FYI Phil Woodman ousted the union pension because he refused to pay into it. If you worked there before that then you still will receive benefits when you retire.

I would hope that a company that has over 6500 stores nation wide would have good insurace. (Honestly, good for you.) But it still does not excuse the union (how many members nation wide?) from having worse health insurance than Woodman's. It also does not excuse them from losing everyone's retirement. It also does not excuse their behavior toward the people that fund them. This isn't really about Woodman's as much as it is about a union that is NOT doing it's job.

Also, because I believe in karma, and I am waiting for what goes around to come around.

If you want to know if Walgreen's has better insurance than Woodman's, research it yourself. I suggest www.walgreens.com

Because I care about people... something many people don't understand.

To tbs123: If you dislike Woodman's so much, why do you post in every Woodman's article? So Walgreen's has better insurance than Woodman's?

I got insurance. But guess what?? My insurance at my new job is just as good if not better. Sometimes people stay in the status quo because they are conditioned to think that they can't make it anywhere else than at their current job, relationship, status, etc. Woodman's does have great benefits, but you give up a lot in order to have them... no flexibility in scheduling, stupid petty rules, a general oppressive feel to the whole job. When I first started there, I enjoyed my job, but as the years went by, I felt like I was stagnating. I mean, no set hours after 12 years... come on? Woodman's could make it such an employee friendly place, but it is ruled with an iron fist with no flexibility for anyone's life. Why do people have schedules that look like this...M-8-5, T-10-7, W-1-10, TH-Off, F-11-8... you get my point? They could offer employees a more stable schedule and everyone would be happy. How can people arrange child care or appointments or have a life with schedules like that?? That is what I am talking about. And there is no compassion or caring coming out of any of the management there. I know many people who still work there and feel bad that they have to live to work instead of working to live. That is what I do now. My co-workers and bosses respect me and cheer me on instead of pointing out all my shortcomings. And they ask for ideas and opinions and celebrate the fact that every person is talented and valued in many ways. I NEVER felt that way at Woodman's. I felt like a number and that I better conform, or else. I hope no one ever has to go through the ordeal that I went through when I left. But the beauty in what happened to me was that I stood up for myself, by myself and brought them to a court hearing where the Judge berated them for doing unlawful things to me. I could have tied it up in court for a long time, but I had to move on with my life. Oh, and yes, I should mention that the Union did NOTHING for me, even though what Woodman's did to me was against the law. But hearing that judge tell them off made my whole effort worthwhile... oh and I got a pretty sweet monetary settlement as well.

With a union in place, the 'contract' must be followed exactly. Without a union, employees have a better chance of appealing special circumstances (i.e: FMLA issues for people under 25 hours). To tbs123-- if Woodman's was so awful why did you stay so long? Obviously, you received something worthwhile in order to stay twelve years.

been there done that. I gave 12 years of my life to Woodman's and will be getting my ESOP payout in short order. I am happy to say that I am now in a job where I am respected and not treated like a kindergartner. Woodman's has a lot to learn in the human resource department. In fact, they don't even have one. The people who do the hiring and explain the rules, attendance policies etc. don't have a clue about the laws concerning family medical leave, workman's comp. , and many other relevant issues that are learned by people who go to school and earn a degree in Human Resource Management. The courtesy counter people are mostly handpicked by the store managers and supervisors and they mainly want people in there who are not too vocal and won't make any waves or won't question ANY policy set forth by management. And they definitely can't have any opinions of their own. People might think this is sour grapes, but on the contrary, I am grateful to be out of that iron fisted regime. And I will be rolling my ESOP into an account of my own and will enjoy every penny that I earned over my twelve years.

Sorry, ESOP. I'm was a little distracted when I typed the last two.

