Where's Boingy?

[TipperaryBaggie]

After today's outstanding result, I was expecting a pleasing response from Boingy but he hasn't posted as yet. I hope that everything is ok with him.

[Dubbag]

After today's outstanding result, I was expecting a pleasing response from Boingy but he hasn't posted as yet. I hope that everything is ok with him.

You could ask that of a few posters Tipp. The atmosphere turned quite sour on here over the last few months. No harm sometimes to be offline from forums to take a break even. People need to understand football is just a game, nothing more. Just like life.
I for one would like Albion winning every game but not bothered if they don't. I spend quite a lot of money on books and if I read one that is mundane it doesn't bother me that I spent money on it. My choice. My money. If I went to football matches and my team loses (which as you rightly know Dublin don't.&#128519 I don't get bothered by it. Once more people realise Bill Shankly was wrong about been more then life, the better.
I hope everyone who no longer posts on this little site of ours are all doing well and in good health.
G-d bless each and everyone of us in these trying times...❤️❤️

[Prando]

Well said Dubbag buddy.

OT…Are you in Dublin. Visited Dalkey a few times back in the day. SWMBO had relatives there. Her Dad was born in Bray

[Dubbag]

Well said Dubbag buddy.

OT?Are you in Dublin. Visited Dalkey a few times back in the day. SWMBO had relatives there. Her Dad was born in Bray

Yes Prando. I am on the north side of the city, not far from the airport. Your good lady's relatives come from the more affluent side of Dublin, the south side... This short link is from a film years ago called The Commitments, I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e9W...b_channel=Eros

Must be be my connection to the Black country over West Brom way.....

[Omegstrat6]

You could ask that of a few posters Tipp. The atmosphere turned quite sour on here over the last few months. No harm sometimes to be offline from forums to take a break even. People need to understand football is just a game, nothing more. Just like life.
I for one would like Albion winning every game but not bothered if they don't. I spend quite a lot of money on books and if I read one that is mundane it doesn't bother me that I spent money on it. My choice. My money. If I went to football matches and my team loses (which as you rightly know Dublin don't.&#128519 I don't get bothered by it. Once more people realise Bill Shankly was wrong about been more then life, the better.
I hope everyone who no longer posts on this little site of ours are all doing well and in good health.
G-d bless each and everyone of us in these trying times...❤️❤️

Pretty much sums it up Dubbs 👍

As a union rep I have to deal with confrontation pretty regularly which is fine as it can be part and parcel of the role but it is never particularly nice to witness. When a generally friendly and supportive forum like this one slips into personal attacks through disagreements over politics let alone football it isn't nice either and so I understand that individuals stepping away for a bit of time out isn't then a bad thing. It's maybe natural that we all of us get a bit worked up over things at some point and just need a bit of space to take the heat out of things, get some perspective, and find more respectful ways of putting our points across.

Yes, there are far more important things than football but, like yourself Dubbs, I hope that all are well and would hope to see those individuals back on here soon. We all of us have something to offer and if we all agreed on everything it would be pretty boring!

[kettering_baggie]

Pretty much sums it up Dubbs ��

As a union rep I have to deal with confrontation pretty regularly which is fine as it can be part and parcel of the role but it is never particularly nice to witness. When a generally friendly and supportive forum like this one slips into personal attacks through disagreements over politics let alone football it isn't nice either and so I understand that individuals stepping away for a bit of time out isn't then a bad thing. It's maybe natural that we all of us get a bit worked up over things at some point and just need a bit of space to take the heat out of things, get some perspective, and find more respectful ways of putting our points across.

Yes, there are far more important things than football but, like yourself Dubbs, I hope that all are well and would hope to see those individuals back on here soon. We all of us have something to offer and if we all agreed on everything it would be pretty boring!

I was an office union rep before I retired and yes, it is quite amazing some of the matters that crop up and have to be resolved. Thinking back to some of the issues that we dealt with, I still shake my head at the attitude and confrontational nature of some people, on both sides of the fence!

