Right To Work ... What am I missing ?

[clublights]

thats funny i always felt that union workers are freeloaders . as a matter of fact i have had the union try to take over a few places that i have worked and at least one place where i got the wage and benefits raised . unions have their place but its not for everyone . unions tend to bread laziness like a plague . some say you cant do this or that on a large scale without the union , not true . i have run crews in the hundreds and built some of the largest temporary structures on the planet (well at the time) , all nonunion . of course i have also had union members come to my house (it did not work for them) to try to threaten me because i believe in the right to work without joining or paying into a union . forcing people to join a union or forcing business to use union will drive small business in the toilet and make big ones leave the country . we as a nation wonder why everything is made overseas that was once made here , lets just say unions played a big part in ruining it for everybody (imo).

not true (at least in entertainment ), i have had the unions from all over the country ask me to help find them help for their gigs but strangely i have never had to call them . yes the union gets mad when the labor contract goes to someone like me cause they cant fill the bill .

I thought I remembered you being a staging/rigger guy ...... as an LD I know all too well how bad local unions can be ( not just Denver.... try getting anything done and done RIGHT in a union house in NYC... UGH.. )

Yeah the Local ITASE has staffing issues .. I've been asked to be on the call list.. but as someone with 20 years in the biss I'm not going to go back to kicking carpet at the convention center... I put in my hard work dues long ago. hard to go back ..

I was just saying I understood the point of view that they spent 20 years paying union dues and now the newbies get to come in and get the same or damn close wages/benefits and not pay the dues / work the union did.

THe production company I work for mainly is basically 5 main people... 3 of them in the same family LOL (husband wife son) Trying to unionize us would be crushing defeat.. and even if somehow we did .. it would just destroy the small company that we are.

[alxone]

I thought I remembered you being a staging/rigger guy ...... as an LD I know all too well how bad local unions can be ( not just Denver.... try getting anything done and done RIGHT in a union house in NYC... UGH.. )

Yeah the Local ITASE has staffing issues .. I've been asked to be on the call list.. but as someone with 20 years in the biss I'm not going to go back to kicking carpet at the convention center... I put in my hard work dues long ago. hard to go back ..

I was just saying I understood the point of view that they spent 20 years paying union dues and now the newbies get to come in and get the same or damn close wages/benefits and not pay the dues / work the union did.

THe production company I work for mainly is basically 5 main people... 3 of them in the same family LOL (husband wife son) Trying to unionize us would be crushing defeat.. and even if somehow we did .. it would just destroy the small company that we are.

yep stage builder and rigger but mostly a crew leader / labor provider . also helped to start crewing company (largest independent labor company in baltimore for the biz and is still around) .the only reason we got that going was because i hate the lazy union steel hands (stage builders ) . nothing like trying to put head blocs up and having your ground pounders running off for a dam,n doughnut . when i was the production/stage manager of the sunshine theater (abq mn ) , i would get a call every week from the union begging me to let them in . but like the company you work for it would have killed the place and made ticket prices too high . unions have their place but it should never be a requirement .

[alxone]

if you have seen me near am outdoor stage in the past 14 years i was ether in charge of or provided the labor (with a few exceptions) . nonunion has always kicked the crap out of union on the job site . load out is always faster , less talk back and i can use my own tools and toys in nonunion cites . hell i did a build up north (union) where out of 36 steel hands 1 had a hammer that could be used .

[clublights]

when i was the production/stage manager of the sunshine theater (abq mn ).

I worked at the Sunshine in the early 90's when it was a nightclub. Did security for em way back then ! I grew up in the ABQ. got my start in lighting in some of the clubs in the area.. Ritual and UN... if you were around any back then .

Damn small world sometimes!

[alxone]

I worked at the Sunshine in the early 90's when it was a nightclub. Did security for em way back then ! I grew up in the ABQ. got my start in lighting in some of the clubs in the area.. Ritual and UN... if you were around any back then .

Damn small world sometimes!

nope i didnt mover to nm till 2006 and got out in 2010 and in the biz its even smaller than you think . i bet we have met or at least worked on the same big gig at some point