Teachers Paid to Sleep, Exercise, Basically do Nothing

[buzzy]

Unions at their finest. $30 million wasted money for bull excrement.


By Andrew Siff
NBCNewYork.com
updated 26 minutes ago
Rubber rooms. Where taxpayers spend 30 million bucks a year so teachers can do absolutely nothing.

Or, those teachers-- accused of misconduct-- can sleep, goof off, or work out. At full pay.

Sound ridiculous? A new documentary, "The Rubber Room," from filmmakers Justin Cegnar and Jeremy Garrett, is stone-cold serious about the subject.
"To me the thing that's most shocking," says Cegnar, "is how long people can spend there. You can spend five years or ten years-- a decade in the rubber room at full salary."

The rooms are officially known as reassignment centers. And New York City's Department of Education says there's a reasonable explanation. If a teacher is accused of yelling at a student, or throwing a chair, or incompetence, he or she is innocent until proven guilty. But in the meantime, parents wouldn't exactly want those instructors to continue supervising their kids. So, while the investigation takes place...teachers are assigned to the rubber rooms.

"We need to balance our obligation to safeguard children with our legal obligation for fairness to teachers," a Department of Ed spokeswoman told nbcnewyork.com.

But the bigger problem is many teachers don't know why they're sitting in the rubber rooms, co-producer Garrett said.

"Some teachers have been there for three years without having been given a reason for knowing why they're there."

Garrett acknowledges he was a substitute teacher in the Bronx until he snuck a camera into one of the rubber rooms. He was arrested for trespassing and fired. He's hoping his new job-- as a moviemaker-- makes more people aware of the rubber rooms.

The movie has upcoming screenings at NYU and Harvard. In the meantime, the Department of Education and United Federation of Teachers are blaming each other for the controversial centers. The city says the union has refused to cooperate with certain cases, bogging down the system. The union counters the Department of Ed has refused to hire more investigators, which would speed up the process.

[ratfink]

Whatever....

By the way statistics says that 20 years ago, 80% of truckers were unionized, today, 20%.
Look at what happened to our salaries. :23_11_55:

[Franx]

Nice find buzzy!!

[buzzy]

Whatever....

By the way statistics says that 20 years ago, 80% of truckers were unionized, today, 20%.
Look at what happened to our salaries. :23_11_55:

I find it amazing, as soon as hard evidence of unions corrupting a work environment, you have nothing substantial to say except to try and steer away from the subject..

$ 30 million dollars a year to keep riff raff on a payroll that otherwise should have been terminated. AMAZING!!

[buzzy]

Wassamatter, ratfink? Cat got your tongue??
Don't forget, this happenned in a city that lost 35% of it's First Responders in 9/11.

The municipalities struggled with exhorbitant clean-up and insurance claims, but the instructors that are supposed to reinforce the young minds everything is good are doing the exact opposite.

[buzzy]

Yessir, unions at their finest!!

[ratfink]

why bother, I told many times, I'm not part of any union.
You dont like me because your friend liner is convinced I started the union a CMF.
BS he dosnt know squat!
I ask you many times, what else other than union can be done to help ourselves?

What other option do you have? appart telling new drivers to keep shutting up and taking the BS like our generation did? (I include myself in there)

If we did soooo good, worked soooo hard and been so good for your fellow company owner.

Howcome that today, we work for nothing?
Take a good look at what the industry has become and tell me we did allright.

And I'll repeat again,
statistics says that 20 years ago, 80% of truckers were unionized, today, 20%.

20 years ago WE MADE MONEY WORKING, not anymore.

Yeah teacher you come up with has theyre share of BS.
I agree with you on that one and it shouldnt happen, they should get theyre rear end kicked.
i could come up with example of union was needed too .
I dont have to look very far.
My father was a union member, (Maislin trans.) he and his fellow drivers did pretty good compared to the crap todays generation are doing.
And he had a life, could go camping every week end, had time for fishing and hunting, I could go on and on and on.
So get off my rear end and be for once a bit realistic.
Come up with constructive solutions instead of going union bashing.
beside, your barking off the wrong tree.

I have nothing to do with union, I took advantage of the union drive to get the problems of this industry out so we could discuss about it and maybe , maybe find an alternative where we could all get things better as a group.

