silverbird1100

I'm a union fella myself and I do NOT subscribe to the idea that any other man or woman should tell me what's good for me and my family.

Keeping it Real

Yes there are some that will brutally tell you that your a scab, vagrant, and violating everything your "supposed" to know about being a union member and the importance of of the "brotherhood". However, if you have bills to pay and mouths to feed, fuck 'em all. When they all come back to work you could (likely) among your peers and this will be done in the most passive agressive way possible, just short of causing an HR event. This is the risk you will be taking if you decide to cross the picket line, and the picket line will NOT be forgiving. They certainly aren't in New England.

Best wishes brother. You will NOT be alone in dealing with the uncomfortable nature of this decision. If you have enough finances to hold you over I would advise you to make an earnest attempt to NOT cross the picket line for as long as possible. If you have to fold at some point the "union brothers & sisters" will hopefully understand.

An ideal situation is to understand the position of management and get personally active in helping to negotiate the contract. I was part of the contract negotion team in 2016 for IBEW 1718 and the attitude from management was palpable, but reaching an agreement and maintaining work continuity was very important to them. A strike USED to carry a lot of weight but now there are law firms, and orgnizations that are specifically hired to break up strikes and utilize all avenues (news, social media, etc) to spin the strike into an image that will forever tarnish the reputation of the union and it's members. I've seen unions get busted up because of greedy members that are unable to articulate "why" they/re asking for changes in the labor contract.

At this point the union should be holding meetings regularly to ensure a decorum of union personnel are actively participating and maintain a majority throughout the process. This is what we did in 2016 and it was instrumental in reaching a labor agreement before expiration of the current contract.