Labor Unions (area, jobs, great)

[Crew Chief]

I assume you mean http://www.johnnytex.com

While we're on the subject, the greedy truckload carrier robber barons have convinced the clueless politicians that Mexican trucks on our highways will be a good thing. (Most of them have already invested heavily in Mexican trucking companies, the money will line THEIR pockets instead of helping to bring Mexico's standard of living closer to ours) Among the many reasons that Mexican trucks are a bad idea for the U.S.:

- Very little ability to do background checks on Mexican drivers. No way to track violations Mexican truckers incur in their own country. José might be a homicidal maniac behind the wheel back home. U.S. truck drivers must pay $100 to be fingerprinted and background checked. Not only does that put us at a competitive disadvantage, it leaves a gaping hole in our homeland security program.

- U.S. officials say that all trucks from Mexico will be checked as they cross the border. H**l, the ICE folks don't have enough manpower to check what trucks cross the border now to enter the 25 mile "economic zone". The flow of illegal aliens and drugs will become a TORRENT once Mexican trucks get free access to this country.

- Mexico has virtually NO Hours of Service enforcement for truckers in their own country. You can bet that U.S. carriers will take advantage of that. José will have driven non-stop from Mexico City and then be expected to "press on" once he hits the U.S. border.

- States will loose untold millions of dollars in revenue as Mexican trucks ply the roads of this country "under the radar" avoiding the taxes that states collect from U.S. carriers.

- Current "cabotage" laws require that a Mexican, U.S. and Canadian carriers delivering a load to one of the other countries may only pick up a load that directly returns to the home country. Now that José will be working so cheaply, he'll be running around the U.S., picking up and delivering a few loads before he goes home. He won't mind; he'll get home a lot sooner than if he had to illegally cross the border then sneak back home...

- When José plows into your family or the school bus and kills and maims, he will run back over the border to avoid prosecution, just like Mexican criminals do now.

- All of the U.S. carriers that pay employment taxes; Social Security, Medicare, Workmen's Comp, etc. will no longer be contributing that money to our system anymore (That's patriotic, isn't it?)

- The already low wages that result in 100% plus driver turnover will sink into the sewer once U.S. carriers start paying Mexican drivers 15¢/mile, less than half of what an American driver earns. Many trucking businesses (truck stops, law firms, other trucking business services and many others) will suffer because Mexican drivers don't earn enough to support them.

- It is a Federal requirement that you must speak, write and read English to hold a CDL. That rule is bent badly now. Just wait until we're flooded with Mexican drivers that can't communicate with their customers or law enforcement. What happens when José can't read his shipping papers well enough to see that he is hauling HAZMAT. Will he be able to communicate with first responders if he's involved in an accident while hauling HAZMAT???

Think about it...

[California Carl]

Yup, I have been following that mess too, Crew Chief. Another example of how they are selling the middle class out. Not to mention , putting our highways at risk.
Sorry about the spelling error. You are right its johnnytex.com

[Crew Chief]

Hi Carl! Thanks for the reply. Even though it sounds like just a trucking issue that Mr. and Ms. America needn't care about, it really is. As much as I'm a 50-something, somewhat conservative guy, I'm really worried about the direction our nation is headed. I've always believed in business, understand what it takes to run one and appreciate that the government gets WAAAY too involved in it. But we're rapidly getting to the point where it's harder and harder for the little guy to get into business for himself and the big companies keep getting bigger with the wealth being transferred to fewer and fewer Americans all the time. I sure don't want anyone to think that I'm envious of the rich; I admire anyone that can make it in this country. The two co-chairmen of my trucking company deserve the millions that they've amassed. Trucking ain't fer sissies, especially since it was deregulated in the 1980s'. But the laws and practices in our industry turn everyone from the driver to the guy in the corner office into "fudging the results" just to make ends meet. Where does it all stop???

[California Carl]

So, back to the topic. It seems like labor unions are not such a popular way to do business in Idaho.
I have a small contracting business here in California and was considering moving it up to Idaho. I wonder what the non-union compition will be like?
Are they as well trained as the union employees up there? I know they are not out here. They are cheaper though.
You don't have to pay for any health care or pension to start with, not to mention, their wages are lower and they will work overtime for straight time pay. I think it is exploitive myself. I know my union has helped me on many levels!

