Unions? In Florida? In Grocerty Stores? HUH????

jackster

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:23 PM
Original message

Unions? In Florida? In Grocerty Stores? HUH????

From Raw Story - this wasn't really the point of the story - it's really about a phone line left opened by someone at the International Republican Institute. This part got me though.

As the two attempted to determine if they had met before, Gates recounted her work history. When conversation turned to the state of Florida, a laughing Gates was clearly no longer the official voice of its Governor.

"I hated it," she said, "I’m a big city girl, and once you get outside of Tallahassee…" she drifted off.

"And it’s all union, everywhere," she said somewhat abruptly, before launching into a short tirade about union presence in grocery stores.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/IRI_former_Jeb_Bush_spokeswoman_spills_0609.html

I grew up close to Tallahassee and still have family there and as far as I know there isn't a big union presence anywhere down there.

Anyone else know about this?

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SteppingRazor

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:26 PM
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1. What?! It's a right-to-work state...

if you even say the word "union," you'll be fired.

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peace frog

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:31 PM
Response to Reply #1

5. Ditto that

I survived a very nasty attempt to bring a union into a telecomm workplace. You could say the individual who tried to organize the workers was forced to leave the organization under less than cordial circumstances. Florida is not just a right ot work state, it is bitterly anti union.

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Crowdance

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:28 PM
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2. I think Publix's cashiers are still unionized.

People can actually earn a living wage there, one of the reasons I buy my food there when I'm in Fla.

But most grocery stores there are not unionized.

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SteppingRazor

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:30 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. Again, it's a right-to-work state...

There are no unions here. Attempts at unionizing are crushed simply through the firing of the unionizers. If the Publix cashiers are union members, it's certainly news to me -- and, of course, not all of them would be. In fact, the vast majority would probably not belong to the union.

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MADem

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:38 PM
Response to Reply #3

6. There are few union workers, but there are SOME

The US Department of Labor reported that in 2002, 380,000 of Florida's 6,697,000 employed wage and salary workers were members of unions. This represented 5.7% of those so employed, down from 6.3% in 2001. The national average is 13.2%. In all, 507,000 workers (7.6%) were represented by unions. In addition to union members, this category includes workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union contract. Florida is one of 22 states with a right-to-work law.

http://www.city-data.com/states/Florida-Labor.html

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SteppingRazor

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:40 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Sure, but they're completely inconsequential...

Edited on Fri Jun-09-06 04:41 PM by SteppingRazor

If a union attempts collective bargaining, the employer will say no. If they strike, the employer will fire them and hire nonunion employees. In fact, I've heard numerous times that union membership here is actually a detriment to employment -- as soon as employers realize you're a union member, they look for another candidate.

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acmejack

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Fri Jun-09-06 05:33 PM
Response to Reply #6

10. Government workers

They'll be next, they're done with the airlines and the ATC, the car manufacturers and Delphi, just a few unions left to go.

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napi21

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Fri Jun-09-06 04:30 PM
Response to Original message

4. I don't think so!!! My husband works for a large grocery chain

headquartered in Fl, and the word "union" never even crosses the threshold!!!!

The only union grocers I know of in the East is Kroger, and I don't know what their presence is in fl.

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LouisianaLiberal

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Fri Jun-09-06 05:09 PM
Response to Reply #4

8. If that's WD, a friend told me that they show all new hires

a film intended to frighten them away from unions. Almost implying they're anti-American. The only grocer's unions I'm aware of is Krogers, and we don't have them here.

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napi21

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Fri Jun-09-06 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #8

9. Nope, it's Publix. WD has been loosig market share for a long time

and aren't really considered a major player anymore.

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Davis_X_Machina

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Fri Jun-09-06 09:08 PM
Response to Reply #4

11. There are quite a few...

...supermarkets in the NE that are unionized to some extent, though with the rapid mergers and spinoffs -- Albertson's, e.g. -- it's hard to keep track. UFCW (United Food and Clerical), Meatcutters, etc.

Shaw's was facing a strike not too long ago, at its warehouses, so there's a union in there.

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