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These are great arguments for the benefits of diversity, and I'm not disagreeing with them at all. Where I do disagree though, is that a business doesn't have the rights to run however it sees fit. One problem is that not everybody realize that they actually benefit from a diverse candidate pool, but let their biases and other factors affect their decisions which would constitute discrimination under the law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to be more precise.
Why? Why do you feel that you have the right to tell me how to spend my money? Do you want me to tell you what kind of food you must purchase for your househould because a healthy diet is beneficial to society? It's absurd.
My company gives us paid time off, subsidizes most of our healthcare, pays way above minimum wage, gives holidays off, provides 401k matching, a stock purchase program, a stock option program, free drinks in the breakrooms, free popcorn in the breakrooms, days off for volunteer work, 100% matching on charitable donations up to $10,000. None of this is mandated by the government... so why on earth would they do it? Because they either think it's the right thing to do, or they gain an advantage in the workplace for doing so.
If companies want to spend their money foolishly, it's none of your business how they do so. You are never forced to work for them, nor are you forced to purchase their products. The only exception is companies which do business with the government, or are directly under regulation due to a monopoly. In those cases the government *should* be able to do dictate the terms since they are in a sense the customer of the goods or service.
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So you think people should have the protection of contracts at work, or should they be simply at-will without any kinds of protection since that would fit the argument that nobody should interfere with how a business is run.
We have public policies and laws that do govern what businesses can do that supersede the individual rights of the owners because as a society we believe that to be more important.
The importance is irrelevant... society forces businesses because they don't realize their own power in choosing not to do business with companies that they disagree with.... or they're plain lazy and wish the government to do their dirty work for them at the expense of business owners.
But wait for the day when society thinks it's important to dictate more of what you do in the privacy of your home, in how you spend your money... because it's no different than in the workplace. But maybe when you hire private contractors you care less about the qualifications of the person, and more about their gender, race, or religion... who knows...
I'll be first in line to acknowledge the good that Unions have done in the past. When workers were, in fact working in sweatshops, dangerous working conditions and so on. Unions took on the employers and improved conditions tremendously. But, that was "then" - this is "now"
The results that unions went after were, in many cases, resulting in laws - federal and safety - for instance OSHA, EEOC, FLB etc.
Fact is, over the years, Unions thinking they were invinceable started taking advantage of things - including their own members. Unions actually caused members to LOSE benefits -
With a very few exceptions - the need, and desire, for Unions has passed -
Without unions, the middle class in America would never have come into existence. And it is hardly a matter of mere coincidence that the decline of the middle class has lately gone on in tandem with the decline of unions...
Couldn’t agree more with this.
If there had been union representation for those that have been “outsourced” then the companies wouldn’t have been able to get away with sending so many IT jobs overseas.
If there had been union representation in housing construction then the illegal labor wouldn’t have gotten so out of control.
Now everyone is buying goods made in China using labor practices that were eliminated by unions for union and non-union workers.
That isn’t what I would call “progress”.
Let's keep the sarcasm down a bit here, don't want to kill an interesting discussion.
OK, I'll take the "momentous" back but it's a valid point.
In fact, that's what they're talking about on the radio right now...those who have no knowledge of history and how you need that to help you form opinions on what is happening now.
Greatday, Unions aren't needed now????? Oh, so I guess ALL companies are treating their employees fairly and if they're not there's an entity to protect employees???
Greatday, Unions aren't needed now????? Oh, so I guess ALL companies are treating their employees fairly and if they're not there's an entity to protect employees???
The word "fair" is very subjective.
If someone is discriminated against, there are laws and recourse
No, for the most part, Unions are not needed. In fact, Unions have been a major reason for the outsourcing that has happened.
Couldn’t agree more with this.
If there had been union representation for those that have been “outsourced” then the companies wouldn’t have been able to get away with sending so many IT jobs overseas.
What? How would a union stop outsourcing of IT? The strength a union has is the ability to get its members to stop working to influence change. If I'm getting rid of your job by outsourcing it, what the heck do I care if you stop working, you're out of a job already anyway!
I work in IT and have no problem with outsourcing. Companies should focus on their core competencies, and leave everything else to companies which can perform those within their core at a much more efficient rate.
Offshoring can be problematic for us, but just because it's self serving for me to want to make more money and not compete with engineers who make 1/5th of what we make here. But if you look at the salaries in places like Bangalore, they're on a steep incline. But in the end to compete in a global market, we simply need to focus on services which are either too expensive to provide remotely, or focus on what offshoring may lack, which today is quality and customer satisfaction.
"""I've never worked in a unionized workplace (TG!!!) and I've always had sick leave.
Perhaps unions at one time worked to make it the norm we have now,
I don't know the history.""
Exactly.
Some in here remind me of those who hate feminists yet SUCK up all the benefits feminists got for them like the right to vote.
Try to remember ....the world did not start the day you were born...things actually happened before that momentous occassion.
I have a VERY good deal of knowledge of things that came before the day of my birth thank you very much. I'm an avid history buff. History of the unions, however, has never interested me one bit which is why I don't know it. Take your holier than thou rhetoric elsewhere.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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I belong to a union and I have also been non union too. Given the choice, I would prefer to be UNION. Here is why:
1. Me, my spouse and 3 children enjoy FULL health, dental and life coverage which cost me ZERO out of my check. The only things that come out of my check are supplemental life for me and my spouse and transplant insurance for the family. Other than that, we pay $35 when we go to the doctor and $0-$17 for prescriptions depending on what we get. When I was non union I paid $200 a month just for myself and 1 child and the insurance paid nothing until we spent $1000 in a year out of pocket.
2. My pay is about 25% more than the pay of non union people who do the exact same job I do for different wireless carriers. I also get paid at double time after 49 hours a week and I am paid extra if I work at night, on call out or in dangerous parts of town. I get paid time and a half for any work on Sunday even if I have not worked 40 hours in the previous 5 days.
3. I get unlimited sick pay. If you are ill or hurt, you can stay off the job until you are well enough to come back. I have a co worker who broke an arm while cutting a tree at home and he was off for 7 weeks and is now at headquarters answering phones on light duty. He did not miss a CENT of his pay.
4. I have the right to bid for any other opening in the company every 2 years. Let's say that right now I work in Atlanta but I decide I want a change of scenery so a job opens up in Florida. I can bid for the opening and if I am the senior employee they have to give it to me.
5. My union has negotiated group deals with many vendors. My car was bought on a union program and financed the same way and I save lots of money. And we recently refid our mortgage with the same union company and that saved me appx $1000 in closing cost. Not only that BUT in the event of a strike in 2009 when our 5 year deal is up, I can suspend both the house and car payments during the strike.
6. My job is protected by both my senority and by disciplinary due process. A manager cannot just fire an employee because they don't like him or because- like me- we are outspoken and critical of things that prevent us from being the best employee we can be. That does not mean you cannot be fired. People are fired from union jobs all the time despite what the cons will try to tell you. But a manager has to make a compelling case for disimissal (misconduct, dishonesty, too many at fault vehicle accidents, driver's license suspended or revoked). We had a tech fired just a few months ago because he cussed out a citizen who asked him not to play loud music in his work van late at night at a cell site next door to where the man lived. It was not this guy's first trouble and the district manager fired him and it will probably stick. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we now have a new rule "no radio to be on while the vehicle windows are open". That will be around until this wears off some.
7. The union prevents the bosses from playing favourites. They cannot assign cushy jobs and overtime to just the people that they like. Everything is allocated equally. My old job did alot of this. The new people would get all the crap dumped on us while all the good stuff that either paid overtime or involved travel was given to the old employees. I resented it like hell.
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