Come to the republican dominated "Right to work" state I live in. I've been forced to work 8 hours a day with no lunch or breaks, every day, day in and day out for one employer. No breaks are pretty common. In my profession, you make about 12 bucks an hour, and up to 17 if you're lucky. Government work in Idaho.....We just did work on the Hayden Lake National gaurd Armory in Idaho, a prevailing wage job...... $17 an hour. Did the armory in Spokane Washington....... prevailing wage......$42. Difference? Union in the state of Washington. Idaho? Bend over! I know nothing is perfect, but in my profession, I'll take the union over private contractors, thank you! You're correct that private industry provides a job, but you take what they laddle up, for the wage they offer, which is a shaft job. You hate unions, and I respect that, but I'm pro union all the way. I love someone in my corner, fighting for me, rather than some businessman looking to boost his bottom line at my expense. I'd also like to retire one day also, you know? Union gives me a shot at it. Private industry offers nothing.
The NG is not a private entity.......you just made the point we non-union folks have been trying to make. "WE" pay for the cost of the NG armories, where's my voice on how much I'm willing to pay for labor? since I'm the one paying for it?
Unions across the country are being defanged as they should be, it's about time.
Unions across the country are being defanged as they should be, it's about time.
so corporations should have ALL the power to influence government, the remaining unions are all that are keeping the few worker protection laws the u.s. has, the major corporations all have their unions where they band together to fight against worker's rights and protections.
Even if you are not in a union you are protected by one as employers know if things get bad enough the employees will form a union, without that threat, and especially if the tea party gains ground better be prepared for some nasty changes to the law.
I certainly agree some are overpowered, especially teacher's unions that have tenure, but unions are a safety net.
This should also be called what it really is, an attempt to de-fund the democratic party, unions do support the democrats, corporations support the republicans, so they are stopping a lot of the flow to democrats while refusing to alter anything about money to republicans (republicans fought transparency bills that would have shown who was donating what)
For the record, if I ignored the way that healthy economics works, and was only concerned about my wages, benifits, perks, etc. I would be all for unionization. I definitely will not argue that unionized workers don't make as much because obviously they do. And by the way, I personally don't have anything at all to gain by being non unionized other than the welfare of our country as a whole. Perhaps the work ethic of my co-workers would be effected if we were union..
healthy economics does require a STRONG middle class, unions can help that, right now with the shrinking of unions and worker protections/rights we are seeing the middle class become smaller and smaller. If our citizens can't afford to buy things our economy isn't going to do well either
healthy economics does require a STRONG middle class, unions can help that, right now with the shrinking of unions and worker protections/rights we are seeing the middle class become smaller and smaller. If our citizens can't afford to buy things our economy isn't going to do well either
Historically almost all revolutions have come out of country's Middle Class. "those who cannot learn from History are condemned to repeat it".
There's a Birmingham Alabama steel mill. If you work near their furnaces you need to drink a lot of water so you don't dehydrate. "60 Minutes" interviewed these men and learned because of company rules (non-union) the men have to piss their pants several times a day.
This current recession was born in raw greed. A union gives a workingman a voice when a greedy man embraces GREED (a deadly sin).
The city of Bell CA is in the news because their city council looted the town money to pay themselves million dollar salaries. On councilman paid himself 1.3 million $$$ last year even as he cut the salaries of the city workers to afford it.
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I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
I just wanted to thank President Obama for the federal stimulus that he continued from president Bush. This federal tarp money has allowed me to earn $42 an hour including fringe benifits. This kind of wage allows a person to actually make a decent living! It also gave me a job after being unemployed for several months.
I've heard both Republicans and Dems admit tarp was a great success. It was demonized for a time but it obtained it's intended result.
It still is.......... If I work a Saturday, I get paid double time, and we have lots of work left to do that will run into the months. This program helps get Americas infrastructure up and running! With my fringe benifits, maybe one day I'll be able to retire!
During a forum on faith Saturday night at Saddleback Church, McCain was asked, "Where do you move from middle class to rich?"
"If you're just talking about income, how about five million?" McCain quipped.
The Democratic National Committee this morning released a web video that features that remark, plus one by former McCain campaign leader Phil Gramm, who said that Americans worried about the economy have become "a nation of whiners."
The video points out that only 1 in 1,000 Americans make $5 million or more a year. Democrats say that McCain's plan to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent would give his own family a tax cut of $370,000, while giving the average middle class family only $319 in savings.
"John McCain's 'leave no millionaire behind' economic agenda may make sense to Phil Gramm, but the 101 million households that will get nothing under the McCain tax plan understand how out of touch he is when it comes to the economic challenges facing America's families," DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said in a statement. "Since John McCain thinks only people making more than $5 million are rich, it is no wonder his tax plan would hand hundreds of thousands of dollars in new tax giveaways to millionaires or that his potential treasury secretary thinks our country is 'a nation of whiners.' "
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