Union workers - Guns & Voting

I'm union and I voted for Obama in '08, huge mistake. Although really, how much better would McCain have been in the grand scheme of things? I actually liked Romney and voted for him in '12. I can't see myself ever voting for another Democrat after Obama has come after the second amendment after saying that he wouldn't.

In reality, Democrats pay lip service to unions but they do nothing meaningful to help us. I realize that now. I wish more union members would recognize that. Money drives politics and the unions are small potatoes compared to the corporate interests and their lobbyists.

I like how a union cuts down on brown nosing and favoritism but dislike how it makes obvious losers sometimes tough to get rid of. In my profession everyone is unionized and if you aren't in, you still have to pay the same amount of money in "shop fees", only it goes to the company instead of the union and you don't get any of the union benefits.

Union & Voting

I am not in a union, but I am not anti union. I vote for issues that concern me and for those that profess to have the same views as I do.
This is getting harder to do because there are no longer any with moderate views on some of the non gun issues that mean almost as much to me as keeping my guns.

The companies I worked for made it mandatory to join or find work elsewhere. So I've been a Teamster and most recently Machinist Union, I'm retired now,draw a small teamsters pension, nothing from the machinst union. I've always had guns and I always voted for pro gun candidates, I was a registered Dem. until Obama was elected, I immediately, registered Rep.

I was in a union for 31. I have been voting for 45 years and never voted for a Democrat.
If I had it to do over again, I would have never joined. Labor unions are only good for protecting the people that don't want to work.

Aside for gang members and drug dealers; I am unaware of any other widespread group that often collectively uses violence and intimidation to achieve their goals.

I did not vote on this poll because I was a union worker for over 15 years and I'm now a company worker. I vote based on the Constitution and always have. I have only voted for a Dem once in my life and he was very pro gun.

I'm a teacher in California - and the union managed to get "agency fee" status with the district. That means you don't have to be a member, but you pay them the a fee anyway. So I joined and got myself elected to the Rep Council. Take my money, you'll hear my voice.

A dozen years ago, I was the Lone Conservative on the Council. Now we're at ~40%, and often sway half the others to vote with us. I live in the Central Valley of California, surrounded by oil and ag, and we're a red county in a blue state. The California Teachers Association would like us to shut up, but we continue to talk....

I'm a union pipefitter, for almost 40 years. I've never given a damn how the leadership voted or wanted us to vote.

I vote for the 2nd Amendment every single time. In my life I've voted for 2 Democrats, both of them state reps with an excellent 2A record. I grew up in Chicago, and never voted for the machine. In fact, if I even thought a candidate was part of the machine, I voted for his opponent. Never voted for King Richard the first, and wasn't there for his idiot offspring's reign.

I consider myself a libertarian, lower case 'L', not interested in the national party. Or perhaps an independent. Due to the so-called 2 party system, I find myself voting republican more often than not.

Pro-life, anti-socialism, and definitely pro-gun. It would be impossible for me to care less about how the union leadership wanted me to vote. When Gore was running, and all of the union sycophants wanted us to vote for him, I loudly refused. One of them asked me, "Do you think he's going to come for your guns in January?" really sarcastic. I told him of course not, he'll send some 18 year old kids to do his dirty work for him, maybe your kids.

End of discussion. LOL

I was a union member for 35 years the idea behind unions is great.Most of them are worse than worthless

As the song says I pay more for a tag in the back that says made in the USA!

I vote on the issues and always ask them point blank on 2A.

bamajoey said:

Labor unions are only good for protecting the people that don't want to work.

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That's funny, my union is only good for taking the money of those who work hard.

I vote 2A. I'm also in a union. Our union seems to be as much for the convenience of our employer as it is for the members. Our contracts are fairly neutral in terms of who benefits more. I do like my union, because it can step in to make sure that the contract is followed properly.

I was represented by the local teacher's association for 31 years and always voted Second Amendment. I never once voted for a Democrat in all that time, except when two Democrats were running against each other. In those situations, I tried to vote for the lessor of two evils. Usually, however, one was as bad as the other.

It's encouraging to see so many say they vote pro 2a even though they are union. The fact still remains that their dues went to elect those who acted counter to their wishes on gun matters in many cases.

Growing up, my dad was always in a union (pipefitter). I never thought about unions as being pro-democratic, because my father was never anything but conservative.

