Retiring the Myth of 'Big Labor'

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Have the unions negotiate with China? Were you dropped on your head repeatedly as a child? The unions do not work for China, and their main negotiation strategy is to threaten to go on strike. Why would that bother China? Do you think they might injure themselves laughing so hard at such an ill-conceived idea?
Before you blame Bush and the republicans for China's economic boom, you might want to see what happened during Clinton's time in office. That's when America's retirement funds starting looking abroad to invest money. They thought they hit on a brilliant idea: invest in a country with low worker wages, add some American technology and know-how, and export goods to the U.S. Of course China robbed them blind, stole America's jobs, and kept Walmart supplied with cheap, shoddy goods. Clinton looked the other way. Maybe it was a coincidence that Clinton was taking money from the Chinese. Maybe not.
And before you blame republicans for driving U.S. companies to invest overseas, you might want to check the main reasons that the companies left:
1) unions.
2) excessive regulation.
3) legal liability.
All three reasons are things that are heavily supported by democrats. Clinton's head of the EPA once tried to ban the chlorine molecule, even though that would set medical care and public health back a few hundred years. Republicans at least pay lip service to tort reform, and they support hard-working Americans, not lazy, worthless unions.

chem E of FL 10:20PM September 07, 2010

Maybe we can have unions negotiate with China since they have some guts instead of the whimpy republicans who give communist countries our jobs, technology, and factories without blinking an eye. Oh boy are we going to pay for handing our power over to the communists! So much for freedom! Good job republicans, China is about to flex their muscles!!!

Independent of MA 9:40PM September 07, 2010

Unions are the main reason American industry is no more.
They are, ironically, the main reason unions are weaker than they were in 1956, the height of their power, and that's a good thing, because with union weakness America can return to preeminence economically.
But, weak as they are, they can and do influence elections generally and Democ-rat primaries particularly. Their phone banks are legend--they call my home in Florida from new york because my wife is a retired teacher. They assess their membership for their political action committees and contribute to the Democ-rats with that cash.
As a result of their influence they, in effect, sit on both sides of the negotiation table. Liberal author Ken Auletta details how this works in his first book about the 1973 New York City fiscal crisis, "The Streets Were Paved With Gold." He shows that the City government was so weak in its dealing with the AFSCME local in New York City that negotiations were held in union headquarters.
So, having finished off American industry, they now have their slights set on Federal, State and local governments.

David S. Levine of FL 4:52PM September 07, 2010

Unions once had their function and did a great service. However, time marches by and Unions have become bureaucracies. The main goal of any bureaucracy is to justify its own position.
Today, the Unions have attracted the radical elements, some say criminal elements, into their leadership. The entire focus of the Unions of yesterday have been bastardized and twisted.
No longer do Unions represent the worker, but themselves. Yes, they pay token lip service to the worker, but it is done a part of power and control.
When Unions force workers to join under the guise city, county, state and federal laws for representation, this to me is graft, power and greed. I watched that happen after the SEIU Union forced me and other to join or resign my job. Having a family, I HAD NO CHOICE, but to reluctantly accept this NEW TAX burden.
I was forced to join the SEIU Union in California. I am now a retired Peace Officer and I now can speak without fear from the SEIU. California state law was changed and it was mandated that a portion of my hard earned salary went to SEIU. It was crammed down our throats whether we liked it or not by the politicians getting "money" and "support" from the Unions.
And what is really bad, is that I HAD TO PAY A POLL TAX TO VOTE IN THE UNION. That is right, a POLL TAX. A lawsuit was over turned because a judge rules that the SEIU was not a governmental agency and could not be subject "to such a minor law." This despite the fact it was the State of California that made the law, enforced the law and took the money out of my paycheck.
We were forced to pay a tribute "representation fee" and made Union Members second class. To be "real" Union members and have the ability to vote, we had to pay more. And once you paid more, I found out you could no longer go back to just the "representation fee" only. And they said that was fair.
Unions have become part of the problem and not part of the solution. They should be investigated for criminal corruption and misuse of Union funds. This include Union Pension funds which they borrow from all the time.
A former SEIU member, who was forced screaming and kicking into the ugly corruption of the Union mentality.

John R. Carpenter of CA 1:17PM September 07, 2010

Back in the 30s Unions were necassary no one disagrees. However over the years the laws have become so employee driven as to how people are treated and paid in the workplace. Unions have caused more problems over the years such as Chrysler, GM the unions drove them under and the taxpayer took it on the chin.
The UAW rules for layoffs before the bailout Im not sure if they changed but I doubt it. If a person is laid off hes paid 90% of his pay by the company for a 2 year period. No way a company could afford to restructure under those conditions. The Medical was no deduction or payments by the employee's full coverage even for retirees its utterly rediculous.
THe teachers unions just as bad. having worked union before saw no good outcome for those who want to work but if your lazy its perfect Can rember being told to slow down or everyone else would have to speed up. No wonder union shops are dieing even with a democratic congress and Admin. the country cant afford rediculously high inflated wages benifits for less production. Had Obama, Pelosi, and Reed ever held a real job or had any overall responsibilty in production they would realize the time for Unions is over.

