What is Digg?165 Comments
- mirunit, on 04/10/2008, -14/+40Unions are half the reason so many jobs leave America. You can only pay people so much until your business loses profitability (GM / Ford are great example), they sell tons of cars (volume wise they do) but still fail. For the majority of small items such as kitchen wares/clothes that are not high-end paying workers a high base + benefits really destroys the point of the business which is to turn a profit. If you want to continue the outsourcing trend, then keep supporting the unions as they try to extort more and more from companies. Let me reiterate one big point though, not all businesses are like Exxon Mobil or Wal-Mart, some have to work hard to compete.
- asskicker32, on 04/10/2008, -5/+28What's wrong with being Anti-Union? I dont think there is enough information in that article to make an informed decision, but what unions have turned into now is what is costing America jobs and blue-collar specifically. Unions are stifiling innovation and often just cause expensive roadblocks...
However, many unions do good things for the employees and provide a solid level of support for their employees. I like the idea of unions, I personally hate corruption in unions. - InfamousAtheist, on 04/10/2008, -2/+24Hey Pennsylvania - pay attention, Hillary hates you.
- minoss, on 04/10/2008, -17/+33So what exactly is the role of unions other than to get people paid way more than the worth of their job indicates?
- AmyWhere, on 04/10/2008, -0/+15don't worry. hillary will do anything that will get/keep her in office. if the public wants a war, she's for it. if that means supporting unions, same. not to be too cynical, but that's maybe better than the current administration's doing whatever it pleases without answering to anyone.
- jforjools, on 04/10/2008, -1/+16Yeeeesh, where was the 'warning' about the bad 80's clothes and hair (even the one that was shown from 1990.)
...Hillary, of course, claimed not to know about any 'bad stuff' while she was on the board...but now that's she's a senator running for president, she's seen the light.
---Hallelujah!--- - jmkiii, on 04/10/2008, -9/+24Unions were once a good thing, but they have outlived their usefulness.
- InfamousAtheist, on 04/10/2008, -3/+16NEWSFLASH: even fewer people care about RP than care about Clinton.
Wake up - it's over for Paul. - madk, on 04/10/2008, -9/+22Good - unions are worthless in todays market.
- wheezyninja, on 04/10/2008, -1/+12But was there sniper fire?
- kynn, on 04/10/2008, -2/+13I posted this one already (http://tinyurl.com/6acrfq), and probably I was not the first one to do so. I hope it gets more diggs this time. The issue definitely deserves it.
- SergioValente, on 04/10/2008, -0/+10I miss Peter Jennings.
- ChanM, on 04/10/2008, -1/+10I agree with both posts, it's almost impossible to fire a union worker as your going to have the group tear a new one in your company. Why pay extremely high wages for a person to put Part A in to Slot B? If your afraid to lose your job then acquire new skills or work harder than normal. Look at the lines at your local post office, those employees have no incentive to work hard/faster to make that line go a bit faster because there isn't a better position to move up to and there's no fear of getting fired. Unions MAY HAVE been beneficial back in the day but in today's economy its just causing companies to build factories in other countries
- isukeyo, on 04/10/2008, -4/+12I absolutely agree - while I detest Hillary, I have a deeper dislike for unions. People tend to see the "good" part of unions - job security, benefits, etc. Yet, this comes at a cost to the company and ultimately, to the economy as a whole. Businesses should be run in a simple and efficient manner - employees get paid for a job, with wages based on skill level and their contribution to the profitability of the company - their should be no guarantees for a job, just as a company has no guarantee that their employees aren't going to hand in their notice the moment they find a better opportunity somewhere else! Anything above that, health care, day care, bonuses, etc. should be extras that are offered at the discretion of the company!
- inactive, on 04/10/2008, -8/+16I hate unions too.
- momsshizzle, on 04/10/2008, -20/+27Good for her. Unions are bad and hurt America.
- minoss, on 04/10/2008, -6/+13Yea, because all those non-union companies are just like sweat shops.
