The New American Worker..is Now...

[Questor]

Lest we forget, unions and organized crime go hand in hand in this country. The teamsters are still crooked. Certainly the automotive unions are. It is the modern way. Try working  as a "scab" in a union shop that's on strike and see how long it takes before your property is vandalized. It always seems to start with slashed tires.

[Cabin4]

Look at how much money has been stolen from the US Treasury in the so called Stimulus Bill and given to states to bail out Union pension plans! How many of us got our pension plans proped up? Its a joke. Unions and thier political supporters like obama and the democrate party are corrupt and commiting crimes against the American people. I don't begrudge Union workers but the leadership and the mass coordination and the leaches of politicians looking for favors makes the system of Unions corrupt and socialist.

[jhm]

People the ENVIORMENTALIST are the ones to blame, we are paying a bunch or FORIENERS to pump oil out of the ground and paying for the ships to bring it here for us to refine in the LIMITED refineries we have here, they WONT ALLOW us to DRILL our own oil, or to build additional refieneries, If there was a reasonable substitute for OIL someone would have already jumped on the bandwagon and started producing it.  We are being told all the BS about destroying the planet because of the oil we use, well when the population starts getting reduced because of No food, No water, No fuel to keep warm, and as you can already see No autos to get to where their might be some work.  This country is a country of autos, not golf carts their is a large portion of people who comute to the jobs they have and the golf cart type of car just wont cut it, The auto industry was building the cars that the people wanted, then the BS with the energy program got its 2nd wind well until we are allowed to drill our own oilo and refine it we are a doomed country, just think aqbout the ripple efect the closing of the auto plants has caused.   JIM

[briarpatch]

An observation with questions: Why when you look at a union parking lot, are half the cars foreign.
Why do union members shop at walmart.
Why do they support lies in the political arena that will take from them.
Why do union members bitch about many they work with as being useless and their jobs are safe.
Why when a union member leaves the union and works for a company do they say, I will never work union again.
Why when some in your company want to bring a union in, do the ex union members you work with become the biggest obstacle.
Why do union members believe a company can pay unlimited hourly wages and still produce a product it can sell. When the union they belong to just supported NAFTA and want to support the Pacific Rim trade agreement where inferior products are brought in cheap so the members can buy them at walmart, a nonunion company.
Why is it the union leadership is bought and sold like whores and you have no choise but accept it.
There is more many more.      Flame suit on.

[45-70.gov]

...is now the disposible worker.  For all you anti-union enthusiasts  looks like you get what you hoped for.
The rudder has broken off the ship and the ship now has no course or stability.  Workers are to be disposible and temporary and without a basis in a middle class concept. Welcome to the Brave New World and pray for your kids and grandkids.

The Disposable Worker
Pay is falling, benefits are vanishing, and no one's job is secure. How companies are making the era of the temp more than temporary .

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_03/b4163032935448.htm


fyi...TM7
.

I  HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF  MY EMPLOYERS  AS  DISPOSABLE
 and  i raise  my kids  to be  the same independent  minded

my  paycheck  has always  just been a stepping  stone
i  have  never  been dependent  on my  job
i  hope  my kids  NEVER  find themselves  in that  position

also when  i was  in the carpenter  union
all  those jobs  for  12 years  were  dispoable stepping stones

it  all  depends  on  if  you see  yourself  as  a puppet  or  the puppet master

[Lost Oki]

Having worked Union and Non Union jobs, management jobs in union shops and non union shops I can tell you this.
Unions today are as corrupt as our government and large corporations....one word.....GREED....they want their % of the take.

Its not the local shops, it the main union.  I have worked for companies that needed a union, I have worked for non union shops that did not and there was no way in hell that the employees were going to let a union in....

Selling out of american jobs started at the union and fed govt level....NAFTA is a classic example.  Uneducated workers who where very good at their specific jobs, making good money...those jobs replaced by min wage jobs....hell of a trade.