[ratfink]

Well you had better find an alternative other than a Union because too many of us have been down that road before and ain"t going back.
Dave (just my 2 cents)

I know my writen english is not that good but that's what I've been saying all along.
Lets find another alternative, anything as long as we discuss about it and tell others and newbies all the dirty tricks we've been seeing for a long time.
I'm tired of shutting up and sugarcoat everything.
I dont give a rat's rear end if the owner is or isn't a nice guy!

many of you have been down that road and you say it wasnt good?
you wont go back to it?
ok, 20 + years ago, many others did go that road too , and had a good life.
What happened?
Pretty simple, we let everybody abuse and forgot to ask our share of the cake!
We forgot to ask to be paid our fair value because many of us didnt want to be union anymore we wanted to be freeeee.
no more contract to protect the salaries, I call it the Rubber Duck syndrome.
I started when rubber Duck was blazing the screen and it influenced me.

We talked and talked and talked about problems, union showed up at the door and hoooooo suddenly, drivers got managment attention.
now everybody's listening.
Funny Huh?
Might not work like everybody,s seems to think, but at least it was better than shutting up and take the BS.


Oh and about the teachers abusing the system, again, I agree with you, it's insulting to see people waste public money like that.
But keep in mind that somebody was stipid enough to sing that contract that permits that kind of waste.
How about kicking those people rear ends?

[Mercenary]

Oh and about the teachers abusing the system, again, I agree with you, it's insulting to see people waste public money like that.
But keep in mind that somebody was stipid enough to sing that contract that permits that kind of waste.
How about kicking those people rear ends?

I agree Ratfink. Contracts are a two way street. You can't have one unless both parties agree to it.

If it takes getting unions involved again to get driver's making a good wage again then I am all for it. If there is another solution with the same outcome then I am all for that. The problem is OTR industry wide and the only way that anything will work is if a majority of drivers can agree to a solution.

Buzzy, I will pose the question to you. No bull**** and I am not trying to get a rise out of you or insult you but what do YOU see as a solution to the problem? What would you like to see done or what can be done to improve the pay structure in the industry?

[liner]

You dont like me because your friend liner is convinced I started the union a CMF.
BS he dosnt know squat!


Hey Ratfink...I never once said you were one of the union organizers at CMF.Get your facts straight buddy!!

Oh and also............I won't mention any names,but what I do find kinda funny is how one of the pro union guys from PQ that made a lot of noise on this site is no longer with CMF.Maybe SLH can keep him happy...doubt it though because I don't believe they are union over there either...not yet anyway LOL.Maybe he can take his pro union BS with him over to SLH.I guess he finally realized he was kicking a dead horse with all his union crap at CMF.:lmao[1]:

Also I don't believe that %80 of drivers were unionized 20 years ago,in fact I don't believe there was ever a time when %80 of drivers were union.You mentioned Maislin....good example,where are they now???

[ratfink]

Union organizer gone for SLH??? Dan told you that? boy is he in for a surprise if he thinks the organizers are gone....The Slh guy is gone because he couldnt get more than 1800miles a week for the past year and as fed up of dorval terminal managments's power trip.
Oh and in your conversation, was it you that mentionned to him about union guys sending you an invitation at your home. Is this why he sent a memo in the terminals warning everybody to NOT steel drivers list?
Nobody needs to steel drivers list. You can find anybody's adress using internet..... or a corrupt dispatcher who is pis-sed because he didnt get what he tought a deserved promotion! ;P
Ps how do you think they knew dan told them it was gonna be all over 6 months after the campaign started??? same pis-sed dispatch

You dont believe 20 years?
Ok lets say before deregulation then.
Beeing from a truckers family, I know a lot of retired drivers (family and friends) and the older they are, the better pension they have. Thats because when they were working, they were all union drivers with pension plans in theyre contracts.
The younger ones are the one that started trucking near or after deregulation.
I'm one of the youngest one in the family whos trucking, I'll never have the pension those guys are benefiting.

You can see the degradation.

You have been with your friend's company for 20 some years? even before he started this magnificent company, what kind of pension plan are you benefiting? and dont BS me with RSP'S or beeing a broker. I'm talking about pension plan provided by the company.
what kind of pension plan does drivers with 20 + years in the company will have?

