thank you for unions (Page 2) chronology: Lipton. Wait until you have a Government like Lady Thatcher's, then you will realise you cannot rely on Governments to protect your rights at work.  LiptonCambell: Hahaha are you seriously arguing that the government could be corrupted, but unions are incorruptible? Unions? The thing that have a long, long, long history of being corrupt, and being associated with organized crime? Frankly, if the government turns tyrannical, I'm guessing the nature of the labor board would be the least of our worries... chronology: Folks in Texas have an old saying; 'don't hang your washing on someone else's line'. Which means don't rely on someone els for something you need. The Government can, and has, (in England anyway), in the past taken away protection for workers. At least Unions put up a struggle. By the way Lipton. Ask Teachers in Wisconsin how they are finding their new Government contracts. There was a time when American teachers were respected members of the community, especially in the west. Teachers in Wisconsin are said to be stressed out in overcrowded class rooms and under pretty harsh labour contracts. It really is demeaning to Americans to have their teachers struggling like this after generations of being so much a part of the 'American way'. (Edited by chronology)  davidk14: . It isn't that we hate teachers. In Wisconsin, the deficit was so out of control that there was no money to do anything and the "Detroit" experience was knocking at the door. The costs of doing business had to go down. Period. Teachers in their retirement would receive more money than they had worked for or had put away. It was a pyramid scheme and the day of accountability came due...the 'can' could not be kicked down the road anymore. .  dave3974: HERE IS A GREAT ARTICLE FROM THE PATRIOT NEWS , it is an American newspaper so it must be true It's time once again for Comment of the Day, where we highlight noteworthy comments by PennLive readers. Today's comment comes from "Jannine" who commented on a story about the possibility of right-to-work legislation coming to Pennsylvania. When one commenter asked for "one good reason for unions to still exist," Jannine" offered her own unique, personal perspective: I can give you many reasons for unions to still exist. But first, let me explain where I am coming from. Over 10 years ago, I was "downsized" from a professional (salaried, non represented) position in my company to an hourly position in a reorganization effort by the company. At first, I was quite upset, since I had never been a union supporter. But in the intervening years, I find myself VERY grateful for the long list of benefits that union membership has afforded me. During those same years, the fortunes of the remaining salaried people have declined substantially. The union rules have supported me through several health issues, family illnesses and deaths, and general job security. I am not going to post specifics here since I don't want my company or union identified by name. However, I have made a 180 turnaround in my attitude toward unions. I would also like to add that at my company, the union has actively partnered with management to better manage the company itself. I am well impressed by the union's business acumen as well as their can-do attitude to contributing to the company's profitability. I will also add that I pay around $1,100 per year in union dues, tax deductible. I feel that's pretty reasonable, considering the benefits I have reaped from being a union member. davidk14: . Hum...I have lived and worked in a right to work state for 36 years. I had left a union state (CA) because of the unions. I never felt I made a mistake by leaving CA. .  DEEP_acheleg: jannines statement seemed to allude to the fact that the benefits packages of union hourlies is cannibalizing the pay of salaried positions. for gm and chrystler, the excessive union benefits cannobalized the r&d budget, thus disallowing these 2 of the big 3 from reaching the same quality control and enviormental standards which ford was able to accomplish, due to their tougher stance against union re-negotiations. the union benefits to workers hurt other aspects of those companies, which causes those companies to fulfill their competitiveness in their markets. its like robbing peter to pay paul, so that paul can pay judas chronology: Deep. General Motors specifically has stated that Health Care costs adds around 2000 dollars to the sticker price of each automobile the sell. This has nothing to do with Unions, and everything to do with Americas insane Health Care system. DEEP_acheleg: and that 2000 price increase doenst restore the r&B BUDGET, WHICH IS KEY TO REMAININg COMPETITIVE (Edited by DEEP_acheleg) LiptonCambell: Lets review Chono's comments, only a few hours apart.... "Folks in Texas have an old saying; 'don't hang your washing on someone else's line'. Which means don't rely on someone els for something you need. " "This has nothing to do with Unions, and everything to do with Americas insane Health Care system. " Wow....didn't take long for them to contradict themselves... DEEP_acheleg: the quote from jasmine only reenforces the fact that a union benefits package will render them DISMISSIVE of the detriments to other parts of their complanies, necessitated by the unions excessive benefits demands. in other words, "jasmines" testimony reenforces the notion that union perks render the union worker unsympathetic to the negative effects of other branches of their employers organization- and , thus, are an act of personal greed- and a lack of empathy for other parts of their employers business model- once again stressing the cannibalism of the research and development branch of said manufacturer, which will greatly reduce competitiveness in the near future (Edited by DEEP_acheleg) chronology: Lipton, another old Texas saying; 'he would put a hundred dollar saddle on a twenty dollar horse', which describes a Guy with no sense of value and mixed up priorities. That is a perfect description of Health care in the U.S. at the moment, what Americans could use is a affordable, accessible Health Service for all Americans, whether working for GM or not. The 2000 dollar price tag looks like an expensive saddle, but that is not the fault of Unions, it is because there are no sensibly priced saddles around.  edvis: Unions are not what they use to be. If you have a beef with upper management good luck with getting a union rep to do anything. All they do is collect dues and strong arm people to join. UAW has all but destroyed Detroit edvis: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/06/unnecessary-and-political-why-unions-are-bad-for-america/258405/ chronology: Regis. Do you seriously believe any privately owned newspaper would say Unions are a good idea.  duncan124: That is a one sided webpage....but there is more to be said against Unions and Govts. For instance, in the UK even when the govt had won the right to stop the Unions from demanding everyone was a member of a (the) union just because they got the job the Unions kept on deducting money directly from everyones pay packet until the High Court was forced to rule that the Unions had been acting illegally. -----notice Wireclub jokes about duct tape. Even when ole Maggie Thatcher was hating at the Unions she never said she would stop their bad behaviour. It is fairly obvious she wanted to do the same. duncan124: Quote from thealantic.coms page;- "...on the phones taking ads, for an average of over 20 years. No bs. They were older women, and training them would have cost thousands of dollars because the women were too old to learn new technologies. So, the union saw no need for upgrades and blocked it for years. " duncan124: I have been on strike a number of times. I was even the Union " speaker " at negotiations at two big national strikes, thats the person who is a worker and who says to the management what the members have voted to say. The Union provides professionals who talk to the media instead of members. But is is hit and miss if the Union would take action to protect the workers or not. | Politics Chat Room 33 People Chatting Similar Conversations |