[CafeDelSol]

It all depends on what business you are in. There are few trained builders here since we have no contracting laws requiring any knowledge whatsoever. They're mostly self-taught and it shows. Non-union electricians aren't that well paid here. Siders - also mostly unskilled - are about average. Plumbers always make a mint no matter where they are.

If you plan on being a general contractor you can make a lot of money if you do QUALITY work and actually show up when you say you're going to. Word of mouth gets around fast here. Good quality and craftsmanship are in seriously short supply right now.

[Katiana]

Re: Wal-Mart -

They have been known to keep the employees weekly hours worked just below a level that would qualify them for some benefits like health care.

That is no different than many other employers. My friend has a son who works at Best Buy, sometimes he works 39 hrs/wk!

[California Carl]

Well, I have made it up here. I am in the process of getting my contractors license right now. The "right to work" laws are very interesting, I am learning a lot.
It sure seems like they are written to benefit the Employer. They even have special rules that allow a business to pay below minimum wage! (people that work for tips and kids under 18)

[JAJA]

According to a friend who MUST remain "deep throat", there are written orders for many in Idaho that suggest that they cannot join a Union.

See General Orders for Police Officers....

There is a Union in the Boise Police Department but they do not have National support, or State Support it seems. They have been working without a contract for years. Their pay is low as are benefits and protection if they are injured only goes to those who are related to "somebody" in government.

Fear keeps people from joining Unions. Low pay and no benefits is the result of fear to organize and get reasonable pay.

Are you aware of how much those who fight forest fires get paid? $7.50 to $10 per hour...no health benefits. Now I ask you, why would those people want to put out a fire if it means not pay, however small? And if injured, who pays?

Yeah, Unionize...organize...stand up...life support is over.

[CafeDelSol]

Originally Posted by JAJA

According to a friend who MUST remain "deep throat", there are written orders for many in Idaho that suggest that they cannot join a Union.

See General Orders for Police Officers....

There is a Union in the Boise Police Department but they do not have National support, or State Support it seems. They have been working without a contract for years. Their pay is low as are benefits and protection if they are injured only goes to those who are related to "somebody" in government.

Fear keeps people from joining Unions. Low pay and no benefits is the result of fear to organize and get reasonable pay.

Are you aware of how much those who fight forest fires get paid? $7.50 to $10 per hour...no health benefits. Now I ask you, why would those people want to put out a fire if it means not pay, however small? And if injured, who pays?

Yeah, Unionize...organize...stand up...life support is over.

This is exactly why so many businesses are so hot on moving to Idaho. They know they can get away with paying slave labor wages and minimum benefits and they can simply fire anyone who doesn't agree with the status quo.

[Idaho_Vandal]

Idaho AFL-CIO

I don't know if someone has posted this link or not. I'm not sure what kind of contracting you'll be doing, but on federal aid jobs you still have wage rates.

In some professions I think unions are needed and others they are not needed. The more specialized a field the greater the need for a union. Also a balance between union strength and business strength is important. If either one get too strong than abuses are likely to occur.

I think in Idaho good help gets paid well for the most part. There are exceptions, but if are a contractor who builds roads and employees a quality grader operator you'll pay him what you need to in order to prevent you competitor from hiring him and that might be more than the min wage on the federal wage rate. For jobs like fast food there is an effective min. wage that is higher than the federal one. Basically you can't hire workers for less than $7/hr. If I understand things correctly waiters who work for a tip must still be paid at least min wage, but often make much more than min wage in tips.

I live in Lewiston which is right next to Clarkston, WA. Many construction contractors will pay unemployment in Washington so their employees can receive WA unemployment during winter months when they are laid off because it pays better than Idaho unemployment. In recent years the gap between WA unemployment and ID unemployment has decreased, but it is still there. Lewiston is the strongest union town in Idaho with Potlatch (saw and paper mill).

I hope this information is useful. The lack of union strength probably seems strange coming from California. Two years ago I was vacationing in CA and turned on the news. They were interviewing a union leader who was calling for a very high min wage for food workers. I thought the amount was outrageous and would make California too expensive to visit if passed. I can't remember how much he was proposing for the new min wage.