And about Maislin? same problem, like many others, they dissapeared because some rocket scientists came up with the brillant idea to form leasing companies and drivers agency's to be able to get around union because by doing so, they could cut rates because they were cutting salaries. it was nice, they were the gypsies the innovators, yeah right look at us now.....

Now back to the topic, before the moderator freaks out again.

The teachers is a good example of bad administration, instead of kicking the rear end of those who accepted this, it's the union's fault.

[buzzy]

I agree Ratfink. Contracts are a two way street. You can't have one unless both parties agree to it.

If it takes getting unions involved again to get driver's making a good wage again then I am all for it. If there is another solution with the same outcome then I am all for that. The problem is OTR industry wide and the only way that anything will work is if a majority of drivers can agree to a solution.

Buzzy, I will pose the question to you. No bull**** and I am not trying to get a rise out of you or insult you but what do YOU see as a solution to the problem? What would you like to see done or what can be done to improve the pay structure in the industry?

1) all independants to quit cutting each other's throats for freight

2) quit hauling load broker freight

3) company drivers start helping each other out instead of driving by a breakdown and waving.

4) refuse to pay lumper fees. It's not your freight, therefor not your responsibility to get it on off the truck.

5) RUN 100% LEGAL

6) let produce sit in the fields. You know when you have an empty reefer down south on Monday, you aren't getting loaded to Friday because the brokers are shopping for cheap rates and come Thursday companies are getting desperate to get their trucks home.

7) quit listening to the truckstop lawyers. Do your own research.

8) last but not least.... all on road personnel look presentable. Nothing turns a shipper off more than a guy standing in their office that hasn't shaved, showered in 3 days, still wearing the close he had on 4 days ago.

[ratfink]

1) all independants to quit cutting each other's throats for freight

2) quit hauling load broker freight

3) company drivers start helping each other out instead of driving by a breakdown and waving.

4) refuse to pay lumper fees. It's not your freight, therefor not your responsibility to get it on off the truck.

5) RUN 100% LEGAL

6) let produce sit in the fields. You know when you have an empty reefer down south on Monday, you aren't getting loaded to Friday because the brokers are shopping for cheap rates and come Thursday companies are getting desperate to get their trucks home.

7) quit listening to the truckstop lawyers. Do your own research.

8) last but not least.... all on road personnel look presentable. Nothing turns a shipper off more than a guy standing in their office that hasn't shaved, showered in 3 days, still wearing the close he had on 4 days ago.

Hey Buzzy, dont want to insult you... but I agree with you.

BUT.

lets see now.
1) all independants to quit cutting each other's throats for freight
1, independants will cut eachothers throats no matter what we say.
Maybe they have trucks with low payments, or no payments.
Maybe it's a kid that used papa's pension plan to buy a truck and trailer and is on a trip,
maybe the guy has a driver that doesnt cost much...
who knows, wont stop that.


2) quit hauling load broker freight
2, Load brokers are a cancer like agencys in this industry.
but they are legitimate businesses therefore cant stop them. besides a lot of large trucking companies are at the same time load brokers and are also drivers agencys.

3) company drivers start helping each other out instead of driving by a breakdown and waving.
3, new drivers dont give a rats rear end about anybody, sorry wont be able to change that either.


4) refuse to pay lumper fees. It's not your freight, therefor not your responsibility to get it on off the truck.
4, I refuse to lump loads, every time I end up in safety. And because I refuse to do it, I'm labeled as a radical , a trouble maker... cmpanies are pushing drivers to fingerprint load again in order to charge less to the customer because with no contract... they can do it! simple as that..


5) RUN 100% LEGAL
5, I agree with you on that one too, it's getting there because again companies will be forced to.
before the tickets were issued to the driver only when he was cought falsifying his log. funny now that companies ar ticketed too they ask to run legal???


6) let produce sit in the fields. You know when you have an empty reefer down south on Monday, you aren't getting loaded to Friday because the brokers are shopping for cheap rates and come Thursday companies are getting desperate to get their trucks home.
6, Produce wont sit, produce brokers are agressive sellers, for most, they have been in the produce business for decades and know too well that a rookie driver or independant will do it for less than it's worth. (see example 1)


7) quit listening to the truckstop lawyers. Do your own research.
Reseach on what Buzzy? I've tried a little experiment not long ago, just a simple question.
How much wil it pay more to haul LCV's.
nobody want to talk about it, it's taboo to ask.
I've seen new drivers come on board not knowing how much money they would receive, they knew the salary per mile, but since they didnt know the business and the only people they talked to were the recruiter and school, they only found out when they received theyre first paycheck.
If a guy like me cant even get a straight answer on salary how can you expect a newbie to get a straight answer?