This isn't the 1950s, and current laws more than cover that type of situation. - orangester, on 04/10/2008, -1/+8Are we really that surprised any more? It's just another lie from the Clinton campaign.
She really is pathetic.
She could at least have the decency to admit when she was wrong. - mirunit, on 04/10/2008, -6/+13It sounds like you want corporations to supplement or take the place of government welfare systems. You sort of missed the point of the original post, is the door greeter worth what he is paid? If not, then unions ensure that he is paid more than his job indicates.
- hydroplane, on 04/10/2008, -3/+10The only people getting paid way more than they are worth are executives. Who instead of looking to improve their companies and products they leech money from labor.
- minoss, on 04/10/2008, -4/+11Also, forcing a company to pay more than what an employee is worth simply makes that company reduce the number of employees. Which in turn, increases government assistance.
- Olfster, on 04/10/2008, -0/+7They always see the light when it serves their purpose. She is a hypocrite. This is about as low as you can get. Plain and simple. I am not even a pro union person.
- minoss, on 04/10/2008, -5/+11The government doesn't dictate wages for the vast, vast majority of people (nor should it). Especially for wal-mart who pays well above minimum wage
- Pirate45, on 04/10/2008, -5/+11A friend of mine works for Vons and is a member of the union. I've heard nothing but bad stories about them. Stories of them threatening employees not to shop at certain places, charging them unfair member dues, and even stories about their secret police. ***** unions.
- dlc1911, on 04/10/2008, -7/+13actorboy@ If the people feel they are being underpaid and they can go get another job that pays better. The employees are not forced to work there and at some point the employees agreed to the wages they were getting paid. If no person is willing to accept the wages being offered then the company will be unable to fill the position. Once they raise their wages then more suitable candidates may be more willing to take the job. The problem lies in unskilled jobs there are always those folks willing to work for less then what you want to get paid.
- Kapitaine, on 04/10/2008, -1/+6It's about more than just money. What about the right to safe working conditions? The right to take breaks after X amount of hours? What about ensuring that your employer is not subjecting you to an environment that is damaging to your health?
Please see the bigger picture here. There's nothing wrong with business making profits, that's what they do, but they could at least permit unions to engage in discussion...oh wait...that's freedom of speech isn't it? I forgot that America is giving that right away slowly and slowly each and everyday.
I'm just glad I'm British and that we have a free healthcare system, decent wages and good working conditions. This is possibly why our economy is doing great, and your isn't. - bartofdahammer, on 04/10/2008, -0/+5she is just a politician, flip-floping when ever it serves her best
- momsshizzle, on 04/10/2008, -0/+5I guess you're not keeping track of the polling in Pennsylvania, huh?
- inactive, on 04/10/2008, -3/+8I cant believe people on this site support Unions. But maybe I shouldnt be considering there are so many obama supporters here. Just look at his socialist wife, she supports wealth re-distribution so that the crack addicts and drunks can get more money's.
"If we don't wake up as a nation with a new kind of leadership...for how we want this country to work, then we won't get universal health care," she said.
"The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more."
—Michelle Obama, The Charlotte Observer
WTF, pie is not finite, ANYONE can bake as much pie as they want as long as they are willing to work hard to acquire the ingredients needed.
Anyone who defends that quote needs to have their head checked. What she is basically saying is there is a finite amount of prosperity, that people who have gotten their piece are somehow denying someone else from a piece. That's ridiculous, anyone who wants to succeed can. - thebigbradwolf, on 04/10/2008, -3/+8They also help that guy working for FORD which loses BILLIONS of dollars every year that sweeps the wharehouse make $30 an hour.
A union does not increase the amount of money available. All it can do is dictate that employees get the money that the company would otherwise spend elsewhere. So, while people don't end up needing federal aid, the companies do.For instance Chrysler is getting your tax dollars rather than people on welfare. Companies with unions are less fluid and in general their cash flow makes it more difficult for them to react to market forces, ultimately resulting in many cases of overpaid people in an industry where their company is going toward bankrupcy (see Chrysler in 1979).
