RE: How potentially embarrassing is this?
We've been without a contract where I work for over 6 months now. Negotiations are slow, limited in scope, and by law, we can't strike. Typically, we go without a contract for 15 months (on average) during "negotiations" every four years when our contracts expire.
Unlike the UAW and several other Unions I can readily think of, our Union doesn't represent "well/over paid workers". We probably couldn't afford to strike even if we weren't subject to legal/punitive measures if we did so. Being government employees, that's a good thing for the public, but very bad for negotiations in earnest on our behalf. If we COULD strike, we'd be capable of bringing the entire State of New York to a literal standstill. No one would be able to get to work, period.
When the average UAW worker is making three to four times my wage, it's hard for me to feel any pity on them when they can't reach an agreement with management - especially when their companies are LOSING MONEY and they don't want to help shoulder the load. Apparently, they're incapable of thinking about the future of their company. They want what they feel they deserve.......but when the company goes under because the UAW has been unwilling to give back "realistically" reasonable concessions, they'll have NOTHING - there will BE NO COMPANY to extract their exorbitant incomes from. THEN, what will they do?
My co-workers and I have become accustomed to doing more with less. We have dated/failing equipment, limited material, and a continually reducing work force. We can't strike for better wages, conditions, pensions, medical care....... and the UAW thinks we can continue to pay more for the products their members make.
Something's gotta give. Let 'em strike. You KNOW there will be someone willing to do the job for 75% of what the UAW pays NOW! They're called "foreign competitors".
Unions were a necessary evil at the turn of the 20th century. Now that OSHA and strict labor law enforcement exist, the Unions are an idea whose time has passed. I'm a Union member, and that's how I feel.