The point of unions is to protect their members who vote for them and have their best interests.
I used to be the Administrator of a Teamsters pension plan, many years ago. As a group, they aren't the sharpest pencils in the box. I used to think that they elected their delegates based on penis size, and bribed the Black members to not run for election. My ex boss was in the sauna with one of the union trustees, and described his member as 'a roll of tar paper'.
True Teamster stories:
One new retiree wanted to have his pension directly deposited to his bank account. Attached to his application was a blank cheque with "Avoid" written on it.
One caller lived at RR4, Sterling, Ontario. I didn't know at the time that it's near Peterborough. I asked him where Sterling was, and he said "It's about four miles from here".
A guy was applying for disability pension, with the commencement date based on the date his doctor signed the examining physician's statement. He didn't include all of the paperwork the first time, so I told him that he'd be paid from a specific date, but wouldn't have any money until well past that date. He said "That's OK, as long as it's paid radioactively".
One guy got his annual statement, and said "I've been working for xxxxxxxx Transport for 22 years and 9 months, and my statement says 22.750 years. Where's the other month and a half?".
I told that story to the vice-president of the Local union, and he said "So where is it?"
A guy had a scheme whereby he could increase the amount of his pension slightly by delaying his application. I told him that was true, but it would take 32 years to make up for the payment he didn't get at an earlier start date. He said "Oh...I think limited, eh.".
One guy brought an opened box of chocolate covered cherries to the union local Christmas party. Inside the box, all of the chocolates had a thumb-sized indentation, and sticky cherry syrup was everywhere. When asked why he'd done that, he said "I wanted to make sure there was a cherry in every one.".
On a life insurance claim, the doctor had listed the cause of death as "Anoxia due to hanging, accidental asphyxiation associated with sexual fetish".
A guy opened his wallet to take out his birth certificate so I could make a photocopy. Inside was a photograph of an attractive young lady. "That's my girlfriend", he said proudly. I told him that if his wife sees the picture, he should tell her it came with the wallet.
A caller's profile was missing the beneficiary information. I asked him if he had a spouse, and he said "Yes, dear.".
I phoned a guy, and his wife answered. I said "May I speak to Mr XXXXXXX?". His wife said "Speaking".
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