Don, I will get to you in a minute.

Patrish, we are seeing more and more of this type of shite as the labour laws are progressively weakened to allow companies more "flexibility". Read that as the ability to pad the bottom line at the expense of the worker. Some horse's ass will get a bonus for cutting cost by getting rid of your husband, and others like him, that believed the company would live up to their promise. I am very sorry to hear how it went, and as a Union Rep/Activist of about a quarter century, I would have been happy to assist in any way I could have. Unfortunately it is already past the stage where that would be possible.

DonMeixner, I have always respected most of what you contribute here. But I must tell you that I tire of the "broad brush" you paint men and women in my profession with. I am sorry you have had bad experiences with Unions. I will bet you have been to restaraunts you didn't like, did you quit eating out? I will bet there are politicians that got elected that you didn't like, did you quit voting? I will bet you have been to shows that were poorly run, did you quit using shows to sell your beautiful works? The point is that Unions and Union Reps come in all shapes and sizes. There are hundreds of thousands of Locals in the States alone. Some are more effective than others, and their effectiveness is related to the current state of labor law, among other things. But let me state one thing categorically. I have met hundreds of Union Rep's in my life. The poor one is the anomaly....to hear folks like you talk, the good one is the anomaly. The overwhelming majority are driven by ideology and work long hours fighting hard against this type of thing. Usually their devotion is at the expense of their families. I take umbrage at the notion that most, or even many, Rep's are driven by anything less than a desire to represent workers and their families in the best possible way. And by the way, the pay isn't as good as I could make in private industry as a Labor Relations Specialist.

Mick