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So no pro-union person ever answered my question as to why you needed a union person to put a plug in an outlet at McCormick Place and a non-union person was not allowed to do it ?
Yes, unions have become their own worst enemy. In a recession that is magnified.
The article you linked makes it sound like it's more than just a person not being allowed to put a plug in an outlet. "A task force of officials from McPier, the convention bureau, the unions that work at McCormick Place, the restaurant industry and the city’s hotels will convene Wednesday to attempt to devise ways to make Chicago more competitive." The article doesn't even say which unions are involved so how can anyone research for an answer to your question, if in fact what you are saying is true. Obviously, none of the pro-union people posting here so far knows anything about the unions that work in the convention center. Unions are not all the same, and they don't all have the same contracts, work rules or leaders.
OK, I'm a union member, and that rule is dumb. On the other hand, I strongly doubt anyone actually followed it.
It is that bad.
I couldn't get anything done, as a self employed, working solo on a Union project, doing a craft that was not unionized.
I had to wait to get someone to open a bucket of glue for me. I had to let them run my extension cords. They even had to sweep the floor, as I could not on a Union project. It was a complete chaotic, cluster F
The turned me off to ever doing commercial construction sites.
Nope because he was talking about Americans buying what Americans made.
Consume what we produce. That cannot be said for the third world nations now producing for us. They can produce but they cannot consume what they produce because they cannot afford it. It comes back to us, the American consumer to purchase.
Problem is though that our standard of living is being lowered and soon we won't be able to afford them either.
The problem with that argument though is that in the 1950s the reason Americans consumed what Americans made was because Americans were the only people making things on a large scale. Japan, China, Europe and Russia were reduced to ashes following WWII and most of the rest of the world was fighting for its independence. Those days are gone forever and they probably are not coming back.
OK, I'm a union member, and that rule is dumb. On the other hand, I strongly doubt anyone actually followed it.
I guarantee you they follow it. My dad used to do trade shows at McCormick place and had to wait 1.5 hours for the union worker to come and plug in the lighting for their display. No Joke.
I guarantee you they follow it. My dad used to do trade shows at McCormick place and had to wait 1.5 hours for the union worker to come and plug in the lighting for their display. No Joke.
Are you aware that as of the 2007 contract new hire-ins at GM only get $14 to $15 an hour with no pensions rights? The UAW has been making concessions to the auto industry for a decade to help the companies stay solvent. And the $71 an hour figure people like to quote included the value of their health care and benefits. It's not the amount they take home plus health care. Of course, many people don't know that GM no longer even pays health care costs for current employees or retirees because VEBA was accepted by the UAW midway through the last decade. The union takes care of health care now through VEBA which could be grossly be underfunded in the future if GM stock doesn't go up. VEBA was a plan dreamed up by GM to wash their hands of health care. They were to pay the union 3 lump sums of cash in exchange for this concession. They paid the first year's payment and filed for bankruptcy before the second and third payments were made. That is why the federal bankruptcy judge gave the UAW the stock...because they are a major bond holder. The UAW plans to sell the stock as soon as they are able and to diversify.
You're wrong. Unions are NOT their own worst enemy.
unions became their own worst enemy when they started the push for illegal immigration. they gave up american workers for the chance to get more members, and it backfired on everyone. they also became their own worst enemy when they promised employees more than they could deliver and needed to be bailed out by the taxpayers of this country.
we don't have the job base to support all of these service workers, especially with the obliteration of our manufacturing industry and outsourcing of good jobs.
how can people not see that a surplus of workers will drive wages down all by itself?
LOL Floridasandy I love your tag "Things that can't go on forever, don't." You should add to it "unless you are a union-backed company that the government bails out."
unions became their own worst enemy when they started the push for illegal immigration. they gave up american workers for the chance to get more members, and it backfired on everyone. they also became their own worst enemy when they promised employees more than they could deliver and needed to be bailed out by the taxpayers of this country.
we don't have the job base to support all of these service workers, especially with the obliteration of our manufacturing industry and outsourcing of good jobs.
how can people not see that a surplus of workers will drive wages down all by itself?
What union are you talking about? I've never heard of a UAW union---who I was talking about---"pushing for illegal immigration." That sounds more like something involving farm workers in California.
part of the problem with the autoworkers union was that they were promising what they could not deliver to their workers. here are just a few facts from 2006, before GM went belly up:
without the UAW, GM would not now be in process of attempting to pay up to $140,000 per man, just to get them to quit. (that is not productive labor)
without the UAW, GM would not now have healthcare obligations that account for more than $1,600 of the cost of every vehicle it produces.
without the UAW, GM would not now have pension obligations which, if entered on its balance sheet in accordance with the rule now being proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, will leave it with a net worth of MINUS 16 MILLION.
greed and incompetence brought GM and chrysler down.
as far as illegal immigrants, here is the official UAW (united automobile workers) statement:
The UAW believes we urgently need to reform our immigration system to put an end to all these abuses. In our judgment, any immigration reform must:
• Speed up the process for individuals to enter our country lawfully, so they are not faced with lengthy backlogs.
• Ensure full, equal and enforceable workplace rights for all employees, including immigrant workers, both documented and undocumented. This is fair and equitable, and is the only way to ensure that unscrupulous employers do not exploit immigrant workers, and use them to undermine workplace rights, pay and benefits for all employees.
• Establish a well-defined path to allow immigrant and guest workers to adjust their status and eventually become permanent residents and citizens. As a matter of decency and fair play, immigrant and guest workers who have been contributing their labor and have paid taxes for many years in this country should be allowed to become stakeholders in our society. This is essential to prevent the creation of a permanent underclass of indentured workers who will inevitably be exploited and used to undermine the standard of living of all workers.
• Continue to permit international student workers to work for universities, and to become permanent residents and citizens. This will enhance the intellectual and cultural environment at our universities, while also helping to ensure that international student workers are compensated equitably and have equal workplace rights.
they have been NO help trying to get americans to be able to hang onto their own jobs in their own country! what we need is a taxpayer union to protect us from the other unions, big business, and the government.
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