Crossing a picket line

[Graymist]

What would you do if you're faced with a situation where the company that you work for "strongly urges" you to cross a picket line to deliver a load, but you feel uncomfortable doing so ( for whatever reason ) ? What options does one have in such a scenario ?

[bluebeetle]

Check with local authorities and see if it is legal to do so.

[Jimbpard]

Do your job. If they wanna be cry babies, let em.
If it gets real nasty, call the cops and your supervisor.

[Graymist]

Do your job. If they wanna be cry babies, let em.
If it gets real nasty, call the cops and your supervisor.

What makes it tricky is the part that I forgot to mention in the original post...I belong to a union myself !!

[Mr. Ford95]

Never cross a picket line if your union, just sit at home if you don't feel like marching around on the street. Good way to get yourself killed at worst and at best loose all your buddies plus getting booted from the union if you cross the line.

[Twilight Flyer]

I am not for unions myself, but if you're part of the union, you're expected to back up your union brothers and sisters. That's part of the reason you're in a union. So I agree with Mr. Ford....take the time off.

[Mackman]

I would not cross it.

Weather im union or not.

[Mr. Ford95]

I had a buddy who's dad was in a union for Bell Atlantic. They went on strike one year and he decided the heck with the union after a month of striking. He went back to work because he was nearly out of money to feed his family. It took his work friends a long time to forgive him over crossing the line and some never did forgive him even though he did it for his families sake. The next time they went on strike, just before the Verizon take over, he sat at home for all but one day of it. He walked only one day just to make it so his buddies didn't think he was crossing again.

What's the company going to do, fire you? If they fire you, they have to fire everyone else and that gives the union more ammo. The company will threaten you with being fired or when you do come back to work they are going to make it tough on you or whatever else they can think up, just let your union know when they start doing that stuff and you will be fine. Maybe take a day and walk with a billboard to show your in to your fellow union members but other than that, chill out at home.

[HWD]

Check with local authorities and see if it is legal to do so.

Do not check with the local "authorities", because it's NOT a legal issue; it's a loyalty issue. Besides, the cops don't know what's going on at a private employer until they see people lining the street with picket signs.

If you cross a picket line, you will forever be labeled a "scab". That term came about a long time ago, and a federal judge ruled that it's appropriate. Back in the day people could incur physical harm for crossing a picket line, and nobody in the picketing crowd would have seen anything. Nowadays, with unions becoming fewer and farther between, I doubt you would encounter bodily harm, but, still I guess going to work for the company that is trying to screw their work force, while said workers go without pay to keep their bargained benefits, depends on you and your own conscience.

I am in a union on my current gig, but it's a weak union and next contract we will probably be hung out to dry. We probably won't gain anything, and it will be considered a victory if we keep what we have now. But at the very same time there are alot of things I do not like about our union and unions in general. Chief among them, is their liberal persuasion and the fact that they want me to vote for Obama. I would rather be urinated on and set on fire than vote for Obama.

Long story short, you can cross if you want to, that's between you and yourself; me, I would not cross a picket line, whether at my own place of employment or any other place that was on strike.

By the way, unions typically only go on strike during contract negotiations, when the company side of the bargaining table is being recalcitrant. Strikes at other times are single issue strikes, commonly referred to as "wildcat" strikes, and are extremely rare.

As for someone above posting that their buddy went broke and scabbed across a picket line, here's the deal on that: if you are in a union shop, you KNOW when your contract comes up for renewal, years ahead of time. You KNOW ahead of time, based on conditions at your shop whether or not a strike is imminent - sometimes a couple YEARS ahead of time. Having said that, wouldn't the smart thing to do be to start saving money for the possibility of a strike? I would. I am doing that now.

[Stainless]

I agree with Mackman, I don't care what my company urges me to do, i would never cross a picket line, union brother or not.

[HWD]

What would you do if you're faced with a situation where the company that you work for "strongly urges" you to cross a picket line to deliver a load, but you feel uncomfortable doing so ( for whatever reason ) ? What options does one have in such a scenario ?

Based on what happened to me once, this might be an option if you choose this route. I assume you are a company driver? If so, you are in the midst of a quandry...cross and be labelled or respect the line and possibly jeopardize your own job. Here's what I did:

Back in the early '90s when I started driving, I had to pick up a load at a plant in Omaha. I got there and saw a picket line. I parked across the five lane highway in a lot directly in front of the plant and called inside. I told them I would not cross the picket line. They said "fine" and hung up. About an hour later, here comes 3 big forklifts across the highway, each with a large shrink wrapped pallet! The forklifts were being driven by managers who were no longer used to actually working, and being driven clumsily at that (at most union shops all levels of management are company, not union, and not allowed to strike). Anyhoo, they loaded me across the street and I left. Didn't have to cross the picket line, plus I didn't get dinged by my owner for failing to do as told!

[HWD]

dang it...

[HWD]

third time's the charm

[HWD]

Sorry, it (or me) posted the reply four times!

[Walking Eagle]

It would depend if "Your" union was supporting and sanctioning the strike. If they are not you won't get any support if you refuse to cross and the your company fires you.
During Pipeline construction up in Alaska I was in Teamsters 959 (You had to be in a union to work pipeline) and saw it several times where the pipefitters or plumbers or bathroom cleaners went on strike and if Jesse Carr didn't say 959 was honoring this strike you had better just go do your thing or would be outa work.
Check with your local union rep. and see if "Your" union is honoring it.

[BigWheels]

...I would rather be urinated on and set on fire than vote for Obama....

LMAO.

As an aside, urination and flames don't really mix.

But I do get your point!

[midnightlighting]

Well i have a family to support and i will no union or line tell me when i can and can not work sorry guys. The reason i say that is cause the union sometimes protects the stupidest people they should be kicked out the front door but no you have to go through certain steps and if you dont
repeat the same stunt within 6 months you are go to do it again.

[Walking Eagle]

BW think he got it backwards, think he meant set afire then p'ssed on

[Jimbpard]

Amen MidnightLighting!

If your a union employee, thats all fine and peachy (usually), but again, a union is why it cost you $40-$50k to buy a new pickup truck, because the unions are forcing companies to pay some low skilled worker $40/hr to push a button.

They can call me a scab, hemerhoid, or anything else they want, but sorry, I gotta go to work! I work to make money. Not friends.

[Windwalker]

It's been many years since I've been in a union and the only thing they did for me was lose money for me during a strike.. It's been some years since I was told to cross a picket line. But, when I approached the line, feelings were running high. I called the company and informed them that they could see equipment damage or worse. They called the police and I was escorted in, guarded while loading, and escorted out. When I was leaving the plant, it was a parade. I had 3 squads in front, and about 9 or 10 behind me. All the way out to the edge of town before they peeled off and turned around.