Defender warehouse workers on strike

[Pyxis156]

Originally Posted by amytom

Does anyone know if they are still shipping or is everything on hold?


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I received an order from them last Thursday with no problems... arrived on schedule and no errors.

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[Orion Jim]

I shop at the warehouse store several times a year since its 20 minutes away from my boat. The employees and the management staff go out of their way to be helpful and if you are not certain what you are looking for will pull several items out of the warehouse stock, if not on display in the store, so you can comparison shop. That has been invaluable to me on several occasions. Their prices are great. Much less than competitors sale prices.
I wish them all well but I can only imagine that with more wage and benefit expenses the Company will outsource portions of the work currently done by existing staff. That is exactly what was done by the company I retired from. It is much cheaper to leave the "warehousing and logistics" to companies which specialize in that field. Very sad really.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by sailnow2011

That is why unions are hated. They try to bully a business into more money when the job is easy warehouse work. I guess defender needs to consider moving. South would be a good option. Right to work states everywhere....

Unions were made for unsafe coal mines, and now are a political machine that hurts business.

1. You are sorely misguided if you think warehouse work is easy.

2. If Defender hasn't coughed up a COLA in a number of years then it's management that's being the bully about money.

3. Coal mines are not particularly safe regardless of union status. Statistically union mines tend to be safer. Apparently the unions protect workers who bring up safety concerns where in non-union mines the workers are seen as rabble-rousers and terminated when at the earlies opportunity.

Are union mines safer? | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/fi...tz%20paper.pdf

[Celestialsailor]

I'd love to see Defender in Ca. to give WM a run for their money. But maybe it's Ca.'s political climate preventing it.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by zboss

So, you expect Defender to survive under a heavy union hand AND at the same time see sales being chipped away by competition - and do this without changing?

All I expect is that Defender will still be going strong. long after I'm gone... I believe Stephan Lance has a pretty good idea what he's doing... ;-)

BTW, are you SURE that those Mitsubishi parts shipped from Alibaba are GENUINE Mitsubishi ?

;-)

[Moody46CC]

I've purchased many items from Defender, both via mail and from their store in person. No complaints with the service. No errors. Once I had circuit breaker toggle switch on a panel break that I had purchased from Defender. Their guidance was to try the warranty first, so I contacted the manufacturer. The warranty was for three years; I had had the breaker for a year. The manufacturer tried to stiff me, saying the broken toggle was the result of a blow, not a defect. After sending them a picture of the panel to show the impossibility of such a statement, I also told them I was copying the correspondence to Defender, as that business also had an interest in the quality of the many products from that manufacturer which it sold. Defender contacted me to say they would jump in on my behalf, but by then the manufacturer had relented.

All-in-all, satisfied with Defender and hope they get the issue with their workers resolved.

As for this statement, "A smart employee wants to be in business with the boss, see the company prosper AND get a fair share of the rewards. The only way that happens is with a Union."

Hmm. No. If an employee wants a share of the rewards (the profits of the company), he or she should buy stock in the company. In other words, take some financial risk. The owner(s) put up the money and assume the risk and get the profits or the losses. That is called capitalism. Workers work for wages. If the company prospers, and the owner offers a bonus, "good on him." That is a nice guy. But no obligation. Wonder if the worker would chip in if the company lost money?

Many companies do have so-called profit sharing programs where workers can buy company stock, but such purchases are voluntary and made after wages are paid. The worker is not forced to buy company stock nor accept it as part of his wage. By purchasing the stock, regardless of whether there is a union or not, the worker now has assumed part of the financial risk of ownership and is entitled to a proportionate share of the rewards or losses.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I'd love to see Defender in Ca. to give WM a run for their money. But maybe it's Ca.'s political climate preventing it.

Don't hold your breath...;-)

Lance is the second-generation operator of Defender, which originated in New York state. The company moved to Waterford in 1996, and despite its success Lance said he has no plans to increase its footprint by opening up retail outlets elsewhere.