I agree that buy American is crap....When Wally World spouted that crap you could not read the labels on containers in their warehouses...
I tried.....Funny that the vehicle with the most US design work, US assembly and US made parts is a foreign company....Toyota...

Wake up Ladies and Gentlemen...the govt, the corporations, the unions and the new media in general....lie to us daily.....

[bilmac]

I wouldn't want somebody speaking to my boss on my behalf. You should be a valuable employee that will be the last one the boss would fire. Unions equal communism.

[Dee]

I wouldn't want somebody speaking to my boss on my behalf. You should be a valuable employee that will be the last one the boss would fire. Unions equal communism.

Nuff said. + 1

[45-70.gov]

we  are  as  disposable to the  company

as  the company  is disposable to  us

if  you  find  a better paying job.......should  you  not  be allowed to  take  it?

if  a company  should  find a cheaper  worker.......should  he  not be able  to  replace  you?

get  over  it....the  sword cuts  both  ways........just  work  hard--work smart-- invest well

[mechanic]

Around our parts, we were just about done for until Kia motors opened the new assembly plant.  Say what you might, but those are American's on that line drawing a check.  Without that plant, this area would be done for.  We have had more than 100 industries leave our area for "other shores" in the last few years.  And not just one type of industry.  When an industry leaves, it's not just the workers there that are affected.  The utility co. loses.  The locality loses tax base.  The service industries lose, the supply industries, etc. etc.

I've always driven GM or Ford.  Next time around I may look at a Kia.

[Dee]

Around our parts, we were just about done for until Kia motors opened the new assembly plant.  Say what you might, but those are American's on that line drawing a check.  Without that plant, this area would be done for.  We have had more than 100 industries leave our area for "other shores" in the last few years.  And not just one type of industry.  When an industry leaves, it's not just the workers there that are affected.  The utility co. loses.  The locality loses tax base.  The service industries lose, the supply industries, etc. etc.

I've always driven GM or Ford.  Next time around I may look at a Kia.

I probably will never get rid of my 2000 Jeep, but other than that, Chrysler and GM can forget it. I am not going to do one thing to help Obama motors, or the all controlling unions.

[Oldshooter]

+1 on obama motors!  I'll drive Fords and Jap trucks or walk

[351 power]

whatever works against the national standard of living is the enemy. when govt., and multinational corps get together to set policy their ideas are what destroy our standard of living. then big money in the form of stock market investors, etc. get onboard and get the train rolling. the only thing we can do is try to get hold of the brakes. 1. education and work/your best way to improve your standard of living
2. voting for things that can help you and your society. that means you may need to vote different sides sometimes. this is for politicians or unions or any leaderships you may get input into. because the economy or social policy is like a pendulum swinging left or right. when it gets too far one side, someone starts to suffer to make someone else rich.
3. saving/investing in a way that keeps your own money in your own country. because our business can't run without our money. and the big companies are in every part of the world but we can only live in one.

[magooch]

Generally, unions are only successful at organizing companies that treat their employees shabbily.  I live in a very unionized area, but there are many companies that have avoided the unions by treating their workers very well.

I don't believe that most employees in private enterprise are dumb enough to believe that their employer can be forced to pay wages and benefits that are just not affordable.  On the other hand, public employee unions and employees are not encumbered by such thoughts.  Or so it seems to me.

[Questor]

45-70 gov:

Either move in as my next door neighbor or let me know if the house next to yours is for sale and I'll go there. I think we'd get along quite nicely.

