Does being a union member make you sick?

[train]

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com...ederal-bureaucrats-laid-low-by-union-disease/

So does joing a union weaken your immune system or is this just another case of taxpayer abuse by public sector unions whose membership book off with paid sick leave at the rate of 2.5 times that of the private sector.

 

[oldjones]

Not even a question mark? Glad to see the your openmindedness remains consistent.

In forty some years of working in the private sector, I never had a job with any sort of sick-leave plan, and although I sometimes was told ad hoc that I could book the a sick day or days, no work meant no pay. I'd suggest that such policies might just skew the comparison between public and private. I think the phrase is 'apples and oranges'.

Anyway, no work=no pay guaranteed that whatever was going around was sure to get everyone, and made sure they put in at least a day of dangerously substandard 'work' before not showing up the next day. I can think of more than one instance of costly and painful accidents caused by people who should have been at home.

But as I get tired of asking: Where are the managers, and what are they doing? Sick perhaps, as one notes the non-union public sector booked off at twice the private sector's rate.

 

[onthebottom]

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com...ederal-bureaucrats-laid-low-by-union-disease/

So does joing a union weaken your immune system or is this just another case of taxpayer abuse by public sector unions whose membership book off with paid sick leave at the rate of 2.5 times that of the private sector.

There is all sorts of disfunction in these contracts... this is just one...

Public Sector Union jobs are largely unaccountable positions, those retained are chosen by seniority not performance.

OTB

 

[oldjones]

There is all sorts of disfunction in these contracts... this is just one...

Public Sector Union jobs are largely unaccountable positions, those retained are chosen by seniority not performance.

OTB

Not at all a sweeping statement. And universally true, no matter the country, the union or the work. Thanks be the military doesn't work that way.

Would this be an inappropriate time to ask how GM chose the managers who we had to bail out? Thanks be they were held accountable for the losses to shareholders and pensioners. To say nothing of Saturn and Pontiac owners and dealers.

Performance all the way!

 

[msog87]

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com...ederal-bureaucrats-laid-low-by-union-disease/

So does joing a union weaken your immune system or is this just another case of taxpayer abuse by public sector unions whose membership book off with paid sick leave at the rate of 2.5 times that of the private sector.

I work in the public sector and alot of my coworkers abuse sick time. that article just shows you the tip of the iceberg, many ppl claim mental illness or bogus injuries and stay off work for months. I know one guy who has been home for over 6 months bc apparently his doctor says he has unresolved mental health issues its completely bogus. if someone takes off 3 sick days in a row, its only counted as one day bc it is consecutive so many ppl take at least 2 days off in a row at a time. ppl in my union think this is their right to take all these unnecessary days off bc our management and the higher ups get many benefits such as 6 weeks vacation plus sick time so my peers get jealous, the union also stirs the pot it doesnt encourage this behaviour but all theyb do is send out propaganda against management and the so called greedy rich. the whole public sector is like this. we waste money on everything not just salaries and benefits

 

[msog87]

I know one guy who has been off a total of a few months this year and all he does is complain about how our workplace is ripping him off bc they owe him this vacation day and that, its really fuckin sickening considering he hardly works a full work week every week let alone had months off you guys are probably not believing this but its 100% true just complete insanity

 

[msog87]

myself I don't abuse it ive only had a few this year but everytime ive been off work I havnt been sick. I will be taking more bc the attitude is if you don't you are an idiot and thats somewhat true

 

[basketcase]

IMO it depends on a job. Any employee who works with the public should be encouraged to take time of when sick so not to spread it to their clients. Others should be expected to work despite little sniffles. As a private sector worker in a small company, I can usually 'work from home' when sick without any pay hits. I won't complain if workers in unions have a system to do the same.

As for abuse, any bureaucracy or big organization will have them, union or not and likely the stats are skewed by private sector jobs where there is no such thing as sick days.

 

[shakenbake]

I work in the public sector and alot of my coworkers abuse sick time. that article just shows you the tip of the iceberg, many ppl claim mental illness or bogus injuries and stay off work for months. I know one guy who has been home for over 6 months bc apparently his doctor says he has unresolved mental health issues its completely bogus.

And whose fault is that? The patient or the physician who approved the sick leave? Who can better judge if the illness is bogus or bona fide? To get sick leave of that sort, it must be medically approved. Are you saying that a phsyician is not to be trusted?

 

[shakenbake]

IMO it depends on a job. Any employee who works with the public should be encouraged to take time of when sick so not to spread it to their clients. Others should be expected to work despite little sniffles. As a private sector worker in a small company, I can usually 'work from home' when sick without any pay hits. I won't complain if workers in unions have a system to do the same.

As for abuse, any bureaucracy or big organization will have them, union or not and likely the stats are skewed by private sector jobs where there is no such thing as sick days.

Agreed, 100 %.

Also, in the federal government, there is NO short term diability. After two days illness, you better have a physician's certificate to show you were really sick. I don't know how it is provincially or in the municipal government. The last few jobs I had in the private sector, there was short term disability for up to three months. For the feds, no short term disability; it's unemployment insurance benefits if you use up your sick days. So, you are not to use up your sick days wrecklessly. Personally, at my age, it is important to have a safety net for me and my loved ones if I need time off for an operation or if I have to recover from a heart attack.

