First off let me say that I am glad to be in a union. I just think (RR) unions are going in the wrong direction right now.

The unions spend most of their time and money protecting the weak. Most of the hard working employees get less hassle from managers, and if a hard working employee is involved in an incident they are *more* likely to get the problem swept under the rug or downgraded. The useless and unproductive employees (and there are plenty where I work in Portland) take advantage of the union protection. The kill trains on purpose, work slow using "safety" as an excuse instead of a means, show up late to work, get out of the shack late, take lunches longer than instructed, etc... I could go on an on.

If the we didn't have a seniority based society (thanks to the union) and people actually had to perform to be able to hold the preferred jobs then productivity would sky rocket. As it stands now, the most useless, old head, good for nothing piece of work gets to hold the best jobs just because he's been here longer... Ridiculous.

I'm all for what the unions have done in the past to get us here now, it's just time the change direction. It's not the 1800's anymore.

So, in response to productivity.... A non union railroad where people are rewarded for hard work has the ability to produce a far more productive workforce. I see it first hand everyday, I work with non-union railroads as well as my own.