Funny stuff, the union screwed with the food donation for the hungry, making it the worst donation in a long time, and then had the food shipped to a whole other city an hour away, all over 20% of a building contract.

Union workers fire backover Hunger Center scrap Thursday, May 19, 2005 MIKE THOMPSON THE SAGINAW NEWS John E. Clemens has an answer for critics of labor leaders who protested the Saginaw East Side Soup Kitchen's inclusion in this year's suddenly controversial postal carriers food donation drive. The Soup Kitchen and Hidden Harvest picked a low-bidding nonunion contractor for electrical work on a new facility, and the 57-year-old Clemens is recording secretary for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 557. "I've worked (a combined) one year out of the past three," Clemens said after Wednesday's Saginaw Labor Council session. "My unemployment is down to $150 per week." The Soup Kitchen is an example of an agency that welcomes donations from union workers but then disregards them in construction projects, Clemens said. Pamela Cole and Rich Premo, directors of the Soup Kitchen and Hidden Harvest, have answered that union members will perform 80 percent of the work on a $3.1 million Hunger Solutions Center under construction at East Genesee and Thompson. Saturday's 13th annual food drive through Branch 74 of the National Association of Letter Carriers produced a record low of 43,000 pounds. "Our members are also hungry," said Joseph F. Smith, labor council president and Teamsters Local 476 business agent. Smith announced in March that because of the nonunion electrical work at the hunger center, the Teamsters would not participate in the food drive and would not provide volunteers to drive collection trucks. Branch 74's Forrest Robison reacted with a request for two trucks from the Flint-based regional Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, which honored the plea. He said subsequent publicity confused residents into perceiving that their donations would go to Flint families instead of serving the Saginaw area's needy. In fact, everyone involved in both sides of the recent battle has acknowledged that food bank trucks would haul food temporarily to Flint for storage, but would return the goods to Saginaw for distribution. Cherrie Benchley, United Way interim president, said she has not yet made arrangements with the food bank to return the food to Saginaw for distribution to other agencies. Benchley and Michael D. McDonald, food bank vice president, both said they will allow the Soup Kitchen to receive a share of the food despite the union protests. v Mike Thompson covers poverty issues for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9691. © 2005 Saginaw News. Used with permission

Ugh... a soup kitchen isn't exactly loaded.  If a *charity* has to go the cheap route just to keep the organization in existance, then there isn't a problem.  Let them picket in front of someone who has enough money to make the choice.

EDIT:  Where's the story about the union that had their new local office built by non-union labor?

"I've worked (a combined) one year out of the past three," Clemens said after Wednesday's Saginaw Labor Council session. "My unemployment is down to $150 per week."

Wow! Rather than take a non-union job, that bastard is sitting on his ass sucking $150/week off the taxpayers!

I would cancel the whole union contract over the rest of that monkey business.

Wow. Where do I start?


In before the lock on page 16.......

BUT UNIONS PROTECT TEH AMERICAN WORKAR!!1

Unions are parasitic organizations.

Fuck Unions.
Just shows ya the true colors.  Don't pretend to be charitable, or only donate your shit to "unemployed union guys" if you're gonna be that much of a dick.

That's like me saying "The shelter didn't hire me to work on their computers, so fuck em, and the poor people they help!"  Yeah, that's helpful.

I will NEVER work another union job..
 Biggest bunch of children bitching about who gets to drive the better truck

Quoted: "I've worked (a combined) one year out of the past three," Clemens said after Wednesday's Saginaw Labor Council session. "My unemployment is down to $150 per week." Wow! Rather than take a non-union job, that bastard is sitting on his ass sucking $150/week off the taxpayers! I would cancel the whole union contract over the rest of that monkey business.

"Unions...Work Less, Make More.  Keep America Strong?"   I feel sorry for the rank and file Joe Six-Packs that have to go along with this shit.  

Liberal Union Leaders will help bring the ruin of this nation.

The Soup Kitchen is an example of an agency that welcomes donations from union workers but then disregards them in construction projects, Clemens said.

Giving 80% of your contracts to union firms is "disregarding them"?  I'll bet the soup kitchen also welcomes donations from non-union workers but then disregards them.   I'm not in a union and it upsets me that they'll take my donation and only give 20% of their contracts to non-union workers.  I'm going to boycott them.  

Quoted: Wow. Where do I start? In before the lock on page 16.......

+1

Sheesh

Damn.... you just can't buy good publicity like that man.  Bravo!

The only thing that surprises me in this ordeal is that the unions managed to score even 80% of the contract.

I'm non-union right now (and always have been). I just don't see the point.

It's been my personal experience that non-union workers do a better job for less money: plain and simple. Perhaps I'm biased, but you should see some of the idiots from other trades that we're forced to put up with. How these people manage to hold onto their jobs is beyond me. I'm not even sure why they do it. Perhaps I'm just one of the lucky few, but I know for a fact that I make far more than any of the local union labor with the same "time-on-job". That's just my base pay.

Couple that with the fact that I'm working year-round at a minimum of 40 hours per week and I just don't see the point of union involvement. I can make it in the real world just fine, thank you. I don't need a big brother looking over my shoulder/watching my back to make sure that the big, bad Boss Man doesn't "get me".

Unions...pfft. Putting up with all that nonsense in hopes of a pension.

I'll save myself and my family the heartache and stress by wisely investing the extra money I make between now and my 60 year mark.

ASSHOLES!!!

"I've worked (a combined) one year out of the past three," Clemens said after Wednesday's Saginaw Labor Council session. "My unemployment is down to $150 per week."

I have nothning witty to add, it is just too pathetic.

Saginaw has some bad areas in the city, and I seriously wonder whether a Benton Harbor / St Joseph type riot will happen there in the near future.

My dad recently met a union steward from a job shop in nearby Bay City where I used to work (as a non union employee).  This union steward said conditions were so bad that the union had to accept concessions or the company would declare bankruptcy.  The vote was coming, and most members were not going to vote to give the company concessions.  The union steward was pissed and couldn't understand why the guys wouldn't vote to continue their employment while they looked for another job.

BTT for the lunch crew

MUWAHAHAHAHA... Saginaw!  WOW, talk about a city run by fuggin unions, talk about a STATE run by unions!  I am surprised God didn't put Saginaw and Flint on the coast with Kalifornia so they can all fall into the ocean at the same time, save us all some headaches.

God, please don't make me go back to that fucking horrible state.  Please.... send me to, I don't know... Zimbabwe or something, just not Saginaw, Michigan.

Three years on a DA-assigned recruiting tour!  Oh My God, what a bunch of self-centered pricks... God's gift to the U.S. nothing to do but smoke, drink, ride snowmobiles, ice fish (ice fish?) and riot over rival football game victories.  If I-75 didn't run through that state nobody would go there.  I think the entire population of that state is a bunch of Indiana residents that got lost one day.

It's not like Michigan is a state anyways, it's more like...  Canada's basement.
Sorry, umm.... oh there's my composure.

BTT