Don't get me wrong unions are useful, but they don't usually stop at a living wage, but at a "big screen TV and SUV" wage, when a person can LIVE on "a 19 inch TV and sub-compact car" wage...or even, a "books and a bookshelf and a bicycle" wage... - FyberOptic, on 04/10/2008, -3/+8Who cares, with the exception of dangerous manual labor jobs like mining and steel mills and such, most unions are practically scams to extort companies for more money. They should all be abolished, with exception to the kinds I mentioned, because we've moved past the need for 99% of them.
- inactive, on 04/10/2008, -1/+5Hey Ohio, oh ***** - too late.
- JanYpe, on 04/10/2008, -0/+4Aisle 63, next to the armoured vehicles. You can't miss it.
- actorboy, on 04/10/2008, -0/+4I want corporations to pay employees a living wage so they can raise personally raise their children instead of expecting the school system to do so because they have to work two or three jobs just to put food in their mouths. Sounds like you want the welfare system to take the place of honest days wages for an honest days work. Kind missed the point of personal responsibility, didn't you?
- minoss, on 04/10/2008, -1/+5This doesn't work in a free market where another company with better products and labor would just come along and put them out of business.
- minoss, on 04/10/2008, -4/+8So being a successful company that grows automatically means you don't care about your employees?
- crichton101, on 04/10/2008, -1/+5You guys are morons who deserve to work for pennies. We have the fair work place rules because of unions. They are shipping jobs to foreign countries because that way they can pay pennies for the labor and product and get even richer. They would not be in danger of going out of business by keeping those jobs in the USA, they just wouldn't get as rich as they will by shipping the jobs over seas. Not so long ago there were no child labor laws, there were sweatshops in America, and workers toiled away from under the boot of corporate bastards who thought of theirs as tools who could be easily disposed of and replaced. That is not right and that is why we need unions because those bastards will only give you what they have to and will take everything they can from you. Without unions over time would be thrown out, don't be me well try this. this is from back in 2001, and I'm sure it will rears it head again.
http://www.workinglife.org/wiki/Republicans+Taking ...
Republican Senators Judd Gregg (NH) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) have proposed legislation (S.B. 624) to amend the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and allow employers to schedule work weeks of up to 50 hours without having to pay time and a half for overtime.
S.B 624 stipulates that workers will only get overtime pay if they work more than 80 hours in a two-week period.
So yeah, without unions lobbying for workers we would lose overtime and 40 hour work weeks. Next would go healthcare. I deserve a vacation because I MAKE YOU MONEY!!. I am the person making you money, me. Sure you can fire out your ass that I get paid a wage, but the fact is that considering the work I do through out the year, giving me a week to 2 weeks off out of the entire year is nothing. Small businesses that are mom and pop businesses are a different breed, but big corporate entities that make billions owe it to the people that make them rich. Without Unions and workers otherwise organizing themselves we would still be slaves to the employers with little to no reward beyond barely enough money to live off of. If corporations had their way we'ld be nothing but slaves to them. - sigg14, on 04/10/2008, -0/+4or you can join a union if you can pass the testing and make a better living for yourself.
- apothekari, on 04/10/2008, -1/+5Hillary Clinton is a Corporate Sellout .
The unrestricted "bending over" of legal codes, tax laws,finance and responsibilities the Corporations in this country have received in the last 25 years in this country have lead to almost everything wrong with this Nation today.
We are in a corporate war,by a corporate President for corporate reasons. Democrat and Republican alike have pitted us against each other long enough to rape and pillage us.poison our air water and food supply all while sending all the industry to foreign lands while the vast majority of low and middle class workers are left to "shop-work" in retail hell all while ever decreasing wages health care and working conditions become the norm.
Between 4 more years of Bush {Mccain} and Hillary's say one thing publicly while selling us out behind our backs the only real choice left for us this election cycle is Obama.
