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Example 1:
Many public teacher unions own their own health insurance provider. Through contract agreements, the school (government/tax payers) are forced to only buy from the union owned health insurance provider. This is called a monopoly. This union owned monopoly then charges the school (government/tax payers) 30 to even 40% above fair market value for the insurance provided... This costs some school districts several hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in wasted spending that could have been used to hire new teachers, buy new computers, end pay to play sports, fix a leaky roof, etc... And then the union donates much of this excess to Democrats who scream that schools don't have enough money. Detroit Public Schools spend $16,000 per pupil a year...
Example 2:
The Detroit Public Pension's board of trustees is run by union leaders who make up a majority of the board. They would give out 13th month bonus checks, despite that not being calculated in to the original math. They hit a snag...and were already bailed out with $1.4 Billion in the past and the union responded by continuing the bonuses. They also had a supplemental investment plan that guaranteed investors a minimum of a 7.9% return. This program also gave out bonus checks that were needed to off set bad years. The union refused to fix the math and now want a second bailout while maintaining control of its operations.
They`re still high fiving each other over the deaths of the union teachers in Newtown and the hundreds of union firefighters and police officers that died on 9-11.
That may be so but I don`t have contempt for working people.
Yes you do. Your post I replied to proves it. Unless your definition of working people is "unionists that are loyal democrat voters and carry the party line even if it isn't what is best for the workers."
P.S. Percentage wise, Republicans are more likely to be working people than Democrats. You don't understand how the world works.
There has been a lot of noise about politics, union, good bad... Has anyone thought, what about the workers? MAYBE they are happy without a union. They like the working conditions, the benefits, AND, they get to keep their check without paying off a "Union" to represent them, when they don't want it!
Where I work, a union would get laughed out of the building. I have a good wage, benefits some unions would like to have, and a great group of people I work with. I actually look forward to going to work!
To your health and wellness
Flex benefits for medical, vision and dental plans
Life insurance for you, your spouse, and your children
Business travel life insurance
Tax-free health and dependent care spending account
Short & long term disability
Life, at work
Employee assistance program
Pension plan
401k plan with company matching
Adoption assistance
Paid vacation, holidays, and personal days
Career Values
Online University with over 150 free online courses
Tuition reimbursement
Offers and discounts – the perks!
In many locations, discounted services like cable, telephone and Internet
Employee discount programs from great retailers (Dell, GM, Ford, and Philips to name a few)
Location-specific benefits tailored to your neck of the woods
They even offer adoption assistance, I mean how many companies do that? I get so much time off ever year, i can't take it all, and end up selling some back, and carrying some over to the next year. WHY would I ever want a union, when our company takes care of us. The place I work, has been named one of the 10 best places to work for YEARS. You couldn't PAY me to vote for a union. Been here almost 8 years, will probably retire here.
No, Germany has labor laws that mandate presence of unions and even make contract negotiations in American style unnecessary, as German labor specify all the aspects of employment such as wages, paid sick leaves, paid maternity leaves, paid vacations, pensions etc. Germany as part of EU has no tariffs other than EU tariffs that protect the entire EU market. Germany is a great example of successful social contract between the labor and employers. There is no poverty American ghetto style in Germany but there is staten sponsored education and very generous social programs.
Germany is an example of capitalism with a soft, human side.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
Germany has trade tariffs that keep their unions strong and relevant.
But the only reason you have these benefits and perks is because some hundred years ago people were dying fighting for them. American capitalism in XIX century was not a pretty picture with child labor, occupational hazards and shacks around all factories where employees would rest after 12 shifts, 6 days a week.
Of course you take your benefits for granted but be careful.... This may change and since you don't have an union your benefits maybe taken away at any time....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkatt
There has been a lot of noise about politics, union, good bad... Has anyone thought, what about the workers? MAYBE they are happy without a union. They like the working conditions, the benefits, AND, they get to keep their check without paying off a "Union" to represent them, when they don't want it!
Where I work, a union would get laughed out of the building. I have a good wage, benefits some unions would like to have, and a great group of people I work with. I actually look forward to going to work!
To your health and wellness
Flex benefits for medical, vision and dental plans
Life insurance for you, your spouse, and your children
Business travel life insurance
Tax-free health and dependent care spending account
Short & long term disability
Life, at work
Employee assistance program
Pension plan
401k plan with company matching
Adoption assistance
Paid vacation, holidays, and personal days
Career Values
Online University with over 150 free online courses
Tuition reimbursement
Offers and discounts – the perks!
In many locations, discounted services like cable, telephone and Internet
Employee discount programs from great retailers (Dell, GM, Ford, and Philips to name a few)
Location-specific benefits tailored to your neck of the woods
They even offer adoption assistance, I mean how many companies do that? I get so much time off ever year, i can't take it all, and end up selling some back, and carrying some over to the next year. WHY would I ever want a union, when our company takes care of us. The place I work, has been named one of the 10 best places to work for YEARS. You couldn't PAY me to vote for a union. Been here almost 8 years, will probably retire here.
You're obviously a union member and as such of lower intelligence so I'll explain it to you.
