Rod Parham's Page

Goodday Rod, I am a former newspaper printing shop steward, now a trade union lawyer with Fagforbundet (organizing municipal and hospital employees mostly). Pleased to meet you, so to speak...

Thanks Comrade, No I'm home most nights now, what a difference. Still have a bike a ride as often as I can. Now leaving in Melbourne.

maybe they put ya down twice if you're mates and comrades. Nice touch!

The thing that gets me about the royals is that they're so bloody expensive! This horrible Tory/Toady coalition we've got in at the moment is so busy 'fixing the budget' (read destroying social welfare), why don't they cut the biggest dole cheque in the country - the one we use to underwrite the Windsors! Sorry ranting. I'm a lecturer in English and Writing. I won't start on the education system!
Cheers, M

Thanks for your friend request, Rod. Not actually Welsh though I worked in the Valleys for a couple of years. Another one of those areas where the British Empire just spit the workers out when it was done using their labour for expansion. They've had a tough time over there since the mines closed, but have come back at things with amazing spirit.

some of the non union employers have apprenticeships, but here, the unions have separate and better schools, than any non union employer. our apprenticeship time can also be reduced by prior experience, and they will even organize in a non union journeyman, who can pass the required tests. I love American Unions, and hate American pseudo food and government corruption. and it's getting worse :P

i work for a local union branch of the international. I guess that's what you mean by a particular, each local has it's own apprentice schools, but we have to pass the federal tests, I was # 188 when i was laid off last september, thank God I'm not a journeyman yet, their book is at 900 now! it was much worse then. but with the economy it took 9 months for me to get to the top of the line, and get a dispatch. my first dispatch only lasted 2 weeks, then my second lasted a week, then my third lasted a week, each a month apart, then i had to be rotated to the back of the books, but by then work was up, so i was # 78. then i got this dispatch, i'm working at now. we have to continue school while off work, and we have to pay some 300. USD for each quarter, which is only 1/10th of the total price. but we can't get a raise in pay scale till we have the work hours. so I'm behind in that reguards. we survived, mostly by my employment insurance. when we work, we pay into a fund, so when we are out of work, the state pays us a little from this fund, but the states has been trying to screw everyone it can out of it, because of the drain on it's money from so many being out of work at one time. our President came to our rescue, forcing the states to pay what is due to the people who have worked, and have money in that account, and giving us extensions to our electability, My husband hasn't been in the country long enough to get this, so has no help, so he has been doing what he can, finding odd jobs, and laborer positions, the unions aren't accepting new apprentices yet. he wants to work for the Seattle sounders football club, (real football, not American football) but he must work his way up from the local level. he's really taking a hit as a man, trying to provide for his family in this time.
I like the practice of calling the Union heads "Father or Mother" that's awesome, I'm best friends with our local unions vice president Guy Hawkins, he was one of my journeymen.

I live in Washington State on the North west coast of the USA, it ranges from -6 degrees C to 30 C but we start whining at 10 C or above 20 C, ya i agree, 12 - 15 C is a bit cool. My Husband is from Nigeria, so he completely agrees with ya LOL. it's the end of summer here now and the warm days are getting fewer. :P I hate winter. I'm in my 5th and last year of my apprenticeship with the electrical Union, and can't wait to journey out, thank God I'm back to work after being off for most of this past year due to the economic meltdown we've had. most are still struggling, ya me too, been working now for just a month. thank God for my Union too.

Howdy Rod, Hope you are well comrade.