People who are now working for unions, is there any info on how to get one started where there is non-union only? I see the only people that are gone are basically non-union. Is it good? Why would we not start one?
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A union is just a business whose job is to get between employees and their company. It’s not a partnership, because the company doesn’t want to participate. And of course, employee’s pay dues. To be RIFed anyway, just with another layer of permission.
Too late now. There have been many opportunities over the last 30 or so years. Retail and salesman types are of a different mindset I guess.
Everything has its pluses and minuses. No different with a Union. With these Rifs its a plus to be in the Union. From a technicians perspective. Especially where I have read non Union techs were riffed. With that said I know of a number of techs if offered would leave/retire.
A Heartfelt Message to a New CEO: Why Keeping the Union Matters for Facilities and Building Engineers
As you step into your role as CEO, you inherit not only a company, but the trust, history, and hard-earned stability built by generations of workers — especially the facilities and building engineers who keep operations running every single day. They are the first to arrive when something breaks, the last to leave in a storm, and the ones who protect the company’s infrastructure long before most people even realize there was a threat.
These workers operate behind the scenes, yet everything depends on them: network reliability, climate control, emergency response, equipment safety, power continuity, and the integrity of every site under your leadership. They carry years — often decades — of expertise, and their union has been the structure that ensures that this expertise stays within the company instead of walking out the door.
Unions were not formed to be obstacles; they were formed because history taught us that workers need a voice. Facilities and building engineers have always been a special case. Their jobs are physically demanding, technically complex, and often dangerous. They respond to winter storms at 2 AM, shelter-in-place emergencies, chemical hazards, electrical failures, and remote site breakdowns. They do this quietly, with pride, because they know their work matters.
The union is what ensures they can perform these responsibilities with fairness, safety, stability, and a sense of partnership. It creates the mutual respect that allows these essential workers to give the company everything they have — because they know they’ll be treated as the professionals they are.
History shows us what happens when unions disappear in technical fields like this:
Skilled workers leave for safer or better-compensated roles.
Staffing shortages grow, and coverage becomes dangerously thin.
Safety issues rise when seasoned engineers are replaced by less experienced labor.
Response times lengthen, increasing liability and operational risk.
Institutional knowledge — the kind you cannot buy or teach overnight — is lost.
In facilities and building engineering, losing experienced union talent isn’t just inconvenient. It’s risky.
As CEO, you are responsible not only for financial outcomes but also for continuity, safety, and corporate resilience. A strong relationship with a strong union supports all three. It reduces turnover, increases accountability, and maintains a stable workforce that can protect company assets year-round — especially during emergencies when the business depends on them most.
Keeping the union is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of wisdom.
It says: We value the people who protect this corporation. We want their expertise. We want their loyalty. We want them here for the long haul.
A unionized engineering workforce is a partnership — one that has proven again and again that when workers feel respected, the entire organization becomes stronger, safer, and more efficient.
As you guide the company into its next chapter, preserving this partnership honors not only the past, but the future. It ensures the backbone of the company — its infrastructure and the people who maintain it — remains protected, reliable, and prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead.
You really must want to totally TANK Verizon!!
@OP Our grandparents didn’t fight for unions because it was easy—they fought because it was necessary. Their sacrifices gave us the protections many take for granted today: safe workplaces, fair wages, reasonable hours, and a voice on the job. None of that came freely.
A strong union isn’t a barrier to progress; it’s a partner in it. Skilled, trained, dedicated union workers protect company assets, ensure safety, and bring the experience that keeps operations running when it matters most. That stability is a competitive advantage, not a cost.
Honoring the legacy of those who came before us means strengthening—not shrinking—the union. It means recognizing that a company’s success is built on the people who show up every day with pride, expertise, and commitment.
We carry their torch. And growing the union is how we secure a strong future for both workers and the corporation they help build.
@aa I dont think fairness allows the cr-p employee to get the same raise and pay scale as a good employee.
Unions are like an HOA. It sounds good until you are in on and get the rulebook. You then realize they are only out for themselves and the leaders of the union do what they can to stay in leadership.
@a9 good job copy and pasting my post. But yes there are two sides to this coin. It depends on your situation and how much risk-benefit ration you want to take on.
@a6 Sounds like it's based on fairness, not so arbitrary and playing favorites. And, they can't hold high pay or experience against you and spin it as a negative. Where do I sign up?
RIFS and layoff protect neither low performers nor top performers. They standardize firings so that your lazy coworker (everyone knows one) is as likely to be let go as the guy who puts in 110% every day. They make it so that in a RIF, no matter the seniority there's no rhyme or reason other than they don't like experience, high pay, age, even if that’s the 110% guy, they'll keep the low paid foreigner. If the guy has knowledge and seniority he is dead. Forget merit based past promotions, those are banned from consideration. No matter how hard you work, the fact that you're at will dictates your outcome. I know this is good in some situations (bad management) but it’s just something to take into account.
@a6 this is the information I was looking for, thank you
Do unions protect employees from BAD managers, yes. However they also protect low performers. They standardize pay scales so that your lazy coworker (everyone knows one) is making the same as the guy who puts in 110% every day. They make it so that in a RIF, whoever has the least seniority gets laid off first, even if that’s the 110% guy. If the lazy guy has seniority he is safe. Forget merit based raises or promotions, those are banned. No matter how hard you work, the contract dictates your outcome. I know this is good in some situations (bad management) but it’s just something to take into account.
@a2 they just got done closing a sh-t ton of stores in my state, only ones left are in bigger cities. I feel as though now is the time.
@a1 I'm not from Ohio, I'm from Louisian, idk if it matters. I'm genuinely asking because I have no clue at all.
Contact the Communications Workers of America (CWA) if interested in unionizing. They are always looking to expand in the V. But beware, the company will do everything in its power to crush your efforts, including closing stores. August 1 is the deadline for contracts with about 25,000 union workers in the Northeast, and the company is in no position to endure a strike. Many potential scabs just got laid off and selections for strike training delayed until 2026. So now is the time to unionize, go on strike and crush what's left of Diaper Danny's Dwindling House of Cards.