Your obviously one of the people that compensate lower IQ with insults. Duly noted.
I am not an union workers, but my father and my grandfather were, I did not forget where I come from just because I got a degree and a six figures salary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philo_Beddoe
If the UAW succeeds in unionizing VW it will be against the majority of the VW workers' wishes. Those that don't join the union of their own free will will be subjected to harassment and pressure from the union to join. That WILL happen. It always does.
It never happens, there is no pressure and no harassment. VW will have a chance to decide without an outside pressure from redneck politicians..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philo_Beddoe
You union diehards really are amusingly pathetic. Earlier you mentioned nurses and police being unionized. My wife is a nurse. She works for the largest long term care corporation in the country. It is not unionized in any state that it's in and it's in over 20 states. In the past five years she has taken it upon herself to obtain more education and develop more nursing skills. This effort has resulted in her receiving several promotions and significant raises. She did it all without the help of a union. Imagine that. That kind of blows your "the poor nurses need unions to survive" theory right out of the water doesn't it.
Most nurses up north are unionized. You're obviously from the south and you will fight the unions and in the same time ponder how come the southern, right to work states are so poor....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philo_Beddoe
With regard to policeman. You said something like think about what you say to the next policeman that stops you because he's probably in a union. What's that mean? It seems like you're implying that you'd be OK with that policeman mistreating or abusing the rights of someone who was not a union supporter.
Not at all. But sometimes it's up to the cop to either let it slide or not and if you tell him, like you told me that as an union member he probably has a low IQ he may take it the wrong way and follow the to the letter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philo_Beddoe
No surprise there though as most unions today are made up of nothing but very low intelligence thugs. It makes sense that all unions in this country are far left as the far left survives on thuggery and intimidation rather than reason, logic and effort.
You just offended all cops, airline pilots, ups workers, Hollywood writers, nurses, electricians and many many other people you never met.... That's what goes for IQ where you live?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philo_Beddoe
Unions in 2013 are made up of nothing but losers who don't have the balls, skills and/or intelligence to make it on their own in the world. Instead they band together with their fellow losers and intimidate businesses into paying them much more than their skills actually merit.
Nope. Companies do not have to accept the unions terms, that's why that process is called negotiations.
Union means that there is any kind of negotiation, otherwise the employer would simply dictate the terms of employment and intimidate workers into accepting them. Changing a job is not always an option and people who do it frequently are disadvantaged when seeking employment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philo_Beddoe
Union membership has been declining sharply and will continue to decline in the coming years. The unions meatheads realize this and are getting increasingly desperate and pathetic such as the case of VW.
Yes, union membership has fallen sharply, interestingly in the same time when wage disparity has increased and when the middle class got decimated. Do you think it's a coincidence?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philo_Beddoe
I'm enjoying watching every second of watching the union movement in this country die a slow painful death. My advice to those of you who are union is to look for the writing on the wall. Instead of pissing and moaning about how evil business is and how unfair life is maybe your time would be better spent cracking a book or attending a class to learn some new skills that will help you in whatever field you're in.
Short of that save you're BS communist union propaganda for someone stupid enough to believe it.
Yes, dig your own hole. Once the unions are gone so will be gone benefits and perks as non-unionized companies won't feel the pressure of the job market. Maybe we will revert the the good old days when child labor and 12 hours shifts were common while most factory workers lived in shacks just outside of factories?
But the only reason you have these benefits and perks is because some hundred years ago people were dying fighting for them. American capitalism in XIX century was not a pretty picture with child labor, occupational hazards and shacks around all factories where employees would rest after 12 shifts, 6 days a week.
Of course you take your benefits for granted but be careful.... This may change and since you don't have an union your benefits maybe taken away at any time....
Unions were extremely beneficial to today's country and were once vital.
They have since put in place many laws to protect workers and unions have become corrupt.
Germany is much more unionized than the US ever was and labor laws are 100 folds more generous for the workers yet cities didn't go ban crust and unionized workers at Mercedes, making twice as much as america auto workers are happy making the best automobiles on the planet.
The right blames labor for all the evil, forgetting that they drowned this country in debt through the housing bubble burst and then shipped American jobs oversees, forcing American labor to compete with the Chinese making 67 cents an hour. Is that a fair competition?
Don't be delusional, this assault on labor is taking a toll on the entire nation... Just look around...
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoNansea
Rasputin~Why would you assume I am unaware of public employee unions? Those are the unions doing the most financial damage currently. Cities have been forced to declare bankruptcy or turn their services over to their county due to not being able to pay the exhorbitant salaries, pensions & perks of city employees. The unions bribed & bullied the local, county & state officials in California in order to obtain unsustainable benetits with the taxpayers picking up the tab. Since when was the government such an abusive employer that public employees needed a union? Prison guards there get paid for every minute they walk to & from their vehicles before & after work. Who gets that? Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District employees who are new mothers get paid for breast feeding lessons. Why? So don't tell me how necessary unions are for public employees!
VW did not say they wanted a union. They said they would not oppose a work council like exists in Germany.
Work councils in Germany include unions. Germany is much more unionize than the US ever was.
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