union hotels in the area and we ended up at one down the block which cost twice as much and wasn't nearly as nice, but to me, it was principle of the thing. The first thing I did when we got in the room was call Mastercard and explain the situation. I told them I never crossed a picket line in my life and I wasn't about to start then. Never heard anything more about it.

Besides never having crossed a picket line; I boycott Starbucks because they're anti-union (and I LOVE their chai tea lattes); I once booked a flight with a layover to Vegas because the pilots were on strike at the airline I always used that had non-stop flights; and when I drive past any picketers, I always honk and give them a thumbs up. I will ALWAYS support workers until the day I kick. Believe that.

And I get so disgusted when I hear people badmouthing unions. I want to ask those people do you have a 40 hour work week?; do you get paid overtime?; do you have health insurance?; do you have PTO? do you have a retirement account? do you have long and short term disability? Thank the unions, they got that for you. I have always believed that when the unions fight for their members, they fight for everybody. We all benefit.