[Albionic68]

Never had much time for the shop stewards at my previous places of employment. They were s hite for the most part. Talked a good game and then generally capitulated to management at the first hint of surrender.

Still, there are no jobs on the line here so I suppose it's a good job we've got two shop stewards to act as mediators given Boingy appears to have gone on strike. Can't remember whether he held a ballot but I hope he's ok and handling life well 😎 .

[kettering_baggie]

I was an office union rep (IT/banking) and represented members who were being shat upon, to put it crudely. We really did save people’s jobs.

[Omegstrat6]

Like many on here I'm old enough to remember the bad old days of "closed shops" and over powerful unions. Maggie grasped that particular nettle that needed dealing with but, unfortunately went way too far with it and the past 15 years of Conservative government have only continually eroded workers rights.

So many youngsters forget that so many things they take for granted in the workplace, especially regarding terms and conditions, were not given by employers because they were being naturally generous, but because they were hard won by unions negotiating them. Sadly, many companies today are increasingly down grading their terms and conditions to meet just the legal minimum.

As someone who has spent the vast majority of my working life as a manager, I tend to see both sides and being a rep should never be an us/them situation as, for me, it is about trying to establish a good working relationship in order to help achieve a fair result in any dispute. Certainly reps need to be strong enough characters to stand up to managers but I always advise new reps not to adopt a confrontational approach because so much of our work is around getting managers to accept mitigating circumstances and if they have a poor personal relationship with managers this may end up being detrimental to their members.

Being a union member has no get out of jail card attached. If you have done something wrong then you've done something wrong but it is my job to ensure you are treated both fairly and legally. I'm not frightened of standing up to anyone, whether they are managers (of any level) or staff (including members)- and, as Ketts says, there can be k nobs on both sides!

Fortunately, managers these days tend to be far better trained than they were at one time and it is very rare these days that I attend a disciplinary, for example,where they haven't followed procedure or haven't got the evidence to back up their case. My job is then, more often than not, to bring up any mitigating circumstances -just because you can technically do something, does not mean you should do it. I always ask, if someone is clearly guilty of something, do they accept this and fully recognize the consequences of their actions, are they likely to do it again and are they generally considered a good member of staff. The answers to these questions can all influence the outcome.

Yes, I have to deal with some petty stuff occasionally and being a rep does eat into your own time but it can also be very rewarding especially if you know you have managed to help save somebody from losing their job or got a fair result under difficult circumstances.

[Albionic68]

I'm highly aware of trade union activities and their historical significance in securing workers rights and their place in our social and economic history etc. I was a huge advocate of the union movement and solidarity. Nice of a union rep to keep me abreast of things though, cheers 😉.

I was referring more to lived experiences of pay deals where there was a lot of rabble rousing and mouthing off from union reps and shop stewards before going weak at the knees, folding like a pack of cards and accepting whatever slops and gruel management were offering then pretending we were getting the best deal possible rather than the only one on the table and dressing it up as a banquet of goodies fit for a King.

Tended to happen every couple of years. Oddly enough I was encouraged to become a shop steward by several long established shop stewards during an industrial dispute which ultimately saw us attend a multi national rally in Paris. I saw what happened during that dispute up close and personal. I'm not talking shop floor. Higher up. It left a very sour taste and I had no interest in becoming a union rep thereafter.

The you scratch my back while I p iss down yours mentality I witnessed wasn't for me. What I saw first hand from a number of the head honchos (former shop floor workers) and their university educated career union staff members who'd never done a day's work on the shop floor in their lives and their collective general attitude turned my stomach.

I'm not trying to belittle what decent union reps do on a day to day basis. I'm referring specifically to an example of pigs at a trough jostling for the best position and not giving a monkey's chuff about the trail of s hit they were leaving behind. Ironically enough this was during a Labour government and a number of those career union staff members who will remain nameless are very likely Members of Parliament now.

Anyway I digress. A bit. Maybe a bit more than a bit. It's still nice to have a bit of union representation on board for Boingy should it be required. All of the very best Boingy 😎.