Jerry of NY 10:20AM September 07, 2010

Repeating 3 comments with a little variation on each article.
What a idiot...

Bill Hedges of MO 2:02AM September 07, 2010

BILL HEDGES: You've resorted to name calling, gee whiz. The founding fathers would be ashamed of what is happening with communist China. Oh I know, you don't see any threat from the communists. "Communists, who are they... they ARE SO 20th century..." is that what you think???
The communists could never have achieved what they have without you Bill and your friends. Thanks for selling out America in the name of free trade. Reagan would be ashamed of free trade and shipping entire industries to communist countries. Can you imagine Reagan saying, "we're going to send the USSR to the trash heap of history, but first, we will transfer our industry to the USSR and let them buy our debt such that we rely on them for stability of the dollar." Oh my!!!
It's INSANE to have free trade with countries that undercut us by destroying their environment and paying their workers poverty level wages. No problem though, we can do the same! Let's cut our union jobs and pay people the same here ($5,000 per year!) ! Then we can have 3 families living in each home (townhome that is...) all sharing one car! Great! Plus we can dump our toxic waste into the local rivers. Pesky EPA, take that! Then we can compete with the Chinese! Yay! Free trade is GREAT! THANKS REPUBLICANS FOR DESTROYING OUR STANDARD OF LIVING!
REPUBLICANS: You say you're against socialism, but Bush passed Medicare part D (a huge social health care program). Plus Tea Party members refuse to cut medicare or social security (don't cut my favorite socialist programs, I'm entitled to them! Even though I never put a cent into medicare part D!) while they yell "down with socialism!"
The REPUBLICANS have shifted money and power to communist countries like China by opening their markets. Turns out free trade has made China a very powerful country and ruined our manufacturing base, but the corporations are making record profits and that's what matters. Surprisingly some republicans think that China's communist anti-Christian leaders will someday wake up and support freedom. It hasn't happened. In fact, they are growing more hard line in their anti-freedom policies!
Tea party members yell "pride, charity, freedom, God, country" and then support leaders that send factories, money, and technology to countries that hate all these things. Americans will have to take a 70% pay cut in order to bring down the cost of production to meet China. A Chinese engineer making wind turbines makes $7,000 per year! (and they're very intelligent and qualified). Thanks REPUBLICANS!

Independent of MA 10:16PM September 06, 2010

Poor guy steal two comments from some place else and repeats here time and time.
What a idiot...

Bill Hedges of MO 8:42PM September 06, 2010

Check this out:
Pay + Benefits (incl soc secur) of ave US factory worker = $40,000 + $40,000 = $80,000.
Average factory employment = 1,200 workers.
Cost of human labor in ave US factory = $96 million.
----------Compare that to --->
Pay + Benefits of ave CHINESE factory worker = $5,000
***** Cost of Chinese labor in Chinese factory = $6 million !!!!!!
It costs $90 MILLION MORE PER YEAR to hire American factory workers (16 times more money)
It's INSANE to have free trade with countries that undercut us by destroying their environment and paying their workers poverty level wages. No problem though, we can do the same! Let's cut our union jobs and pay people the same here ($5,000 per year!) ! Then we can have 3 families living in each home (townhome that is...) all sharing one car! Great! Plus we can dump our toxic waste into the local rivers. Pesky EPA, take that! Then we can compete with the Chinese! Yay! Free trade is GREAT! THANKS REPUBLICANS FOR DESTROYING OUR STANDARD OF LIVING! The idle rich are who? They are anyone making over $7,000 per year! (because we should compete with Chinese workers apparently, thank Republicans!)
And please use its instead of it's (your second paragraph). Remember, it's means "it is." You used it's incorrectly 2 times in that paragraph.
My plan? Stop trading with countries that are communists. Get our balls back and act like Ronald Reagan toward communist countries, not like Bush corporate monkeys. The freedom loving western nations of the world should trade with each other. Other countries must adopt our level of freedoms (press, religion, speech, etc) before we send them our technology, money, and jobs in the form of free trade! The republicans who think that China is going to become powerful and then become a freedom loving nation are wrong. China is becoming more oppressive and dangerous! Soon it will challenge our power and WIN! Shesh!

Independent of MA 12:46PM September 06, 2010

It doesn't matter if one is Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Shih-Tzu ...if the costs of building a Ford Fiesta in Shen-Zhen, China sums a total of $1.50 as opposed to costing $5.00 here in the USA, what would you do, Mr. Businessman??
Granted, since it's inception (initiated by H W Bush & passed into law by Clinton), I was able to view N.A.F.T.A. (North American Free Trade Agreement) as having the obvious "pyramid effect" come to it's culmination in a relativly short period of time.
Nonetheless, it is time to disband N.A.F.T.A. and rebuild our own economy regardless of the generally negative and slow reponsive attitude of today's American factory worker!
Call me a "corporate shill" if you will, but it doesn't change the facts!

havahavanna of CA 5:36AM September 06, 2010