Labor Unions...Come On, This Is The 21st Century...
Can anyone tell me why we have labor unions in the Twenty-first century? 100 years ago, the case for a union was strong. We had 10-year-old kids working 14 hours a day in sweatshops fearing that heavy machinery would sever their limbs. They had unregulated employment standards and little to no safety standards. Thank God for the advent of worker’s unions.
100 years later Federal law pertaining to employment principles is enormous. There have been no major legal advancements regarding workers rights for at least 20 years. Why, because civil rights of American workers are protected under law, the unions have done their job. So what are unions up to these days?
Preserving there own existence by ANY means.
I am sick of the thug tactics used to rally union policy on employment perks. Unions picket, vandalize, intimidate, and bully for what is essentially the right to have a company picnic twice a year. Where is the 10-year-old kid missing an arm? Where is the worker abuse? If this happened today I would be the first person to join the picket line and yes, I would be a little unruly, but what is the point of a union once these atrocities have been stopped?
Personally, I can’t do my job when dealing with unionized businesses. I tried to get my contact information changed at a large unionized business and it took three people. One worker was only allowed to access my info but not change it. The next worker could only change my billing info but not payment info. How ridiculous is this? These poor workers must feel like idiots, how degrading it must be to have your hands tied when you know you are fully capable to complete a simple task. If they don't fall in line with union policy, they are treated with brute tactics and intimidation. They actually pay dues to be treated this way.
Union executives say they represent the people when all they represent is themselves. They are an ugly shadow of what was a great American institution.
posted by Russ @ 4/26/2005 10:22:00 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
The limbless child is in Mexico. His parents are living in Central California doing a job no "proud" American would do for the same wages. Other's like that child are working in Asian sweatshops for American companies, do you buy THE GAP, BANANA REPUBLIC, WALMART? If so, you support sweatshop conditions in other countries that DO NOT have unions to protect their workers.
100 years later unions are the ones who keep the government in check to keep those regulations and safety issues from being thrown out by corporate America. It costs money to be safe. It costs money to have a 40 hour week instead of how it used to be. If you had true knowledge of how unions work you would understand that corproations do not like these money eating safety regulations.
You want to talk thug tactics? Try looking into WALMART. One of the largest corporations in the world. They come into small towns, destroy small business, put all but management to work at minumum wage, then if the employees themselves decide to unionize the store is completely shut down and removed from that town leaving all who lost their businesses and all who got those minimum wage jobs destitute.
Where are you, dear sir when George Bush sent the o.k. to have jobs out sourced if good American workers refused to work for minimum wage? Not only does that rob Americans of jobs, but it says to Mexico, "Bring your workers over here. We'll allow them to work for as low a pay scale as possible (but still have to live with and on American prices) and when we have used you up, we'll send your sorry ass back over the border." We wonder why they want to live here.
Have you tried calling for tech support or credit card info, or how about dealing with corporate information? Your call will be directed to ASIA and INDIA. IT'S CHEAPER THERE, They don't have to pay American wages, or pensions, or health care, or TAXES in those countries, nor do they need to protect workers rights. Haven't you read or seen the ships off the coasts of those countries where your clothes, shoes and accessories are made? It is just like working for the coal mines of old. "You work here, you get paid. But you also live here, eat here and do everything else here and you owe us for those expenses. Eventually everything you worked for goes back to the company store and you work to become and stay in debt." This is a REALITY. IT IS HAPPENING TODAY. But have your bills gone down? NO. Who fights to keep these jobs from being out sourced? UNIONS! Who fights to get those people out of those conditions? UNIONS! Who is in Washington to make sure we keep the standards, pension, health care, and safety regulations we have? UNIONS!
Get your head out of the sand, boy. Inform yourself about what Unions are really doing for YOU.
First, I would like to reiterate statements in my first post, “Thank God for the advent of unions… (they) were a great American institution.”
It sounds like Mexico, India, and Asia need these unions more than we do. Maybe we should send our “freedom fighters” over there to do for them what they have done for us. But wait, Union executives want to keep jobs here, NOT so that people aren’t abused over seas, but so that they would have a bigger pool of worker wages to line their own pockets. For every worker abused abroad there is one here in the US being extorted by the union. Yes, the former is worse and must be stopped, but can we rely on the unions of today (bullying thugs who shake down people for their lunch money) to ensure freedom to these people? I think not.
You see, motives can be slanted any direction for every entity, corporation, organization, or otherwise. Labor unions are no exception. If you are going to assume ill intent on behalf of corporation and government, you have an obligation to do so for the unions as well.
In this day and age, it is naive to think that unions are pure and genuine “freedom fighters”.
PS: Anytime you bring Bush into an argument, you know it’s a weak argument (he’s an easy target).
Corporations have enormous clout with politicians, so why shouldn't workers? A country run by unions is Marxist, but a country run by corporations is fascist.
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