[Dixie Dude]

The Dems are trying to blame the stock market investors for a lot of things.  I am a stock market investor, so is my wife.  Our 401(k)s are invested in the stock market.  All stocks do is give you a small piece (ownership) of a company.  If the company does well, the value of the company goes up and thus the stock.  There are companies like Microsoft, Apple, etc, as well as utilities like my company, mining, manufacturing, and banking, etc. you can invest in.  Most 401(k)s are invested by an investment company which buys a variety of stock (diversifies) so if one sector of the economy falls, you still succeed with other companies.  Companies need the stock money in order to buy new equipment, or to improve themselves in order to make money or make more money.  As the stock market goes, so goes the economy.  So don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Sure there are sleezeballs selling junk stocks and bonds.  Ponzi skeems etc.  The banks failed recently because of the FED's.  They forced them to make home loans to the poor without down payments, and with AMR's etc.  Also middle class buying above their means.  Then they failed.  This started the snowball downhill.  This wouldn't have happened with the old fashioned rules the Feds threw out in 1998.  These banks sold stock to raise money to loan. 

[45-70.gov]

45-70 gov:

Either move in as my next door neighbor or let me know if the house next to yours is for sale and I'll go there. I think we'd get along quite nicely.

i  own  the houses on both sides
and the one  behind me
and the  marsh front property  across the street

i would  love to rent to  a fellow  out doors man  like yourself  tho
in  fact  my  reloading room/ man cave  is  next door

[Cabin4]

The Dems are trying to blame the stock market investors for a lot of things.  I am a stock market investor, so is my wife.  Our 401(k)s are invested in the stock market.  All stocks do is give you a small piece (ownership) of a company.  If the company does well, the value of the company goes up and thus the stock.  There are companies like Microsoft, Apple, etc, as well as utilities like my company, mining, manufacturing, and banking, etc. you can invest in.  Most 401(k)s are invested by an investment company which buys a variety of stock (diversifies) so if one sector of the economy falls, you still succeed with other companies.  Companies need the stock money in order to buy new equipment, or to improve themselves in order to make money or make more money.  As the stock market goes, so goes the economy.  So don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Sure there are sleezeballs selling junk stocks and bonds.  Ponzi skeems etc.  The banks failed recently because of the FED's.  They forced them to make home loans to the poor without down payments, and with AMR's etc.  Also middle class buying above their means.  Then they failed.  This started the snowball downhill.  This wouldn't have happened with the old fashioned rules the Feds threw out in 1998.  These banks sold stock to raise money to loan. 

Congress (both parties) are largely to blame for the failures in the financial markets. This is the first time in our history, that a global economic down turn was started by a housing & mortgage bust which was the cutting edge of the economic down slide. As was stated by the previous post, during the Clinton administration, much of the regulation was changed to relax the requirements to secure a home loan. The Bush administration continued the Clinton policies in this area. In 2004, the banking regulators testified before congress and warned them (congress) that the regulation needed to be changed. The regulators claimed that too many people were getting loans that they should not and that banks were creating new creative & risky home loan products because of the relaxed regulations. The regulators were accused of being racists by the liberals on the banking committee. The liberals claimed that the regulators simply wanted to stem the rising tide of minority home ownership. The regulators made their case and they were dismissed as idiots and racists by the liberals. It’s my opinion, that these charges of racism by the liberals kept the committee conservatives from speaking out loud. They knew the press would jump all over this like "ugly on a pig" and the republicans would be accused of trying to reverse the Clinton administration’s pro-minority home ownership program.

[Dee]

I think everyone just needs to relax. The Republicans, and Democrats aren't going to change, and voters aren't going to either.
The Republicans promise this, the Democrats promise that, the voter votes them in, and everything is business as usual.

[Redtail1949]

Unions certainly were needed and were responsible for uplifting the workforce of the United States. The abuses of the Companies were responsible for the Organizing of the labor force. The greed of the Companies and outright terrible treatment of their employees brought on the labor union movement in America.

That was then and now is now. Unions are still needed to be a counter to the abuses that will and have taken place , however , they went too far and by doing so they have brought this resentment of most people upon them.

It is just like the Democrats and the Republicans you are seeing it now. When one party has all the power the abuses of that power comes out full steam ahead. They do not care who or what is in the waty theuy will use their total control to run right over anyone in the way. Republicans have done the same. Unions are doing it now.

