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[Hugh Janis]

You'd think this was written last month........

[miker]

  sad but true, where mine??  I want bananas foster...and a knucklehead.....

[RJ749]

BB, don't get me wrong, unions have a place and certainly brought the American worker much good.

But like a union Ford shop at a local dealer ran an ad while the Boeing machinists were out on strike asking them to buy from a union shop and service there as well rather than down the street at the non-union independant or speedy service. 

It was well written and begged the question of the Boeing workers, you want our support when you are negotiating a raise and improved benefit, but where is the return once you got what you wanted?  Truly an argument that mostly goes round and round.

It would however be interesting to do a card check of folks entering the Super Walmart.  All those folks can't be non-union.

[grc]

The horror stories about union goons, slackers, and idiots are legion, and I could add many more from my personal collection, but in the end all the union bashing is no different than bashing lawyers because a certain percentage turn out to be bloodsucking ambulance chasers (or god forbid, politicians), or bashing all bankers because a certain percentage turned out to be crooks, or bashing all car and motorcycle dealers because some would screw their mothers out of their last dime, or bashing doctors because some are incompetent and kill people.  No doubt some union folks deserve all the bashing and then some, but I don't understand the desire to hurt the majority because of the sins of the minority.  I worked with thousands of UAW members over the years, and yes there were some that I would have loved to take out in the parking lot for a little "consultation", but the vast majority were fine people just putting in an honest days work to support their families.  

The current state of our industries, or our nation, is not the fault of unions, no matter what the bashers say.  Management isn't allowed to join the unions, and I'm not aware of a union for members of Congress, or for the President and his appointees.  I'm also not aware of a union for crooked mortgage brokers and greedy Wall Street tycoons, market manipulators, or the mergers and acquisitions types who bought up going concerns and destroyed them and millions of jobs by selling off the parts and pieces for quick profits/commissions, etc.  Unions are just as imperfect as the rest of the organizations in this world, but I believe they are a necessary evil to offset the evil posed by the robber baron mentality of the rich and powerful.

If anyone is adamantly opposed to helping American industries and American workers during this historic economic collapse, they have every right to their opinion.  However, I sure hope the holier-than-thou types make sure to swear off all the subsidies they personally receive from the public.  Since income tax season is fast approaching, that would be a good place to start.  Forget all those deductions, just cut a check for the appropriate percentage of your gross.  What the heck, since you don't have to pay union dues go ahead and throw in an extra $1k as well.  Lord knows Uncle can use it to bail out the fat cats who really did cause the collapse.

Jerry

[arcticdude]

Congress doesn't need a union when it makes it's own laws, pay raises, retirement and work schedules.

[iski]

Iski, when I was working my way through school I drove truck and was in the Teamsters 174 union here.

I went to work for an outfit right out of the Air Force so I could earn enough to get back to college.  On my first Friday two guys approached me and suggested I was working myself out of a job.  I got the picture for sure.

They were a bit surprised however when I suggested maybe I should check with my cousin to see if that was in fact the case.  Check with whoever you want was their retort.  Who's your cousin anyway?  Happens to be he owns this chit hole I replied.

Turned out I hadn't worked myself out of a job, but I did stop for coffee with them the next Monday before I did my route.  They weren't all bad, just lazy and very appreciative that I didn't need to talk with my cousin.

Rog,

Company I am with now is unionized.  Basically an ok deal - mainly since the union negotiations do not approach the level of others where the owners are left holding a big bag of debt they cannot over come.

As to the current auto situation - unions are going to have to give up some goodies if the automakers are to continue.  Management will as well.  Unless the govt. underwrites poor management &  contracts that need to be negotiated, which it could be prone to do.



Mike

[RJ749]

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[hard10]

Don't know if this has been posted already or not:

"Our government just announced that motorcycles will be included in the stimulus package. “The bill would let those who buy a new car, light vehicle, recreational vehicle or motorcycle in 2009 deduct state and local sales taxes as well as any excise tax charged in the purchase. The deduction would be available to those earning less than $125,000 ($250,000 for joint filers). It will be an above-the-line deduction, meaning even taxpayers who don’t itemize may take it in addition to the standard deduction. Estimated cost: $1.7 billion”."