I HOPE he's a good man, I really do but I must admit I have no faith at all in America or it's political parties to do what's right for a working class dude like me and my family.
I do know that a reckoning is coming and REGARDLESS of political parties I am voting AGAINST the incumbents this go round.
It's the ONLY weapon I have to defend my family against these ***** vultures! - Antillies911, on 04/10/2008, -12/+16Anyone who bashes unions has not clue what they stand for. I've never worked in a Union shop but i do know what its like to work in a non-union shop. I worked in a factory that produced parts for International Truck & Engine. It was a horrible working environment! Health & Safety was ignored, we got paid ***** for the amount of work we did ($12/hour) almost no benefits. Some people are going to say "well there are laws that say you don't have to work in an unsafe environment". Has anyone ever tried or heard of anyone whos has had those laws enforced who didn't loose there job shortly thereafter? A union provides protection as its main purpose and provides a safe and fair work place. In a nonunion shop people get promoted not based on there abilities and expereince but by how much ***** they suck.
Walmart is a prime example of a place that needs a union. First of all not everyone can be doctors, lawyers, etc.. There are more people than there are high profile jobs that pay well. I once read a article that said if walmart were to transfer 5% of there profits they could easily pay everyone of there employees world wide over $20/hour. Why don't they? Because they are greedy and don't give a rats ass.
Anyone who says unions are the reason why north america has lost so many jobs because of unions is completely wrong. Let me ask you this. How many people can afford to buy a new car making $10/hour? I know i couldn't. Yet its hard to find a job these days that pays more than that. What most people don't seem to understand is that its the middle class that supports the majority of these companies and once these large corporations finally eliminate the middle class (which they are trying to do) these companies will likely go out of business them selfs because no one will be able to afford there products. There is a middle class because of Unions and what they can do for the average person. Alot of companies seem to be working under the assumsion that not spending money makes money.. When in fact you need to spend money to make money.. The more money in my pocket means the more money i have to spend.
If work places treated there employee's well, gave them benefits and paid them fair wages (at least double the min wage) then there is no needs for unions. But untill that day comes Union are a crucial part of alot of people lives. - pintomp3, on 04/10/2008, -1/+5yeah, having a middle class, child labor laws, and workplace safety standards suck. wish we never had unions.
- jmkiii, on 04/10/2008, -1/+5It's important to spend time with your kids!
- BN2L, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3Just you and Bill
- sigg14, on 04/10/2008, -1/+4I am amazed at the ignorance about unions on this page. a lot of bitter people too, don't be mad because the guy who does the same job as you but was smart enough to organize makes 3 times as much as you. did you ever stop and think maybe he is not overpaid but you are underpaid ?
- actorboy, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3I got news for you -- the companies are not shipping jobs overseas so they can pay the Chinese the US minimum wage. Companies don't give a ***** about you. So which do you support? The unions who think you deserve more pay and better working conditions or the corporations who think you deserve the opposite?
- Kapitaine, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3Isn't it funny how Walmart don't want to permit Unions for reasons such as "because we love America" or "because then we'd have to build our factories overseas" when actually, that video just proves that they built factories with child labour over there anyway regardless!!
Unions are focused on people...you. Business is focused on money...not you.
So what do YOU want?
Making profit (and huge amounts of it) is not a bad thing at all, but when you pay the wages they do, making the billions they do, that's when it becomes sickening. They are the highest profit earning company in the entire world. - DivisibleByZero, on 04/10/2008, -2/+5I had a summer job at Kroger once, and they had a rule that *everybody* had to join the union, so every paycheck I got like $15 deducted from my meager minimum wage paycheck to pay for other peoples' benefits. That was 3 hours of work down the drain.
- RomeyRome, on 04/10/2008, -1/+4You should join a union. Get in on the action while it's hot. Otherwise you'll be making your rightly deserved $9/hr for the rest of your life.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 165 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is