"We have no desire to become a multistate chain," he said. "We're rather an anomaly; I'm not really pro-growth."

The Day - Defender Industries plans Waterford expansion - News from southeastern Connecticut

[David_Old_Jersey]

Bring back child labour, 7 day a week working and 12 hour days. That'll teach the Unions.

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[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by autumnbreeze27

Is this affecting their shipping?


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Yes.....2 overseas shipments have been screwed up already for me

[phantomracer]

any news/update on the strike?

[sailnow2011]

You do not need a union to make good money, you only need a brain.
The Corporation I work for in the SE hired me off the street at $10 per.
I came in with good experience, and selling ability. I average $400 bonus each month.
I actually retired before I got this job. Now, 8 months in they have offered me $14 to go into management.
We have cashiers who are not capable of going beyond the job they do.
They need supervision, and correction all day. Half the time I find them on the phone,
Texting, facebook, ECT. They will not be offered a raise, a promotion, or full time.
If there was a union here they may be entitled to a raise. Thats a scary idea.
These people just do not care.
We do get good cashiers, however they do not stay cashiers for long if they are good.
We give them a raise, change them to another position, promote them, make them full time if they so wish, and many go onto management.
This is how workers get $9 an hour in the SE, by not caring about work.
So when I have to walk to the register for the 25th time in a day to fix a mis-ring, incorrect change, or to do a void because someone got frustrated with the cashier and left, it reminds me. "the world needs witch diggers too" -caddy shack.

Now take away the safety net. Take away the section 8, the food stamps, the free healthcare, and you will find people will care more about their job. Because if they lost it they would be on the line at a soup kitchen.

Defender should move the warehouse to a better state, hire people who are not in the union, and crack down on those making errors. 6 shipping errors is too much.
Imagine ordering a hummingbird fishfinder and getting a 15" raymarine MFD?
Would you return it?
Now if you were the guy getting the hummingbird you paid raymarine money for, you sure would. Its a hassle to us, its an expense to them, and I think they are being too lenient.

[Dulcesuenos]

I had an error 2 weeks ago. Ordered 5/8 sea strainers and they sent 1/2". They were quick to resolve it though. Maybe the soon to be wage increase for fast food workers in N.Y, to $15. Hr is impacting other places,,,, if not I expect it soon will.

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[barboak]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Bring back child labour, 7 day a week working and 12 hour days. That'll teach the Unions.

Sent from my NEXUS 5 whilst sitting in my armchair tied to the dock.

And then we might be able to buy our boat stuff even cheaper, it's getting harder to keep the boat up to "yacht" standards!


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[keepondancin]

I have been to Defender several times, plus order on line frequently. I found all the staff on the floor helpful and friendly. If one couldn't answer a question, they found someone who could. I hope what ever the outcome is, Defender continues as they are now. Good products, at competitive prices, backed up with good customer services. By being a private company, you can contact a manager or even higher if you have an issue. Steve, the owner, called me when I had a couple of questions before purchasing a new RIB. At the chain store, you are lucky if they can tell you if it is day or night. Hey Defender people, work it out.

[phantomracer]

Not to get too political, but unions have their place. It is not at defender!

Sounds like they have a very generous plan for quality control, 6 errors before you are fired? Are you kidding me? Sounds like they were not enforcing the policy... Now they are and the workers are pissed.

I worked in IT at a supermarket chain. Some stores went on strike. I, as corporate employee, had to work in the stores, as a cashier, to keep the stores running. The part time workers were out of work for 4 weeks, gained like $0.50/hour... how many years will it take for that raise to make up for 4 weeks of lost wages ??!? I didn't get it back then, I don't get it now.

As a rule, unions benefit the unions more than the workers. (yes I AM in a union - forced into joining)

If defenders prices are going to go up, then the quality of the work and workers accuracy should go up and should be held to a higher standard.

Good for Defender!