quitting a union

[huggytree]

anyone with experienced with getting out of a union?

im a 1 man shop, so there are no workers or actual union members...i assume this will make it easier

i am looking into joining ABC (the non union association of contractors)...they will provide me with health insurance

the union refuses to give me a retired-part timer..i cant have someone dictate the way i grow and a part timer is what will most likely make sense for me since i believe in conservative growth....

i will be consulting with a labor relations attorney soon

my 4 year worker contract ends this June....so i assume this would be the time to get out...i dont remember if i have to re-sign in June or not....id love it if it were as easy as simply not re-signing...im sure i need a legal letter/threat

the union rep originally told me i could just stop sending in dues and they'd let me go...i doubt that was true now

[Steve B]

It's hard to believe this is really America if it's that hard to get OUT of an organization. I'd be surprised if your union rep. wasn't correct.

Congratulations and good luck. Thankfully, I don't have any experience on that side of a Union. My experience was in keeping them OUT of the companies that I worked for.

[huggytree]

unions (like government agencies) are all about the money....they wont lose $1 they are entitled to..

i left a msg for a friend of a friend who quit the union...im going to get his lawyer....ill spend $500 to make sure its done right....if i cheap out and stop sending my dues in i dont want a $5,000 bill from the union and fight it in court....id rather make it short and sweet...i dont want to be the low hanging fruit...i want to appear as tough as possible...let them pick someone else to f##k with

[billbenson]

Out of curiousity huggy, will this affect your ability to get work with contractors or any other customers?

[huggytree]

most of my builders dont even know if im union or non-union...most are very conservative and i assume would prefer that im non-union.....i plan on keeping the union pricing...when they get raises i will give myself the same raise

it will have no effect as far as customers....ive had 1 customer(a homeowner) prefer that i was union before she did business with me...she ended up going with someone cheaper.

[maintenanceguy]

Being a one man operation should be very beneficial to you in getting out of the union. it is the bigger companies that they dont want to let go. I have never been on that side of things either, but I do know that a 200 employee company I worked for through my apprenticeship wanted out and it cost em right at a million bucks. They had to close up shop, reincorporate and so forth but the owner said was worth twice that to him. I think you will like abc. I was with associated builders and contractors for quite some time and never had any complaints. If that is the abc you are speaking of. Good luck!

[huggytree]

found out ABC doesnt have a health insurance pool....im stuck handling health insurance on my own...i am getting some quotes together...its a bit scary because of the pre-existing condition thing....my daughter went to the hospital a month ago with breathing issues...her Asma may be considered a pre-existing condition because it can be life threatening.....i may not be able to leave the union w/o paying for her asma out of my pocket.....

im barely working right now, so i dont even have any work for myself let alone an employee....but im expecting to be burried again within a few months...im planning way ahead of when i need to get out...i will be calling a lawyer later on in the week

[Steve B]

Good luck with the health insurance. We got denied coverage a few years ago when we applied because I had "seasonal allergies". Yes, that's right, a few weeks of the year I have to take Sudafed when the pollen count is high. They looked for any reason - no matter how small to deny coverage. When we finally got it - it has gone up 25% three years in a row. It went up again this year and we dread the thought of going through the application process again. I refuse to go to a doctor for fear anything I say can and will be used against me to deny me coverage.

[huggytree]

talked with someone who quit a union today...got a good lawyers name...he said it cost his company $1,600.....his sounded a bit more complex than mine and his union faught him a bit....im hoping to get it under $1,000

it all depends on health insurance....we will see how my quotes come in