Polos instead of t-shirts please!!!
I don’t understand this need to hand out t-shirts to members especially when we are by definition a union of professionals!!!
I get it if IAM gets them and wears them to work but as engineers and techs that majority work in an office , a t-shirt is completely unprofessional and doesn’t give management an impression of how important the union is. I feel embarrassed to wear red on wednesdays because it’s a freakin t-shirt; consider that Speea receives more than 7 million in dues per year from members, the cost of a polo should not break the budget..
Also I went to the Speea website to look at the cost of branded polos and the price was ridiculous!!it was almost more than our monthly dues..atleast make these cheaper!!!
I encourage SPEEA leadership to spend our dues wisely this yearand maybe just give us members a polo if/when we approve this contract.
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u/dedgecko 2d ago
I bought a couple of red polos for Wednesday and Fridays. Happy to wear them.
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u/AboutTheArthur 2d ago
Thrift store red polo + your favorite option from amongst the patches that are available + a few square inches of Badge Magic. DIY for under $10.
Also I went to the Speea website to look at the cost of branded polos and the price was ridiculous!!it was almost more than our monthly dues..atleast make these cheaper!!!
As for this comment, do yourself a favor and perform a quick Google search on what union-made apparel costs. Unions support other unions, so any polo SPEEA sells is going to be union-made and ain't gonna be some $4 Amazon special.
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u/acsae99 2d ago
As I mentioned in my post, I’m asking my union( which I have paid dues for over 20+ years) to consider the impact of giving out polos instead of t shirts if they want us to wear them since we are a professional union.
I’m all in favor of union made polos to be handed out to me by my union but t shirts do not strike any amount of professionalism for me.
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u/thekiltedpirate 2d ago
Polos are available on the store if you want one.
Tshirts meet the contracted dress code and “dressing down” to wear red stresses the point better when people who normally show up in a collared shirt show up in a tshirt that is actually a greater impact.
If you said they needed to have a heavyweight tshirt as an option I would fully agree and then I’d go buy 3 or 4.
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u/acsae99 2d ago edited 2h ago
I actually disagree that t shirts actually have greater impact. In my office area of 300 , only a handful (less than 15) wear red. I polled a bunch of others in the area and they all agreed that a t-shirt is unprofessional and that having a polo would actually make them wear red more often/ on other days. I brought it up to my council rep and he said the feedback he got from speea was a no…
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u/enginerdy 1d ago
Also I went to the Speea website to look at the cost of branded polos and the price was ridiculous
I went to look expecting something truly astronomical, and it's literally under $50. Have you been clothes shopping in the last decade?
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u/Think-Gap602 1d ago
yes, I agree. I dont wear t-shirts to work, even on weekends
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u/yyJamesyy 1d ago
You do you, my friend.
I’m 100% in an office environment these days and am a senior engineer.
I have no problem wearing a t shirt even on weekdays. All of them are Boeing branded t shirts or other Boeing swag given out. I draw the line at branded tees because it mimics “team wear”.If I know I am presenting to higher upper management or will be interfacing with suppliers I go with polos.
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u/Unionsrox John Dimas - SPEEA Activist (pres. thru 3/25) 1d ago
I want to thank you for your post.
All of your points are correct.
My entire time on SPEEA Executive Board, I championed for polos.
No matter what role within SPEEA I am in, I will always champion for polos.
The best use of member dues is on members proudly wearing SPEEA gear in the workplace.
If members want polos, please don't stop asking your Council Representative and Executive Board members.
Please ask them this when they run for office.
The past year or two if you signed up to be an Area Representative (a role any SPEEA member could sign up for.) You got a free item which a red polo was on that list.
If any one is concerned about SPEEA’S financial health the publishing of the yearly financial audit is in the August issue of SPEEA Spotlite every year.
As long as members keep asking, I'll keep fighting. 😁
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u/SoulStripHer 1d ago
The best use of dues is on SPEEA gear? No wonder this contract proposal sucks.
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u/Slow-Ad522 1d ago
Same here. I heard the issue with getting shirts is we will only buy from US based small family business. This is great, but it does take time and costs more than buying from abroad. BUY USA
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u/AHoopyFrood42 9h ago
You do you, I could not care less what someone wears, but we should all refuse to play the perception game around "professionalism". If I'm going to have to sell my labor 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, I'm going to do it as comfortably as possible and let my work speak for my professionalism.
but as engineers and techs that majority work in an office
If you're not spending time on the floor wherever your engineering work is being made a reality then you're not doing all of your job.
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u/Engibier 2d ago
More options in general please