I was a union member for a few years before going back to college and politics was rarely mentioned in my small group of friends.

I have always voted for the issues (not the party), and 2nd amendments rights are one of the issues I vote for.

I was not going to vote in this thread since I am from Canada, but what needs to be said (and understood) is that Union members are no different than stock holders in a multinational company! Business contributes large sums of money to try to insure their favorite party gets in but not all share holders vote for that party. Unions are no different! We all have a free choice and can vote the way we choose! Do Unions push a certein party? Yes of course they do! So do employers!

I never, ever, ever vote on singular issues and cannot stand it when people do. That is one reason we are in the position we are in today. People say, I dont care what his thoughts are in the economy, he is (fill in the singular issue here) so I am voting for him.

Seems a lot of union members want to say the don't vote the "union way". Guess what, you are in a minority (if you're being truthful). For every member that doesn't vote the "union way" there are probably 10+ that do. On top of that, you are buying even more "union way" votes with your dues and PAC contributions.

Im a union member. Good pay and benefits but Im still not pro-union. I work with approx 130 people. 115 of them are the exact reason people hate unions. The remaining 15 of us are the only 2A supporters.Its very interesting how often one's stance on guns can give you an almost complete look into the type of person they are. Out of the 15 I am the only one that votes 2A exclusively. I am the definition of a single issue voter.

HKGuns said:

With the current round of attacks on Gun ownership now underway I was wondering how Unionized workers feel.

I am sure there are union workers who are a part of this forum and in the firearms community in general. I was wondering, given the strong Union support for the D party, how those involved with Unions and are Firearms enthusiasts square their themselves when it is time to vote.

The results of this poll might be interesting. This is not a public poll and I don't expect anyone to reveal their private votes unless they want to of course.

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The results of this poll might be more interesting if it weren't already in a biased forum.

I think that the information you really want can't be accurately captured here...this forum is, by default, a pro-gun, pro-RKBA forum. Members here, whether union or not, will thus fall under these categories.

Perhaps there might be a better place to post such a poll, maybe some union-centric forum or something? The results might be more enlightening.

I suspect a better and more objective one would probably be to beat-feet to to some union shops and businesses at random and conduct a live poll. I suspect a union-centric website would probably have it's own political agenda which would determine/dominate its membership.

I'm a union firefighter and vote 2A as one my more important issues. Nationally I vote 2A. At the state level I try to find a balance between 2A and my retirement. I was hired under a pension system governed by the state. If they want to give me the money I put in and what my city was SUPPOSED to put in for me now, I'll invest it on my own and vote only 2A. Right now I'm lucky. My rep votes correctly on 2A issues, and is pretty good on fire issues.

Seems most of the guys in my Union are gunowner's, They are just more afraid of their pension/benefits being taken away than their 2A rights. People love to hate on us for getting a pension, not our fault the politicians raided our funds and never made a payment in.

I'm non union and I vote 2A first and "government, keep your nose out of my life" second.

I'm worked union for 25 years, and the last 16 years I worked a non-union company in a management position. I'm now retired. The non-union company treated the management very well in compensation, benefits, bonuses, and 401 K plans. The common labor force got totally screwed over. My pension from the union is more than double what i get from the 401K based on a 15 year payout. Even with a sizeable 401K balance, the Wall Street boys have significantly taken much of that away. Every month I thank the Lord for that union pension, because they are living up to what they promised.
My wife worked worked for a Iron mining company for 27 years as an accoutant, and had a pension plan promised to her. The mining company went bankrupt and as a result they took the pension fund also. The US government guarantees all pension funds but only at 50%. She don't get much more than squat for 27 years of service. Companies today worry about bottom lines and share holders. They don't give a damn about the worker or the community.
I'm a conservative Democrat and I vote that way, and I vote for 2 amendment issues, I stand up at caucuses, and voice my stance on issues. I write letters to my congress men and let them know what I expect from them. And I was doing it before the internet was available and it became so damn easy to do. It was called letter writing and you used the post office and you had to put your real name on it.
In case you don't realize the labor unions have set the standards for working and saftey conditions on the job. They have a direct effect on your benefits and fair labor practices.
And having said that I will tell you in all seriousness and truthfulness "You don't have to work union,it not necessary, but I want to warn you, don't ever get sick and don't get old"!