[Hoot Gibson]

Wow, we see things completely different in the beginning of our years, and the later years. From my experience from starting at at Ashland Oil, the workers have been forced to do more in a days work. In my early days we too laughed and joked and worked, but you had more of "protect the other worker" mentality back then. I have saw several workers "run off", just on this small project, with a no rehire for the contractor. It is now a dog eat dog business, mainly because of having tons more non union contractors around. My union has even adopted a Standard of Excellence, as of late. It is an agreement with contractors that we provide quality, drug free workers that give a good days work, and it also includes punishing the slackers, and ultimately, kick them out of the union. It's funny how you see things as better back in your day, and not good now, when it's completely the opposite.


http://www.ua.org/docs/sfe_brochure.pdf

That is all good news for private sector unions and the companies that have contracts with them...but with public sector unions, things are worse than they ever were with the private unions. The slackers to whom I referred were the exceptions at most UMWA operations where I worked and in the one Steelworkers factory at which I briefly worked (during a miners' vacation period) in the 80s.

Deadbeats flourish in public sector unions and when their managers get fed up with their impact on productivity and morale, they are much more likely to be transferred to another agency than to be terminated. There are still many more good, hard working Americans in public sector unions but it is a shame that politicians have set up a system that provides little incentive for hard work and innovation.

What job in the private sector is a man like Obama qualified to perform? Would you hire him to manage any business that you owned? A man with his attitude toward private businesses would have a difficult time holding down a job if he did not work for the government.