I do know that human nature always will creep in to the employment realtionship of emplyer and employee. most times it will boil down to the character of the company officer or boss. most times it will lead to abuse of the employee. So you have to have a balance to prevent one side or the other from takeing advantage.
The Unions today are corrupt to the core and with only a few exceptions are any of the higher ups interested at all in the people they say they represent. They could not care less. They are concerned with membership which translates into dues which has a direct relationship on their salary.

Oh, and by the way "FIREMEN" do not ride the caboose they never have. they ride on the left side of the cab in the lead locomotive. They really only provide one service and that is to train and learn how to be an engineer.

[Oldshooter]

I think everyone just needs to relax. The Republicans, and Democrats aren't going to change, and voters aren't going to either.
The Republicans promise this, the Democrats promise that, the voter votes them in, and everything is business as usual.

That may well be true Dee, but I see some good coming outa this obama fiasco. I am seeing people rise up, take to the streets and raise hell! Look at Massutuchetts, they may well not elect a Democrat, first time since 1972. Yea i know they may elect a republican, and I'm not sure he is a conservative but he aint a soscialist from what I can tell. Maybe just a small gain but a gain none the less. There may be a light at the end of the tunnel and it may not be a train!  Maybe the same people that are voting now will hold them all to a higher standard from now on.

[gypsyman]

Talked about this 30 years ago, when my family was in the beer and wine business. Local distributers were going to salesman/drivers that worked for the company. Local union's went down, and the funny thing is, the over the road Teamsters kept right on hauling the beer from the brewries to the distributers. Guess if you weren't in the Teamstes they didn't think you were union enough.
And, if the unions wanted to actually slow down or stop this importation of goods made overseas, if I'm not mistaken, isn't it the Longshoreman that unload these boats from China and elswhere. I guess that maybe they think if your not in the Longshoreman union, your not union enough. gypsyman

[Redtail1949]

nafta did a lot to move the jobs out ....in public the unions were against it in private they were making plans on getting out of the country members as well as illegals in country. was it not clinton that stalwart of the down trodden working man that pushed so hard for nafta.

everyone is in line for their cut of the pie.

[john keyes]

some people need to be weeded out, there is too much refinery mentality anyway.....don't do anything at the beginning or end of your shift, take ten million smoke breaks, sit on your dead ass no matter what....stand around BS'ing for days...claim no responsibility for anything....act like you are in the KGB and implicate anyone/everyone around you as an enemy of the state...don't have a conversation unless you are whispering some crap...I"m fed up with it.  fire their asses

you want to stay employed?  DO A GOOD JOB, PROVE YOUR WORTH TO THE COMPANY

[beerbelly]

The trade treaties we made sent our manufacturing over seas and to Mexico.
   As for bussness, and what they think of workers, I once heard a supervisor where I worked say " what we need is another depression, so that  if the worker don't move fast enough. we can tell them to get with it or that bare foot boy at waiting at the gate will have your job!".
  You fools that think the union lost your job , are just that fools! The government lost your jobs! Labor is only about 8% of the cost of manufacturing.  Are some unions corrupt? YES! But no where near as corrupt as our government, that wants you to be on the same level as the peons in the rest of the world.
                                   Beerbelly

[Cabin4]

The trade treaties we made sent our manufacturing over seas and to Mexico.
   As for bussness, and what they think of workers, I once heard a supervisor where I worked say " what we need is another depression, so that  if the worker don't move fast enough. we can tell them to get with it or that bare foot boy at waiting at the gate will have your job!".
  You fools that think the union lost your job , are just that fools! The government lost your jobs! Labor is only about 8% of the cost of manufacturing.  Are some unions corrupt? YES! But no where near as corrupt as our government, that wants you to be on the same level as the peons in the rest of the world.
                                   Beerbelly

Unions are one of the most influential corrupting factors within our government. In addition, anyone that thinks you can produce a product stateside with a fully burden labor rate of say $35 per hour and compete that product on the global market, you’re nuts.

