Unions in San Antonio

[rd2007]

I wish people were more angry at them and it's easy to see why they would rather let the Big 3 go under than lose their precious power. I hope the 3 can come back and be the great companies they once were. I'd love to have the state of Michigan back too

[SAFD_Wife]

San Antonio firefighters have the option of joining the Local 624, which is our chapter of the Professional Firefighters Association. It is fabulous! I know you guys said all unions aren't corrupt, but I just had to speak up for this one

[scuba steve]

I was a member of SPEEA before I moved to San Antonio. We've been on strike once in the last 60 years or so and dues were reasonable. They offered support with problems that came up with management (anything from finding someone to route travel expense documents through when managers move from one area to another, to serious matters). It really wasn't a bad group to be in.

I don't think the union is active in San Antonio, but I heard there is a group in Dallas.

[rd2007]

I'm currently in a global managerial economics class and a major focus of it is competitive advantage. I think all employees should learn what that is and it would probably save a lot of the jobs that keep getting "lost".
That's why there will never be a need for unionized labor at companies such as Google or Microsoft. They have the competitive advantage and managment knows they need the employees more than the employees need the company.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by rd2007

I'm currently in a global managerial economics class and a major focus of it is competitive advantage. I think all employees should learn what that is and it would probably save a lot of the jobs that keep getting "lost".

I hope they have taught you the disavantage that the US has because we don't have universal health care (companies have to pay for health insurance) and we have low tariffs = jobs going to China = nothing gets produced in the US

[ryneone]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I hope they have taught you the disavantage that the US has because we don't have universal health care (companies have to pay for health insurance) and we have low tariffs = jobs going to China = nothing gets produced in the US

Universal health care is not practical. There are not enough doctors nor money in this country to provide it.

As for the unions they aren't needed anymore. Big brother does enough to protect the worker now. Detroit is loosing jobs while Texas and Alabama are growing the jobs and the worker are content. The southern autoworkers vs. The northern autoworkers is the best example of union's destructiveness.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by ryneone

Universal health care is not practical. There are not enough doctors nor money in this country to provide it.

As for the unions they aren't needed anymore. Big brother does enough to protect the worker now. Detroit is loosing jobs while Texas and Alabama are growing the jobs and the worker are content. The southern autoworkers vs. The northern autoworkers is the best example of union's destructiveness.

If those companies in the South didn't get any type of subsidy, I would agree with you.
When will the media expose Richard Shelby's ties to foreign car manufacturers in Alabama? | Crooks and Liars

[rd2007]

universal healthcare has nothing to do with a company having a comparative advantage (I used competitive advantage by mistake earlier), unless you argue that healthy employees can spend more time at work. Having a competitive advantage means you produce the best quality product at the most competitive price (note I did not say cheapest, otherwise walmart would be the only company left). I have family members in Michigan that were UAW their entire life. Some were actually good people that took their job seriously, but most took advantage of what they could get away with because they had so many years with the plant. One particular aunt would brag about how she could easily take half the year off and still get paid her full salary and never worry about losing her job. You don't build quality with that.. ask anyone at the Toyota plant here if they could get away with that. I know someone there that had surgery for carpal tunnel and had to be back to work the next day. She didn't do her job while she was there, but she did other work that she was capable of doing. That's how you get the comparative advantage. Also note that the Toyota workers weren't laid off when they shut down production.

BTW, there's a huge difference between incentives and subsidies. One gets the business to your location and the other encourages consistent failure. And a link to a UAW page is obviously going to be a little bit slanted dontcha think? Here's a great source for all sorts of economic info and it's not slanted one way or the other: http://www.newyorkfed.org/education/fx/print.html (broken link)