Unions (not) Working for You and your Fa milies

“Just to clarify, the homeless people were paid cash with no health insurance, PTO or any other benefits.”

“The old traditional unions may be done in this country, but something has to take their place. Depending on fair wages at the whim of the business community will never make it. Some sort of viable collective bargaining method will, hopefully, rise out of the ashes. As long as human beings are involved, there will be corruption in both the labor movement and business.”

“The old traditional unions may be done in this country, but something has to take their place.

yeah, the law and the free market”

“We both know the laws are stacked against them and there are many pro-business protections in the "free" market. I would agree if the playing field were level, but it's not. Some sort of union representation would, ideally, help provide that.”

“Ewk....no I am not a member of the IAFF, never will be. Don't want to be...LOL in Augusta they had the Union in Richmond County (as a governmental agency they cannot strike) when the union pushed for consolidation they really HELPED their membership in the County. LOL shortly after consolidation the Richmond County Firefighters lost accumulated leave time, and a Pant load of benfits. LOL...

I want one of you guys to tell me ONE thing the UNIONS have done positive for employees in say the last 20 years?

I can match you one for one on things they have done destructive. ANd the hilarious part is when they destroy a company 20 years later...the employee still may not have a job...but he better be paying those Union dues....(LOL)”

“Ask not what your union has done for you , but what the government has done for you in the past 20 years.”

“Feel the same way about the Government...but the hilarious part is the Unions have pretty much abdicated their original protections to the Unions. Now they convince their people to strike over ridiculous stuff.”

“No one is arguing that unions don't have a history of corruption; the deck is so stacked against workers there needs to be a viable alternative.”

“Try a government that enforces current law.”

“Yes, part of the problem is with the budget. Laws get passed but funding for their responsible agencies is such that there is no way to enforce them. Classic example is OSHA, lots of OSHA regulations - very few inspectors. Probably doesn't help that many of them are lazy bastards as well.”

“Well there is also the Crap from Congress....a few years ago the Border Patrol raided a south Georgia farm. Illegals out the WAZOO....less than a week later the charges were dropped. Apparently a Congressman got involved.

I am sorry but if I was doing MY job and Congressman Snodgrass calls to say stop it. I will ask him to WRITE me an order.

(oh and Tilt I did do that with one Certain State Senator who is now residing in Estill SC.)”

“This union is typical of most, isn't it?

http://www.orionsociety.org/pages/ogn/vieworg.cfm?action=one&ogn_org_ID=708&viewby=name”

“LOL....now in minor defense the IBEW does try to set some formal training requirements and they DO hold members responsible for actions.

I wonder what would happen if the Unions stopped padding their own pockets (talk about being rich on money THEY never earned) and came back with a "guarantee".

You know, the baggage busters were willing to guarantee luggage would get to its destination ontime on target. But that would mean ...."RESPONSIBILITY" which runs counter to the culture of Unions.”

“Congrats UNIONS....1,300 job layoffs in California...(LOL) Great way to protect those workers....OH yeah. But you know one thing in a year they may not have jobs...but they will still have to pay union dues.

Barriers to profitability in Southern California, the company said in the release, include "the incursion of lower-cost, non-union competitors; an irrational competitive pricing environment; and changing market and customer demands."

"This is compounded by a high fixed-cost structure, excessive workers' compensation costs and a confrontational relationship with one of the company's major unions," the release said.

http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2007/08/27/daily7.html?jst=cn_cn_lk


OH and I noticed the US now has the MOST PRODUCTIVE WORKERS...coincidentally the rate of Union membership is also dropping....
last edited: 9/05/07 9:30:34 AM”

“Illigrant Bakers will replace them.”

“Say what....what is a ILLGRANT Baker?”

“They bake illigrant pies.”

“Those poor poor union workers! We should all chip in and hire some homeless people to protest for them.”

“'Illigrant' is truly difficult terminology. You neo-con type guys probably would do and feel much better with 'wet back'.”

“Sale I will stick with CRIMINAL...which is what they are”

“Hanks said corporate bosses should remember that many people, from carpenters to caterers, were suffering as a result of the strike by about 10,500 Writers Guild of America members over their dispute with major film and TV studios.