8) last but not least.... all on road personnel look presentable. Nothing turns a shipper off more than a guy standing in their office that hasn't shaved, showered in 3 days, still wearing the close he had on 4 days ago.

youre right on that one , but slobs have been around forever. And tell me, even if you clean them up and clean up the image, do you realy think it will help companies NOT to cut salaries???

[liner]

Union organizer gone for SLH??? Dan told you that? boy is he in for a surprise if he thinks the organizers are gone....The Slh guy is gone because he couldnt get more than 1800miles a week for the past year and as fed up of dorval terminal managments's power trip.
Oh and in your conversation, was it you that mentionned to him about union guys sending you an invitation at your home. Is this why he sent a memo in the terminals warning everybody to NOT steel drivers list?
Nobody needs to steel drivers list. You can find anybody's adress using internet..... or a corrupt dispatcher who is ****** because he didnt get what he tought a deserved promotion!

You dont believe 20 years?
Ok lets say before deregulation then.
Beeing from a truckers family, I know a lot of retired drivers (family and friends) and the older they are, the better pension they have. Thats because when they were working, they were all union drivers with pesion plans in theyre contracts.
The younger ones are the one that started trucking near or after deregulation.
I'm one of the youngest one in the family whos trucking and I'll never have the pension those guys are benefiting.

You can see the degradation.

You have been with your friend's company for 20 some years? even before he started this magnificent company, what kind of pension plan are you benefiting? and dont BS me with RSP'S or beeing a broker. I'm talking about pension plan provided by the company.
what kind of pension plan does drivers with 20 + years in the company will have?

And about Maislin? same problem, like many others, they dissapeared because some rocket scientists came up with the brillant idea to form leasing companies and drivers agency's to be able to get around union because by doing so, they could cut rates because they were cutting salaries. it was nice, they were the gypsies the innovators, yeah right look at us now.....




Sorry to disappoint you but NO .I mentioned it right here on this site about how they were mailing to, and phoning drivers at home in one last desperate attempt to get cards signed.

As far as a pension plan...yes MY plan is all set up for when I retire.You see...I took it upon myself to prepare for my retirement and didn't expect someone else to do it for me.Ever here of personal responsibility??No company OWES you a pension.It's nice if you can get it ,but I believe if a driver has put 20 plus years in at a company with no pension plan,he has only himself to blame. Or he could have gone to work at a union company like Maislin,GTL,ICL,Direct , TF etc etc. Ooops I forgot,their all gone!

[buzzy]

1 individual can't change the image, but 100% compliance can. You don't need a union to accomplish this

If joe trucker (1 truck) under cut's bob trucker (1 truck)5% then xyz freightlines with 100 trucks has to bid on the freight at joe's rate to get it.
1 guy just cut 101 guy's possibilties of a decent wage.

The posted LEGAL speed limit is 100kph in Ontario. The limiters are regulated at 105kph. Doesn't take a brain surgeon tofigure that one out.

Research: there are Trucking Associations (OTA, BCTA, OBAC, etc.,) with 800 numbers that can provide this info.

Lumper fees: Know the law.... a Canadian driver can't be forced to lump a load in the U.S.. It is also illegal,but common practice, for receivers to require you to pay for their unloading services.

Driver appearance: Shippers and receivers don't see an individual face, they see a name on the door of the truck. If a guy (slob) from xyz freightlines is standing in the office it reflects back to the company. Perhaps this customer has a million lbs of freight to move, this guy is the first driver assigned to a load and the shipper assumes the company will treat their freight the same way. all of a sudden the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., load gets cancelled)

There was a reason we all wore uniforms at one time: expression of professionalism! ( a 4 day old tee-shirt and baggy, greasy sweatpants and sandles are not a uniform)

company drivers helping each other: the difference between professionals and steerng wheel holders.

RESPECT: if you respect the company, equipment, policies, AND EACH OTHER.. the rest will look after itself.

[ratfink]

Sorry to disappoint you but NO .I mentioned it right here on this site about how they were mailing to, and phoning drivers at home in one last desperate attempt to get cards signed.

