Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Had a family member who retired from a blue collar union job. Free healthcare, contractual annual pay raises not tied to job performance. No layoff clause in the union contract. When there was no work in the area where he worked the company was obligated to send him other places to work, pay for transportation, lodging and meals. He retired with a pension of 50 %. Surprisingly he is Tea Party Republican and feels most working people have an entitlement mentality.
Wrong.. the unions use union dues to get Democratic idiots into office and then they are owned. You know how it is. Unions practically force the union members to vote democrat.
I am not an advocate for unions. Having said this, the union contributions to campaigns are chump change compared to the big money. When one man, Sheldon Adelson, donates $100 million to campaigns/pacs and super pacs, you have to wonder what kind of return on his investment he expects, especially given he is up to his eyeballs in charges in China and needs a benevolent AG to help him out.
No one can be forced to vote. The days when employers hosted the ballot boxes are long gone.
Had a family member who retired from a blue collar union job. Free healthcare, contractual annual pay raises not tied to job performance. No layoff clause in the union contract. When there was no work in the area where he worked the company was obligated to send him other places to work, pay for transportation, lodging and meals. He retired with a pension of 50 %. Surprisingly he is Tea Party Republican and feels most working people have an entitlement mentality.
We all know people like this. It's the" close the door, once you get in" mentality. The " me " generation is nothing new.
There's an undeniable correlation between the decline in unions and the decline in wages for middle class workers here in the US. I guess that's a good thing as long as those "union thugs" don't get good benefits and pensions anymore, though.
Union labor is a "tax" paid by the consumer. That " tax" lifted a heck of a lot of people into the middle class during the hey day of unions.
Just as the tractor made farming less labor intensive/more productive, so did outsourcing and technology as it related to manufacturing. The consumer has been the beneficiary. The cost of many conusmer goods, expressed as a percentage of take home pay, has substantially declined over the past 60 years.
Public sector labor is a different ball game. No way to outsource or replace with technology. The benefits of many public employees are substantially greater than can be found in the private sector.
Last edited by middle-aged mom; 01-24-2013 at 11:16 AM..
Isn't it interesting that worker's rights have also been declining.
Hmmmmm.
Don't whine about your working conditions.
After all, you support the removal of benefits and rights.
The only people who whine about working conditions are lazy ass liberals who want everything for free and hate working for anything. My workers rights haven't declined one bit, they've done nothing but get better/stronger but then again I don't need the help of someone else to barter for things I want because I create value instead of creating a liability for my employer.
The only people who whine about working conditions are lazy ass liberals who want everything for free and hate working for anything. My workers rights haven't declined one bit, they've done nothing but get better/stronger but then again I don't need the help of someone else to barter for things I want because I create value instead of creating a liability for my employer.
Well said! Especially the part about not needing someone else to bargain for you that you offer your own value.
That is the problem. Americans think they are owed either a welfare check or a job. A welfare leach offers no value to America, they just take from Americans. There there are the burger flippers. Anyone can do the job and the burger flippers are either smart enough to go to school so they have a skill that is of higher value or they take the job because they have no other skills, a burger flipper (anyone can do this) is the only value they have and they want paid like the owner of the company who invested and took the risk and has the skills to run the business..
The highest standard of living countries have the highest unionization rates. Countries with the highest IQs have the highest unionization rates.
Unions are declining along with pay for blue collar workers, and declining along with health care benefits.
For 40 years the US white male, by voting for the GOP, has systematically destroyed workers rights, and the ability of unions to strike for better pay/benefits.
You can see these haters in this thread. Bitter either that they don't make union wages, or they own some small business where they pay their workers minimum wage, and no benefits.
So what you are getting now is dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest. The gap between rich and poor is the greatest in our nations history. The USA has the lowest social mobility rates in the Western World. Hard work will get you nothing but a supervisor position at WalMart making you $25K per year.
And the sad thing is. They just keep on bashing unions, and bashing workers who try to act in unison for better wages.
It hasn't sunk in with white voters yet that they screwed their own kids' future over voting for the right wing agenda. These folks still think it's the 1970's where whites will rule over the brown people just because.
This is going to be like Brazil . 1% Ultra elites. 3% middle class, and 96% dirt poor peons. (85% of whites in this last group)
Last edited by padcrasher; 01-24-2013 at 11:39 AM..
I am not an advocate for unions. Having said this, the union contributions to campaigns are chump change compared to the big money. When one man, Sheldon Adelson, donates $100 million to campaigns/pacs and super pacs, you have to wonder what kind of return on his investment he expects, especially given he is up to his eyeballs in charges in China and needs a benevolent AG to help him out.
That's not true, big labor is a huge money funnel for Democrats today. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent by big labor on politics every year. People are forced to pay union dues just to work at a job and in turn their union gives money and buys power regardless if the workers agree or not.
Labor unions are and have been the biggest racket around, that's why the death of big labor is a welcome thing in this country. This is also why a very small minority aren't able to overpower the America people in things like recall elections in WI.
So what you are getting now is dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest.
God forbid people actually get rewarded for hard work, a solid work ethic, bringing value to the employer and accepting responsibility for their own future. What a horrible world we live in where people actually get more when they contribute more.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