"There are caterers and carpenters ... and electricians and gaffers," the 51-year-old said. "There are a lot of people out there associated with the industry, for whom the sooner this work stoppage is over the better.

"I just hope that the big guys who make big decisions up high in their corporate boardrooms and what not get down to honest bargaining and everyone can get back to work."

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL1090411720080110?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true

As if they are certainly the ones that are unreasonable! LOL. Wowza.”

“LOL....union thugs...and hollywierd actors all acting pious as hell...(LOL)”

“Their business is on the out and they know it. People just won't pay for the crap they make. Wait till your lively hood moves out from under you.”

“retrain”

“You think XL won't have any fires to fight, cliff?”

“XLax is a public housing inspector, not a firefighter.”

“LOL..Right as usual SPONGEMAN

”

“You're a has-been, PUDGENIK.”

“As opposed to you spongeman...who is a NEVER WAS EVEN CLOSE>”

“i'm generally anti union and think strikes are an act of thugery but i do understand there point...how would you like to create something, have someone buy it and then not get any of the money”

“YOu mean like the guy who designs the company, the product, sucks up the liability for injuries, salaries, insurance, product liability? Or are you talking about the employee who pushes the button to make something?

Thrifty it all has to do with supply and demand. I will bet you any amount of money that if the need for qualified WIDGET makers was 100 times the supply the pay for a good widget maker would go up.

The problem I run into is the guy who gets hired as say a press worker...for 25 years he works as a press worker....and for 25 years the company pays him for his work (hey he knew the pay when he took the job).

After 25 years the company finds they cannot make a profit (i.e. survive) at the present economic rates...so do they go broke? Do they cut back?

When there is a layoff these guys are the first to say "I was loyal to the company for 25 years." Well they repaid your loyalty with wages, benefits etc.

I always ask,"What did you do to improve your value to the company." normal reply,"Heck I done showed up for work every day."”

“Can you say that in "ebonics", Pudge Boy?

"i'm generally anti union and think strikes are an act of thugery but i do understand there point...how would you like to create something, have someone buy it and then not get any of the money."
TH

If you see the point, then how is it "thugery"?
Strike votes are not taken lightly.
Organized labor is just that.......organized.”

“LOL..thank you OH HEAD SPONGE!

Okay here is the question. Marky Mark...if Strike Votes are so "sacred" why do unions oppose "secret" ballots? BECAUSE THEN THEY CANNOT THUG the Employees to the way they want.

As a rule Unions are designed (today that is) to protect the lowest common denominator. A result is that they fully protect incompetence, and mediocrity.

I think Marky mark is actually angry since he cannot find a "Almagamate Sponge Spouse of America" to joing.”

“let me clarify marko

i understand their issues, not "i see the point of striking"...striking's like holding someone hostage to get what you want, or a kid throwing a tantrum

XL, i agree with your earlier points but i don't think you can really compare this to manual labor...writers are creating "intellectual property"...it's like an author writing a book...they created this and should receive royalties for it's sale”

“And in an electronic age where we see more and more "small time" businesses being able to look big time, I am betting that eventually the BIG groups will start taking hits.

It would be cool if there were more access to the airways so that if a writer were pissed off at his pay or benefits he could go from A show to B show. But there are other controls in Hollywierd. Conservatives are blacklisted as a normal proceedure. As a result "the smoke filled rooms" often dictacte the writers and the content.

As a result we are seeing more and more CRAP come out. Hey why do you think the REALITY TV has popped up so big? IS it because of demand? NO its probably a hell of a lot cheaper to produce since the writing is limited at best. Heck look at the Foxworthy Show...Jeff used to tell of being in meetings with NY writers who would write some crap up and say, "LOOOK I knows what da sout' is like." They are talking to a Man from Atlanta GA who LIVES in a doublewide. They had no more freaking idea of what the Real South was like than (was going to throw a dig in here at Marko but) Bill Clinton does of Monogamy.

