wow- im gonna start off by saying this im very proud to be a local 33 union sheetmetal worker, and if it wasnt for the unions the scabs wouldnt get paid what they get now. in my my feild a typical non -union residential hvac guy gets 10-20 an hr, shitty benes if any, shitty 401k, if any..that being said we make 32.51 taxable per hr, have 2 pensions 1 annuity and full benes my contractor pays per hr. our total wage package is about 60 an hr. now i went through 5 years of apprenticeship making 10/hr then 13/hr then 15/hr then 20/hr then 22.51 /hr. during those five years i had to go to school for 40 hrs per month and nightschool at 8hrs a week..got paid half my wage during day school shit at night..what i do very few want or could do, trust me we started off with 30 people and graduated with 12. its not easy and its a skilled trade, and yes i think i deserve what i get paid. we all have a choice in life to choose our profession, i choose mine(3rd generation tinner) and you choose yours. if you dont like what we get paid shut your mouth cause you choose your path. uaw workers dont make 40 or even 50 hr. most make around 18-22 hr taxable.total package is round 45 hr..are you saying the people (unions) that built this f-n country are overpaid, then you are a fucktard. if the government would start taxing the foreigners it and giving tax breaks on companys who build here we would be better off. no we do it the ass backwards way and give you breaks if you outsource..nafta fucked us, our white collar lobbyist ceo's and reps, not the hard working blue collar americans! sorry for the long rant but im sick of people blaming the unions.