 

[msog87]

And whose fault is that? The patient or the physician who approved the sick leave? Who can better judge if the illness is bogus or bona fide? To get sick leave of that sort, it must be medically approved. Are you saying that a phsyician is not to be trusted?

without getting into specific details, I know its a scam, we all do. alot of doctors are real pushovers and have long established relationships with their patients. you need the right doctor to get away with this shit

 

[Aardvark154]

Does being a union member make you sick?

While I don't know about that I do know that new studies show that working Mid-Watches (Third Shift) increases your risk of major cancers.

 

[shakenbake]

without getting into specific details, I know its a scam, we all do. alot of doctors are real pushovers and have long established relationships with their patients. you need the right doctor to get away with this shit

What you have said doesn't say much for the credibility of the medical profession, does it? Do we need checks and balances in this system? I once recall that a relative of mine had to go on sick leave and it had to be approved, not only by thier physician, but also the company doctor.

 

[onthebottom]

And then there are public union employees wanting to paid to protest....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/wisconsin-teachers-sick-out-protest_n_866893.html

 

[K Douglas]

Most employers out there don't have a structured sick plan per se but if you get sick the vast majority will generally cover a reasonable amount of days. I remember back in 2000 I had a bad virus and missed work for a week. It was a small company and I had only been there for just over a year but I was covered fully.

Public union employees have abused their privileges and we the taxpayer get stuck for it. I've been calling for a banishment of public unions for everyone except firefighters, police and paramedics for years. And this banking of sick days is ludicrous how much has that cost us over the years?

 

[Anbarandy]

Most employers out there don't have a structured sick plan per se but if you get sick the vast majority will generally cover a reasonable amount of days. I remember back in 2000 I had a bad virus and missed work for a week. It was a small company and I had only been there for just over a year but I was covered fully.

Public union employees have abused their privileges and we the taxpayer get stuck for it. I've been calling for a banishment of public unions for everyone except firefighters, police and paramedics for years. And this banking of sick days is ludicrous how much has that cost us over the years?

Banishment of the accumulated sick days of the TPS? Let's not forget the famous quote of compensation for 'wear and tear' of TPS staff and rank and file.

 

[groggy]

On the flip side, I'm a freelancer and wish I had access to sick leave, unemployment and a host of other benefits that unions have fought long and hard for.

 

[slowpoke]

Most employers out there don't have a structured sick plan per se but if you get sick the vast majority will generally cover a reasonable amount of days. I remember back in 2000 I had a bad virus and missed work for a week. It was a small company and I had only been there for just over a year but I was covered fully.

Public union employees have abused their privileges and we the taxpayer get stuck for it. I've been calling for a banishment of public unions for everyone except firefighters, police and paramedics for years. And this banking of sick days is ludicrous how much has that cost us over the years?

Why are you exempting cops, firefighters and paramedics from your proposed banishment of public unions? Is it because they are perceived (and endlessly glorified by the the US film industry) to be risking their lives for the public good? Or is it all about those spiffy uniforms?

I'm not so sure about paramedics but your cops and firefighters are among the highest paid of our unionized public servants. And I could be wrong but the risk of serious injury or death in the workplace seems no greater for your favoured few than it is for TTC drivers / ticket collectors, long distance transport drivers and lots of other occupations. The educational / special skills requirements to become cops or firefighters are nothing special so why exactly have you fixated on these occupations and excluded everyone else? And are you sure you didn't forget to include prison guards, game wardens, border / customs services, airport security and CSIS staff from your "special" list? They also have nice uniforms and many are allowed to carry firearms so they must be OK, right?...

 

[oldjones]

…edit…Public union employees have abused their privileges and we the taxpayer get stuck for it. I've been calling for a banishment of public unions for everyone except firefighters, police and paramedics for years. And this banking of sick days is ludicrous how much has that cost us over the years?

Actually, once vthe employer agreed to a contract with those provisions they became contractual rights, not privileges. Unfortunately, by focussing on the unions and their members who—just like everyone else—get sick and want a fair system of leave, you're ignoring the half of the equation you actually can influence. The management negotiators who report to the City Council you and I elect. They signed off on all those provisions. Presumably because Councillors get a lot of phone calls saying stuff like, "I don't #$%^&* care! Just get the garbage/TTC/schools/…, going!!!" and relatively few saying, "No sick days." six months or so ahead of bargaining, when they set their strategy.

What did yours answer you?

In the foolish hope that there might be a thoughtful discussion of the concept of sick leave, I'd advance the notion that some version of it should be a universal assumption in any and every employer/employee situation. I am well aware of how difficult such stuff is to define and put into hard language, but the default should be that it is recognized as a basic and proper part of every job and not merely an employer's whim, or worse witheld under threat of dismissal.

 

[K Douglas]

Banishment of the accumulated sick days of the TPS? Let's not forget the famous quote of compensation for 'wear and tear' of TPS staff and rank and file.

I don't support banking of sick days for anyone including the TPS.