In Union Hell

Let me just say that I support unions. I have been a member of one in the past and I loved not being afraid to speak my mind, knowing I had job security. The awesome insurance benefits were a definite bonus as well. Unions are wonderful things when they do the job they were originally meant for...securing employment and safety of the employees.

I interpreted for a union meeting tonight and they spent 2 hours whining about the new employees' hourly wage (too low), and the insurance package their employer is offering (too expensive). I'm listening to the numbers they're tossing around, remaining as neutral as I can, and inside wanting to scream...get a real fucking job in the real world and stop whining! The new employees make more than I do after 6 years of employment with my agency, and their not-good-enough benefits are STILL better and less expensive than mine. To top it off, the officer with the gavel was right behind me and he seemed to really get off on using it. I was really close to shoving it somwhere very uncomfortable for him. I left with a pounding (no pun intended) headache.

I work for a non-profit agency and I love working for them. Sure, it has its share of problems and I wish some things were different and I had better insurance, but overall, it's a damn good place to work and the people are really great. With my profession, unless you work for a school district or a state, there really aren't unions for us. At the national conferences there's been talk of joining one, but it hasn't gone any farther than that. I think interpreters by nature are more independent and wouldn't easily fit into the groupthink union mold.

I left that meeting really angry, wishing those lunkheads would stop whining about having great pay and benefits and knowing why so many companies are shipping their work overseas. The headache is slowly going away, too.