People in China are working for $1 to $2 an hour. The difference between these two hourly rates drops right to the bottom line of the profit statement. And while product labor costs as a component of product costs are only 8% as an average, that cost fluctuates dramatically depending on the product. In any case, if we use 8%, that’s 8% additional profit that drops to the bottom line. That 8% can mean the difference between being able to stay in business or going out of business in today’s competitive markets. In the company I work, the labor content is more like 14%. We would be out business without Chinese labor because we would not be able to compete our products with our European and Asian competitors. No Way could our company survive nor could our USA competitors compete as well abroad. So the end result would mean yet more loss of US jobs.

We are not going to fix our economy by trying to price fix labor. The rest of the world is not going to do it.

[Dee]

I think everyone just needs to relax. The Republicans, and Democrats aren't going to change, and voters aren't going to either.
The Republicans promise this, the Democrats promise that, the voter votes them in, and everything is business as usual.

That may well be true Dee, but I see some good coming outta this obama fiasco. I am seeing people rise up, take to the streets and raise hell! Look at Massachusetts, they may well not elect a Democrat, first time since 1972. Yea i know they may elect a republican, and I'm not sure he is a conservative but he aint a soscialist from what I can tell. Maybe just a small gain but a gain none the less. There may be a light at the end of the tunnel and it may not be a train!  Maybe the same people that are voting now will hold them all to a higher standard from now on.

I don't see electing a Republican in Massachusetts any type of mile stone, small or great. The state is so liberal, that the Republican would have to also be so liberal, that it would make the term RINO look like a Thomas Jefferson.
People are once again setting themselves up for the big scam, by thinking a Massachusetts LIBERAL, calling himself a Republican, is going to change something. It never ceases to amaze me. How could that possibly be considered any type of gain? He's just another Republican, and being from Massachusetts, is probably more liberal than McCain. It's just like this election. "The Democrats ONCE AGAIN changed the rules to even hold this election", it was supposed to be an appointment (REMEMBER?), and the voters let them get away with it.  SSDD

All you guys keep votin Republican and tradin yours and my freedoms away, for your imagined TRADE OFF BIT OF SECURITY, and when all our freedoms are finally COMPROMISED AWAY, then maybe you'll all be satisfied.

FOR ALL YOU REPUBLICAN FOLLOWERS THAT "CLAIM TO BE CONSERVATIVE" AND SAY AN INDEPENDENT VOTE IS A WASTED VOTE. CHRISTIANITY STARTED WITH ONE MAN. HELL! THE HOOLA HOOP, AND THE SKATE BOARD STARTED WITH ONE MAN.
AND INDEPENDENCE STARTED WITH A HANDFULL OF MEN.

                                                            FRANKLIN WAS RIGHT!

[Cabin4]

A republican senator in Mass would tip the tide away from the democrate 60 seat majority. They won't be able to pass the health care bill. The guy running in Mass has stated he would not support the bill.

[DDZ]

Not being able to pass that piece of garbage they call the health care bill would be fine with me.

Union's breed laziness, because many know its just about impossible to fire a union employee for not doing his job. So if there is no consequence for not putting forth a good effort some just plain don't. You would think that unions as a whole would want members that do a good job, but that doesn't seem to be the case. They protect the members that choose not do a good job, or members that miss work all the time.  Just look at our wonderful teacher unions. They seem to be able to do anything but commit murder without getting fired.
Heavy construction unions are the only unions I know of that don't protect lazy guys. If you didn't work you didn't last long. Thats they way they used to be anyway.

If you want the best chance of keeping your job, show, or increase your value to the company you work for.

[beerbelly]

Well Cabin I guess the solution is to pay you $1 or $2 an hour like you Chinese counter part makes, then we can compete with them.
  That is exactly what big business and our socialist government wants. I was a union man when I worked. I did not like the fact that they could use my dues to back politicos I did not like, but I did not want to work for $2 a day, like my dad did before John L. Lewis and the UMWA.
                                      Beerbelly