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Those unions had some weird and costly rules. The guy driving the truck couldn't unload it. A separate set of workers had to unload the trucks but those workers couldn't drive the trucks.
Stuff like that only served to contribute to the Hostess union downfall.
This one feature of the contract (truck loading rules) has garnered more attention in the press than the gross negligence of the C class heroes at Hostess, why? Because the anti union press (which hates it own unions) has a lot to gain by fostering more hatred for unions in order that they may someday be rid of the unions that represent media labor. Union work rules are often garnered in a particular round of negotiating wherein the union is told of a new job cutting initiative and their collective response is to "save" jobs by insisting upon a labor intensive rule that accomplishes this goal. It's more often a response rather than a logical idea...
The whole truth always requires a bit more than cherry picking through google to find support for one's myopic views. The downfall of Hostess is a well documented saga of corporate malfeasance coupled with market realities., the union's past 2004 concessions were in excess of 100 million dollars in give backs, not exactly a pittance and by far a greater contribution to the bottom line than any assertion that unions contribute to a company's downfall.. I've stated the obvious before, humans aren't always logical, whether they be union members or corporate execs, the big difference lies in one's motives. Union haters are the result of a great PR campaign, just put in "hostess bakery" on Google and see what the "mainstream press" is offering in the way of the whole story.......
Very simple: offer skills that corporations demand. Labor is always in control, which is why salaries in certain industries are high.
The union position might have made sense prior to modern employment law and safety standards. Today it simply serves to inflate wages above market equilibrium. A dishwasher working for $10 at a restaurant isn't worth any more or less than a dishwasher working on a federal contract with SCA rates of $17 an hour. A given job should be worth the same, with the exception of adjustments for locality.
Unions simply use political coercion to artificially inflate wages. They lower productivity in general in my experience. Hostess is proof of this.
Generally speaking.... Productivity has been accelerating while wages, benefits, and hours have been stagnating or declining for the past 3 decades.
We do need to keep our workforce better educated and up to date on skills.... but how do we do that? Why has Germany been so successful in training it's workforce? How S. Korea? They are a manufacturing beasts per capita and very advanced economies.
The fewer workers shows. I occasionally buy a box of Ho Ho's, and they are less fresh (and sometimes actually stale) and often slightly mushed up in the box.
Generally speaking.... Productivity has been accelerating while wages, benefits, and hours have been stagnating or declining for the past 3 decades.
We do need to keep our workforce better educated and up to date on skills.... but how do we do that? Why has Germany been so successful in training it's workforce? How S. Korea? They are a manufacturing beasts per capita and very advanced economies.
Germany and S Korea reserve college for top students. Let's try that here and see what happens.
This one feature of the contract (truck loading rules) has garnered more attention in the press than the gross negligence of the C class heroes at Hostess, why? Because the anti union press (which hates it own unions) has a lot to gain by fostering more hatred for unions in order that they may someday be rid of the unions that represent media labor. Union work rules are often garnered in a particular round of negotiating wherein the union is told of a new job cutting initiative and their collective response is to "save" jobs by insisting upon a labor intensive rule that accomplishes this goal. It's more often a response rather than a logical idea...
The whole truth always requires a bit more than cherry picking through google to find support for one's myopic views. The downfall of Hostess is a well documented saga of corporate malfeasance coupled with market realities., the union's past 2004 concessions were in excess of 100 million dollars in give backs, not exactly a pittance and by far a greater contribution to the bottom line than any assertion that unions contribute to a company's downfall.. I've stated the obvious before, humans aren't always logical, whether they be union members or corporate execs, the big difference lies in one's motives. Union haters are the result of a great PR campaign, just put in "hostess bakery" on Google and see what the "mainstream press" is offering in the way of the whole story.......
Union-hater is about on par with "climate denier".
The largest block of union employees left are public-sector unions. Think of what this really says. Deeply. Think deep about the message.
Union-hater is about on par with "climate denier".
The largest block of union employees left are public-sector unions. Think of what this really says. Deeply. Think deep about the message.
The term "union hater" is one that has adequately defined those who seem to deflect ALL arguments for unions and embrace ALL the negative failings of some union activity as proof of their being an antiquated enemy of workers. Yes, I've said it before, and I guess it warrants repeating----Unions are not an infallible construct, they are subject to the usual follies we associate with most human interaction.
The fact that most of our institutions (private and public) have, from time to time, been guilty of all types of trespass upon society should provide the impetus for a willful attempt at improvement, but not abandonment. Wall Street perversions have been more disruptive to American society than any union ever was, yet I don't advocate for the demise of the American investment community. Our government has been another source of grief for many of its citizens yet I don't advocate to disband the government nor am I going to join the secessionists any time soon.
Now, about the "message" and deep thinking: The message implied regarding a diminished union presence in the American workplace is one that conveys a huge degree of success for those who have been at the helm of America's largest union busting law firms and labor consulting groups who routinely utilized a willing media in their war on unions----Period. Just as media spawned political propaganda has done a good job of BS'ing the electorate the same media has been waging their own war upon their workforce and by extension propagating the entire notion of union membership as an evil.
The American media IS big business and therefore has a negative bias when it comes to organized labor. Your assertions implying the loss of unions as a natural passing brought on by a greater understanding by workers of their interests ignores the very real truth of a war on organized labor by big business and media. Ignoring the many successful union/management relationships suggests a kind of blindness usually associated with hatred, AKA blind hatred...
I think that many people can think their way through the many complexities of labor/management differences without arriving at a conclusion that would include a need to undermine either entity to the point of extinction. Business by it's nature is supposed to take advantage of every possible efficiency in the pursuit of profits, but, that activity has to take place in a way that is consistent with law, labor unions have been at the forefront of that effort to legislate the necessary restraint upon business in order that we can preserve a democracy and not encourage a plutocracy. The people's interests are not always aligned with those of corporate America..
That restraint is still a necessary component of a democracy that includes a capitalist economy. Capitalism worked best in America when it was harnessed in that yoke of organized labor coupled with the myriad laws that serve to create a brake for the purpose of restraining the natural excesses of management in their pursuit of profit. Unions don't want to deny the profit motive, but we must make it work within the confines of a democracy.
We have a two party system that in effect is really a one party system serving the wealthiest of us, to the detriment of the majority. What other entity in America seeks to represent the worker? I know you won't be swayed by my argument, but, I feel a need to post here in defense of the unfair onslaught of disinformation and misinformation put out by those who have refused to see this as a two sided affair..
The fewer workers shows. I occasionally buy a box of Ho Ho's, and they are less fresh (and sometimes actually stale) and often slightly mushed up in the box.
They're about to lose a customer.
uhm
that probably has more to do with the store you are buying them from, than to do with hostess
How is your argument against labor unions any different from those a century ago? Y'all seem to love unions actually, but just the kind that your masters love: NRA, SuperPACs, churches/religious organizations...
How is your argument against labor unions any different from those a century ago? Y'all seem to love unions actually, but just the kind that your masters love: NRA, SuperPACs, churches/religious organizations...
Unions a century ago were primarily concerned with working conditions. Unions today, mostly public-sector, are about pay and protection from poor performance.
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