As far as a pension plan...yes MY plan is all set up for when I retire.You see...I took it upon myself to prepare for my retirement and didn't expect someone else to do it for me.Ever here of personal responsibility??No company OWES you a pension.It's nice if you can get it ,but I believe if a driver has put 20 plus years in at a company with no pension plan,he has only himself to blame. Or he could have gone to work at a union company like Maislin,GTL,ICL,Direct , TF etc etc. Ooops I forgot,their all gone!

good for you, how many did like you in the industry? where you work?
If you are sooo well off, what's the big deal to you then,?
What is it that you are going to lose?

Look at the industry and stop looking at you and you alone.
This is the attitude that got us where we are.
Look at where we all are with your line of thinking. Thanks buddy

If you realy think that way about companies not having to be responsible for theyre employees then you must be screaming your head off at your municipal provincial or federal representatives for allowing to pay such stupidities as pension plans to the people who work for them.
paid with your money.

[ratfink]

1 individual can't change the image, but 100% compliance can. You don't need a union to accomplish this

If joe trucker (1 truck) under cut's bob trucker (1 truck)5% then xyz freightlines with 100 trucks has to bid on the freight at joe's rate to get it.
1 guy just cut 101 guy's possibilties of a decent wage.

The posted LEGAL speed limit is 100kph in Ontario. The limiters are regulated at 105kph. Doesn't take a brain surgeon tofigure that one out.

Research: there are Trucking Associations (OTA, BCTA, OBAC, etc.,) with 800 numbers that can provide this info.

Lumper fees: Know the law.... a Canadian driver can't be forced to lump a load in the U.S.. It is also illegal,but common practice, for receivers to require you to pay for their unloading services.

Driver appearance: Shippers and receivers don't see an individual face, they see a name on the door of the truck. If a guy (slob) from xyz freightlines is standing in the office it reflects back to the company. Perhaps this customer has a million lbs of freight to move, this guy is the first driver assigned to a load and the shipper assumes the company will treat their freight the same way. all of a sudden the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., load gets cancelled)

There was a reason we all wore uniforms at one time: expression of professionalism! ( a 4 day old tee-shirt and baggy, greasy sweatpants and sandles are not a uniform)

company drivers helping each other: the difference between professionals and steerng wheel holders.

RESPECT: if you respect the company, equipment, policies, AND EACH OTHER.. the rest will look after itself.

I understand all that, and agree with you. But these are issues that companies can and do get around, because they can.
Lumping is a biggie with me, I'm not gonna fingerprint a load no matter what. I do know the law but companies are pushing drivers to do it anyways, we lalked about this in another post. I was told , bahhh it's no big deal , your paid to deliver and phisical work never killed anybody.

That's not what I'm talking about.
Lets look at it from another angle.

let's say that gov, comes up with a law that force everybody to pay a OTR driver 40 cents a mile a bit like a minimum wage and make it illegal to pay per diem. (put any number you want)
And lets go crazy, it would be paid by the log book. I mean pay the miles that are logged, and hours that you put in as work when you deliver or pick up etc. no pay to sleep or sitting at the truckstop for lunches.
I know I know I dont want the gov in there more than you do but for the sake of the discussion let's assume.

What would be the consequence of doing this?

[buzzy]

Communism, if the government took control. :cop2:

[ratfink]

Communism, if the government took control. :cop2:

I know and geeezz I agree with you again.
Sorry man I'm realy not trying to insult you in any way by agreeing with you this morning.

I said just for the sake of a discussion.
OTA's (who is an union huh?) brain surgeons asked for the speed limit saying it would level the playing field.

Play the game here Buzzy and let's virtualy level the playing field.

In your opinion what would be the consequences if rules like that would be in force in the OTR trucking industry coast to coast in Canada???
What would it do to the rates for example?
I'm not talking about pension plan, overtime whatever.
To level the playing field as the bunch of pseudo Einsteins talked about.

[buzzy]

The OTA is an association of carriers. It is not a union. Also, the OTA can't get their own heads out of their arses let alone try and organize the country with each provinces own individual regulations.

I named the truck associations as an example of a resource. Rolf, Jim, Lou, are another resource. ( Truck rag editors)

The OTA backed the decision for speed limiters to level the playing field amongst themselves. They recognized a need for safety. It had to start somewhere.