I think the problem in entertainment is much like the rest of the world. It is not the proper distribution of MONEY it is the limited distribution of FREEDOM.

Say you have Bill Zumbwa...he can write jokes and story lines better than ANYONE. But if he pisses off "Elmer Smurd" in one show he can realisitically be blacklisted.

So lets take those wierd controls out. Bill gets pissed because he is writing some GOOD STUFF. He wants more money. The managers say "Take a hike" He leaves show A and goes to a competitor in Show B. He explains his desires and the Producers of Show B give him a contract that IF the show performs as he is saying it will he will GET this amount of money.

No I am betting most of the WRITERS who are striking probably write stuff from the Libbie playbook. They realize the new competition is coming in and want long term protections.”

“The hollywood bunch are much like the US car cos and employees-lets pretend they want our stuff and immediately they will buy it. What you're viewing this with is teaching people about the truth faster than Detroit and Ho lywood can say otherwise. When we do the above to medicine life will return to sanity.
last edited: 1/11/08 6:24:21 AM”

“damn, that gave me a headache trying to decipher. Now my head hurts and I still don't know what you said.”

“LOL

Wednesday, March 05, 2008
$28 per hour Pothole Patchers means no Mechanization
By Gene on March 5, 2008 at 06:55 am 2 Comments
There are some very clever automated pothole machines on the market. I have seen them operate. They come on top of the hole, a tooth goes in and clears out the hole and high powered air blows the debris and water out, the hole is sprayed with molten tar which drys the hole and hot asphalt is measured into the hole, rolled and vibrated down until it is as smooth as the surrounding pavement.

It’s fast, it’s efficient, it’s effective and it works. The machines aren’t terribly expensive comparatively. And we always have potholes.

BUT we don’t do it that way. We do it like was done 70 years ago. A crew drives to the pothole chips out the junk, sweeps it out, blows air in it, a little tar and a couple shovels of hot asphalt. Then, a guy with a hand tamper comes along behind and tamps. That’s it. Bad and expensive fix.

Why? Unions and political patronage jobs. In Chicago and Cook County pothole repair crew members are paid 28 per hour plus overtime. I know men with PhD’s who do this. It’s good money. And the work isn’t hard.

These PhDs could be inventing better automated pothole repair machines but they don’t because they are on the payoff. It’s better money to just suck on the political machine teat.

This is what is wrong with unions, political machines and politicians.

It costs money to elect democrats. ”

“Maybe the politicians have a union that even independents are subject to, Ah? Still the biggest POThole is WOD.”

“LOL...sail....wow. it is so true what they say about long term drug use and you ARE the perfect example”

“Political patronage in Chicago/Cook County. Oh surely not!”

“I'm too high to open the manhole cover so I can hear you.”

“58 grand a year for fixing potholes. Wow.”

“Well I do have to admit , I am currently enjoying my recent pay raise and cost of living adjust my union negotiated for me....

Thanks Union!”

“Maybe they can outsource it instead..... wait.”

“Sure we can find someone to fight fires cheaper too.
Maybe they can fill the time they spend between fighting fires better? Maybe we should pay them for exactly what they do.

I've never called the fire service, why should I pay?”

“XL - just make sure you drop your overtime form in when you're done posting, ok.”

“Sure we can find someone to fight fires cheaper too.

Now you're talking Y2! I'd like to see private fire fighting companies pop up everywhere. I mean, why should my town's department try to go above and beyond? Who else ya gonna call? I feel we have a good fire department here. But I know they are not as good as they would be if we had actual choices and they had to compete. Especially if they had to compete with a non union company that can do a better job for less money. Hell, you could even get a bunch of neighbors to go together on a contract with a private company and save even more.

Now take the same premise and apply it to every single thing the government provides for us...”

“We don't have any stinkin' tamper. All we get is a lump of asphalt that everyone tries to avoid driving over (thus it never will be anywhere close to smooth).”

“Y2...um don't get Overtime, I am classified a "supervisory" staff meaning...I can work as long as they need me.

Nigal we are a private department, we contract with the County and as a result save the county over half a million a year.”