Union Move********

[Frankn]

Well, it's happening now. The unions are protesting the govement cost cuts that are comming up and instead are asking for more spending. Of course they realize that the fat cutting will eliminate unnecessary jobs that the taxpayers are presently paying for. The union leaders are up in arms trying to justify there own jobs. Frank

 

[hvacker]

One Union mission is to maintain our quality of life. One mission of some cost cutters is to lower that quality either by choice or by chance.
Many today don't remember that the American middle class is a recent phenomenon. You'd remember.
Unions set the bar for wages and benefits and in the process created the middle class. Even anti-union people acknowledge we are better off with a strong middle class. Now it's disappearing as business learned over the past 10 years their employees will work for less, Much less.
If those that find they have to work for a living might want to remember that when you hear a union making noise, it's usually for worker's benefit.

Corporates have spent fortunes to change American minds about Unions. It worked in the thirties and is working again today. Most of what Americans know today is not about direct experience with Unions but by propaganda. In the thirties Corporates convinced workers Unions were Commies. The workers threw out the leadership and the vacuum was filled by the Mob. It took years to get rid of the gangsters.
I think there is an equal chance that Unions will again represent workers when Washington represents voters. The solution to our economic problems is good paying jobs not cut spending just because.
It's heard today that the government doesn't create jobs. SAY WHAT! I've had a lot of Government jobs. Many Gov jobs are also not Union. No one b$tched much when the money was rolling in. Cost cutting is common sense but too many elected appear to have little. They don't want ANY military cuts maybe because they've never been in the military. Those that have know the Military doesn't know the meaning of frugality.
Anyway, that's just my history, my experience.

 

[Peyton Manning]

assuming you mean public sector unions, like city, state, fed, teacher, police, firefighters unions. As far as I know private company unions aren't paid by taxpayers

 

[0121stockpicker]

Personally I think global competition is far more the cause of the decline of the middle class than loss of unions. Unions and companies can beat each other up as much as they want but in the end if the company is not competitive on a global basis it will fail. That will not benefit the company or the union.

 

[davest]

I don't think it's so much global competition as it is the fact capitalism is a game that one person or one corporation wins all at the end of. The new race to the bottom in wages applies only to the working stiffs, not the bankers or corporate honchos. Even now one can see how the workers in China are reacting and activating if one were to look. When they, those employees, become aware that they aren't winning anything, the labor factor will move to Africa or other areas that will be ripe for exploitation.

 

[onfire]

One Union mission is to maintain our quality of life. One mission of some cost cutters is to lower that quality either by choice or by chance.
Many today don't remember that the American middle class is a recent phenomenon. You'd remember.
Unions set the bar for wages and benefits and in the process created the middle class. Even anti-union people acknowledge we are better off with a strong middle class. Now it's disappearing as business learned over the past 10 years their employees will work for less, Much less.
If those that find they have to work for a living might want to remember that when you hear a union making noise, it's usually for worker's benefit.

Corporates have spent fortunes to change American minds about Unions. It worked in the thirties and is working again today. Most of what Americans know today is not about direct experience with Unions but by propaganda. In the thirties Corporates convinced workers Unions were Commies. The workers threw out the leadership and the vacuum was filled by the Mob. It took years to get rid of the gangsters.
I think there is an equal chance that Unions will again represent workers when Washington represents voters. The solution to our economic problems is good paying jobs not cut spending just because.
It's heard today that the government doesn't create jobs. SAY WHAT! I've had a lot of Government jobs. Many Gov jobs are also not Union. No one b$tched much when the money was rolling in. Cost cutting is common sense but too many elected appear to have little. They don't want ANY military cuts maybe because they've never been in the military. Those that have know the Military doesn't know the meaning of frugality.
Anyway, that's just my history, my experience.

Hv I to was a union member and was proud of it except when our international union of firefighters took it apron itself to waste millions of union dues and sent out aprx. 1 million vhf tapes with john Kerrys Bu!!st on it and told us to cast a vote for him. In fact our local refused to send any more $$$ to them

As you can see that much they do from the top is to their benefit and except the rest to follow.

In today's world the union's power lies in threats and those don't work any longer. young people who go out and think they have job security is a false hood many have purchased homes , cars, etc. and are somewhat happy. Then a union say's we can get more if we use the threat of strike Just try that now. Many will lose that safety they thought they had. And sometimes end up with less then what they had.

To many good people with good intentions get rapped up in the corruption at the top. You don't have to be a gangster to be a gangster.

 

[Frankn]

OK, I have worked both sides of the fence. I was in IBEW for about 2 years. The local was great but is no more because the national was corrupt to the core. That said, This post is about the GOVERNMENT UNIONS. The cuts are in basically excess or nonessential jobs. I spent about 2 years as a contractor at the Social Security complex in Woodlawn ,Md. That was about all I could take. The waste made me sick. The union set the search rate for accounts at 3 per day. That's less than 3 hours work. There was one guy there that was famous. He searched his 3 cases, left the last one on the screen, put on his sun glasses and sat there sleeping till the lunch bell went off. Back in the stock room the paper and forms were stacked in squares, hollow in the middle for Sack Time. I think this is where the waste can be cut. In situations like this. In the Army, there are thousands of excess workers at the Pentegon . The BLACK PROJECTS, with no oversite, have gotton out of hand. Just imagine the tax payers paying millions to see if they can place a transmitter on a bug. etc. etc. Frank

 

[hvacker]

I diffidently understand what your saying about the Gov workers that milk the system. It's ez to get really bugged when I would have a Gov contract and get to watch people doing little or nothing. I found my peace when I began to see hem as simply a conduit to return tax dollars to the private sector.
Politicians on both sides won't touch the military. Afraid it will get back to the voters who don't even begin to grasp the waste. Just tell some voters that a politician doesn't back or wants to cut our military. Their history.
The thing though, I've seen the same unproductive people Union or not in the Gov. I think it's part of the system. It seems a couple of people do most of the work.
At a certain time of year it was contract time. Different agencies would receive their budgetary allowance so they would have to be sure their previous money was exhausted or they wouldn't get as much. Much of this abuse was done by private corporates under contract to the Gov. Work like to manage a facility. At that time contracts would be awarded to simply use up the money. Aside from the military most work for the Gov is private sector. Theft is another issue but also exists as are grants.

 

[hvacker]

assuming you mean public sector unions, like city, state, fed, teacher, police, firefighters unions. As far as I know private company unions aren't paid by taxpayers

They are indirectly as the Gov awards contracts to the private sector by the ton. The difference of course is if a worker doesn't perform for a private contractor they will be down the road. A Gov worker might be promoted.