Oh, by the way, I'm not unique. I can think of a dozen people that work less than 24 hours in a week and enjoy insurance and ESOT. That's just at my store, and without really. I can think of another four that choose not to take the insurance and are still eligible for the ESOT.

tbs123 is wrong. I am part-time. I work every other weekend and pick up hours during the week when it suits my schedule. I'm capped at 24 hours per week. I enjoy health/dental insurance from Woodman's. I also have an ESOT account. If you are willing to work for it, it is available. Phil ROCKS!!!

More comments on tbs' post. How would non-union benefits erode after the union is gone when they were never negotiated by the union in the first place? I also understand my ESOP is earned, but what does that have to do with the union? They never negotiated that either. I've thought about my retirement for more than a minute....years actually, and believe it's really for my benefit, a lucrative retirement for me to enjoy. Perhaps you should fill out an application.

Remember, not all Woodman's were union. Since the Kenosha store employees voted to be non-union when the store first opened, every store following (4) are non-union, and employees in ALL stores are treated equally. "Everything goes" does not go on in the non-union stores. Woodman's does have some part-time and week-end only help, but employees who work full-time have never had their hours reduced to part-time so they could no longer receive benefits. Employees who take a part-time position, then decide they want full-time are able to review full-time job postings to decide if the job is what they want. Admittedly, full-time positions are not always available in all departments at all times, because those workers rarely give them up. These are good paying jobs, but in the last 5 years, the union has not been responsible for the added monetary incentives enjoyed by the employees. They were implemented by the company. Woodman's first introduced part-time positions about 15 years ago, and if an arguement is to be made that "getting rid of the union is so that Woodman's can have mostly part-time help and not have to pay any benefits", well, it's bunk. Woodman's still has more full-time positions than part-time in all stores. Again, Woodman's employees DO NOT receive ANY union benefits (no contribution to union insurance or pension). Woodman's as a company contributes and takes care of employee benefits ON IT'S OWN. The union has NO jurisdiction over benefits. One of the reasons the union has become obsolete in reference to Woodman's. As for the millionaires? Every year "the club" increases in number, and when I retire?....I'll enjoy the fantasy.

You are in a fantasy land if you think there will be that many more millionaires coming out of Woodman's. The whole purpose of getting rid of the union is so that Woodman's can have mostly part-time help and not have to pay any benefits. If you only work 24 hours per week or less, you can't be in the esop. You also are not covered by FMLA laws. Woodman's is striving to be more and more like WalMart all the time. Part time help is a lot more economical for employers... look at most of the industry. Keeping people just under that line so that they can't reap any benefits... The reason Woodman's pays so well is because the union negotiated living wages for these people. With the union out of there, anything goes. And don't for one minute think that Phil Woodman pays you these esop dividends and profit sharing out of the goodness of his heart. He gets a lot of benefit from being classified as "Employee Owned". Lots of tax write offs for that. Your esop is profit sharing. You EARNED that money. I understand that you don't pay into it at all, but it is still EARNED.

All customers are valued. The store I work at has many union employees shopping there. Fire and rescue personnel, construction, postal and others. Most are aware of our situation through their union publications. Some of these customers are confused, have questions, or understand the situation...some even have siblings working for Woodman's. Again, this is a unique situation, because employee-owned companys are typically NOT union because the employer is fair. 10 years have gone by since becoming employee-owned, and a majority of the employees felt they no longer needed union protection. We HAD the union health insurance, but voted to let the company seek out it's own health insurance for LESS COST AND BETTER COVERAGE. The union's insurance was becoming inefficient...a common sense move. It's what this situation is all about. It's ok that some union customers are asking questions...to me that means they are seeking out facts and opinions and not just having a blanket opinion about the whole situation. The union paints this as a Phil Woodman vs. the employees/union, and it was NEVER that. The possibility of losing $400,000/yr. in union contributions will spawn a one-sided opinion...don't believe everything you read.

see you tomm.lol

Well since I don't shop at wal-mart and it does not bother me to pay extra at target or shopko for the same product its not going to bother me to stop shopping at woodmans.

i'm glad you have a union to have pride in.high gas and food prices,and you're going elsewhere to pay more for less.don't think so!!!!!see you tomm. at woodys.

