I thought we should move this from Eric Johnson's Final Install Stories thread. In it, ChicAugur gave a great dissertation on Unions and I thank him for providing that perspective. It all started with my story on being hassled for being a business owner by a bunch of unhappy Union guys.

I see the past need for Unions and appreciate what their sacrifices have provided for all of us today. I see that they provide a stand against those who would hire cheap labor and keep their workers untrained. I also see a bunch of really lazy jerkoffs being protected from having to work hard and being paid a good wage to stand (or sit) around. I know a lot of Union guys and I tire of hearing the BS. It is a known fact that anyone who works too hard is told to slow down and be like everyone else. My favorite electrician broke away and started his own business and was ostracized for doing so.

ChicAugur posted that to be proper you should be raising the bar... That I do. My guys are paid above Union scale, I train them (and pay them while they're at CEDIA or local trainings), I give them benefits, they purchase AV equipment at my cost, etc. etc. I feel I run a legitimate business and I put a hell of a lot of time and effort into it. Thats why it pisses me off so much when they cut my wires and hide the cuts inside a hole between studs (shorted some of them, wired some out of phase and left others unconnected), kick my expensive drill, and basically make me feel like my ass is about to get kicked... all while eight of them are doing the work that three hard workers could do in a day.

I like the argument that started in the other forum. It is informative and deserves its own place... besides, it makes Eric look too hard for what he started the post looking for.