{"id":2011,"date":"2011-03-02T11:11:28","date_gmt":"2011-03-02T18:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2025-11-02T21:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T04:13:10","slug":"a-little-out-of-control-teamsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/?p=2011","title":{"rendered":"A little out of control Teamsters!"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of my paying job I often exhibit at conferences.\u00a0 We are a small company and do what we can to keep our costs down so we can get our product sold & known to those who want to buy it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

So I fly Southwest whenever I can because they let me check 2 bags for free.\u00a0 And I often stay in a cheaper hotel near the conference if I can.\u00a0 All these little things I\/we do to make sure we aren’t overspending. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile many conferences are hiring out the set up & break down to separate companies.\u00a0 The hotel doesn’t do\u00a0 it anymore.\u00a0 Noooo, a new company does.\u00a0\u00a0 A third entity you have to sign paperwork with.\u00a0 (don’t even get me started on the 4th entity I have to send money to so I can have a power source for my booth)\u00a0\u00a0 Whatever.\u00a0 I’ve never cared how or why a conference chooses to do the things they do.\u00a0 I go, I set up, I sell, I pack up, I leave.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ah.. but everyone has got to take a cut.\u00a0 I read\u00a0 this in the most recent contract:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Teamster Union has jurisdiction over the operation of all material handling equipment, all unloading and reloading, and the handling of empty containers.\u00a0 An Exhibitor may move materials that can be hand carried by one person, in one trip, per company, without the use of a handcart or dollies or other mechanical equipment\u00a0 into the Fairmont Hotel.\u00a0 All Private vehicles will be unloaded\/loaded at a charge of $127.00 per 100 lbs with a 200 lb minimum per vehicle.\u00a0 This price includes the unloading and loading after the conference.\u00a0 See Freight Rate Schedule enclosed.\u00a0 Use of the Loading Dock is EXCLUSIVE to Union unloading and loading your materials.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Oh!\u00a0 My!\u00a0\u00a0 GOD! \u00a0\u00a0 I have to pay some organization $250 to unload my car when I can do it perfectly well myself!\u00a0 And you know these overpaid assholes will be too overworked to get to me right when I arrive, so I get to wait and wait until they deign to unload my car!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ah.. but clever little me has a way around it.\u00a0 See, I arrive with all my product in my luggage.\u00a0 And my luggage all clips together like a train.\u00a0 Which I pull myself, in one trip, without the use of a dollie or hand cart and it certainly doesn’t qualify as a “mechanical” device<\/em>!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And if one person gives me hassle, I’m going to pull that notice out and tell him rather forcefully that, “This is BULLSHIT and extortion and not only should he be ashamed to be part of it, but THIS is the reason UNION’s have such a bad rap.” <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

They are out of control.\u00a0 I often wonder if they aren’t under this cycle:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 pay dues so one person can fight for the group… oh shit, they’re paying me I’d better do something for them…. I’ll ask for higher wages, more benefits or something… wow that fight took a lot of time I’d better up the dues.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Has anyone measured the impact of Unions on the Economy… now THAT is a PhD Thesis I’d like to read.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Umm…. rant over… back to our regularly scheduled humorous blogs…. when my blood pressure goes down.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of my paying job I often exhibit at conferences.\u00a0 We are a small company and do what we can to keep our costs down so we can get our product sold & known to those who want to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-twirling-my-skirt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2011"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3205,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions\/3205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.heatherbarton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}