If the union leaves it will allow Woodmans to start to cut pay and insurance as the employees won't have any say about it. Hopefully Phil Woodman is a better man then that but only time will tell. As a proud building trades union member I will be shopping elsewhere and other union members should also. It is away to show our support for the union members.

USAmerican-RIGHT ON!! the union has nothing to do with our esop.it's being 'EMPLOYEE OWNED' that made our stock go up 24% last year.i'm also a 20+year employee.our so called'UNION' is a joke,has been for years.

Through the employees dedication and hard work has the company grown and become what it is today. Up until about 10 years ago, Woodman's had BOTH their own retirement fund AND contributed to the union's pension. Woodman's own retirement fund was NEVER negotiated by the union, and most current retirees receive both a union pension and a Woodman's account. Woodman's employees voted to end the unions insurance (Woodman's could provide better coverage at a cheaper price), and end the unions pension contribution (allowing extra contribution to an employees own account). Woodman's pays some of the highest salaries in the industry, and for the sake of comparison, is similar to Costco, but will never be like Walmart.

How many people stocking shelves at walmart have becom millionaires? It is the union that helped woodmans grow. Take away the union and you have walmart!

Phil Woodman was quoted in a Milwaukee JS article regarding the new Oak Creek store that there are "48 millionaires working at Woodman's". My guess is that number will triple in 10 years, multi-millionaires included.

As a current 20+ yr. employee of Woodman's, I too know the "in's and out's" of the company, and from my experience Woodman's does not try to terminate an employee for "utter nonsense". One has to question the reasons why an employee has to have their job saved by the union, considering everyone has to abide by the same disciplinary standards (point system). At times the work is not easy. The stores can be very busy, an effect of being a successful, disciplined company....a good problem to have. The reward for working for this company for a long time is an outstanding retirement. Phil Woodman was quoted in a Milwaukee JS article regarding the new Oak Creek store that there are "48 millionaires working at Woodman's". My guess is that number will triple in 10 years, multi-millionaires included. Quite a horror story. Woodman's became employee-owned about 10 years ago, and rarely are those companys union. 30% of the employees felt they were no longer getting any consideration for their union dues and wanted a decertification vote. After court hearings, and then countless unfair labor charges filed by the union delaying the vote, a new petition was circulated calling for an end to representation. 50% was needed and acheived, a total grass roots effort by hundereds of employees. This was a unique situation, and does not reflect an opinion of unions in general. Some union customers might take this personally, but the issue became personal when the union began to attack Phil Woodman. But the facts are that it was an employee effort. The union went for broke and got nothing, and that's what it deserves.

" the petition was signed by more than half of the 950 employees". It sounds like the majority of the employees don't want the union. It's kinda like their out of luck.

packerfan- you said,'get rid of the union = no job security'.tell that to 750 gm workers.

As A Former employee of woodmans. (over 15yrs)I know the "ins an outs" of the store. Woodsmans can be a great place to work or it can be a hell hole. The Janesville store that I worked at was both. If you didnt get along with (kiss there a$$) management, supervisors... it was very tough working there. Didnt matter if you did your job well or not. There always looking for a reason to get rid of older employees who backed the union. The union saved my job couple times for complete an utter non-sense. Get rid of the union = no job security. I`m glad I left when i did. I hear nothing but horror stories coming from there now.

I worked a Woodman's in the past for a few years while going to College, and I thought they were a great employer, and most people appeared to be happy with there employment there. What was strange I do recall that everyone belonged to the union, from your supervisor to the guy mixing donuts at 3am.

I worked for Woodman's for a short while, notice short. I'd have to be about starving to go back. They are "clicky" and treat the employees cruddy. Not to mention that the pay isn't that great either for what you put up with.

Fred Grubb is named appropriately.