Again, the legal POSTED limit is 100kph in Ontario. Consistantly running over is a lack of safety control.

We run 140,000 lbs gvw!! Every km of speed forward increases the stopping distance. Every extra lb of freight doubles it. A truck vs car collision is like taking a knife to a gunfight.

It comes down to 7 little letters..respect.

Lack of it for the other guy on the road by all licensed drivers, over zealous news reporting, watchdog groups and McSquinty's Mafia forced the legislation.

[ratfink]

The OTA is an association of carriers. It is not a union. Also, the OTA can't get their own heads out of their arses let alone try and organize the country with each provinces own individual regulations.

I named the truck associations as an example of a resource. Rolf, Jim, Lou, are another resource. ( Truck rag editors)

The OTA backed the decision for speed limiters to level the playing field amongst themselves. They recognized a need for safety. It had to start somewhere.

Again, the legal POSTED limit is 100kph in Ontario. Consistantly running over is a lack of safety control.

We run 140,000 lbs gvw!! Every km of speed forward increases the stopping distance. Every extra lb of freight doubles it. A truck vs car collision is like taking a knife to a gunfight.

It comes down to 7 little letters..respect.

Lack of it for the other guy on the road by all licensed drivers, over zealous news reporting, watchdog groups and McSquinty's Mafia forced the legislation.

I know the Newcom people very well but for a newbie coming into the industry, not sure,
Salary is not often talked about in any rags anyway, only one I know is in a french version of todays trucking a guy talks about it once in a while.
taboo subject remember?

Union association whatever it's all the same.
Bunch of people who gather together for the same cause.
playing with words here huh???

And they didnt organize the contry but were lobbying hard for the 105 law saying it would level the playing field. yeah right.

but you are avoiding my questions Buzzy.
thats not what I asked....

[bikerboy]

maybe its time ontario cut back the truck GVW, since if running slower is safer, running lighter should also be safer. so why not cut back the weights?

[liner]

good for you, how many did like you in the industry? where you work?
If you are sooo well off, what's the big deal to you then,?
What is it that you are going to lose?

The reason it's no big deal to me is because I planned ahead,and if others didn't,why didn't they!! You can't blame that on the industry or CMF.Well off....not really,I'm a truck driver...remember, but I should be comfortable in retirement.


Look at the industry and stop looking at you and you alone.
This is the attitude that got us where we are.
Look at where we all are with your line of thinking. Thanks buddy..

That's where I disagree.I have to look out for myself because this industry sure won't do it for me,nor should they.Is the industry screwed up...yes, but I put a lot of that blame on the new Canadians with the funny hats.Not a week goes by that I don't see more new rate cutting company's out of Brampton!They are a BIG part of the problem!


If you realy think that way about companies not having to be responsible for theyre employees then you must be screaming your head off at your municipal provincial or federal representatives for allowing to pay such stupidities as pension plans to the people who work for them.
paid with your money.

Responsible to a certain degree,but they shouldn't have to hold their hand.Most company's have a pension plan for drivers to join,but it's up to the drivers to sign up.(Yes even CMF)If they choose not to....that's there choice, but no company OWE'S their employees a pension. Companies are NOT responsible for an employees retirement plan ,that's up to each individual. If they won't look out for themselves,why should anyone else worry about them.

And yes I curse the Government everyday at things our money is wasted on,especially employees!

[ratfink]

Damn youre good!
we should all take example on your behavior.
OTR would be perfect.

[buzzy]

I know the Newcom people very well but for a newbie coming into the industry, not sure,
Salary is not often talked about in any rags anyway, only one I know is in a french version of todays trucking a guy talks about it once in a while.
taboo subject remember?

Union association whatever it's all the same.
Bunch of people who gather together for the same cause.
playing with words here huh???

And they didnt organize the contry but were lobbying hard for the 105 law saying it would level the playing field. yeah right.

but you are avoiding my questions Buzzy.
thats not what I asked....

I find it extremely difficult to have an intelligent two-way debate when the other party has a one-track mind.

[ratfink]

I find it extremely difficult to have an intelligent two-way debate when the other party has a one-track mind.

Yeah tell me about it, I get the same feeling!

[Pipeman]

Buzzy, Union and Association are the same.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/association

Just like some groups prefer to call their union an association such as an Employee Association.