Wednesday Willies!

[Gingersnap]

We are having very nice late summer weather for a change. I have to say that I over-planted the eggplant. They are astonishingly healthy and beautiful and they planning on staging a coup and taking over the neighborhood. I brought a boatload of them into work this morning.

TOTD: Unions. What do you think of unions today? We all know about the history of unions in the past and what they did for workers but what about today? My place is being besieged by union shills. We already have about 3 unions people can join if they feel so inclined but the unions now want to force us to become a unionized workforce. They claim they will not force people to pay dues if they don't want to join but I believe this is a huge lie just as it was in other states.

What are your feelings about forced representation as a worker, and employer, or a client of union work?

[gator]

We are having very nice late summer weather for a change. I have to say that I over-planted the eggplant. They are astonishingly healthy and beautiful and they planning on staging a coup and taking over the neighborhood. I brought a boatload of them into work this morning.

TOTD: Unions. What do you think of unions today? We all know about the history of unions in the past and what they did for workers but what about today? My place is being besieged by union shills. We already have about 3 unions people can join if they feel so inclined but the unions now want to force us to become a unionized workforce. They claim they will not force people to pay dues if they don't want to join but I believe this is a huge lie just as it was in other states.

What are your feelings about forced representation as a worker, and employer, or a client of union work?

You do know that eggplants have almost zero nutrition value, don't you? It has a little fiber and that is about it. You might as well eat cardboard, although eggplant may taste better.

I managed union workers in my division during most of my career with Lockheed Martin. I pretty well think they suck.

[Space Gravy]

Whenever someone brings up the topic of unions the first thing I always think of is the machinists at United Airlines threatening to strike when the airline industry was barely afloat after 9/11.

Stories like this one below are becoming more common and I'm having a hard time mustering up much sympathy for them.

NYT Shuts Down Distribution Unit; Sheds 550 Jobs

The New York Times is shutting down City and Suburban Delivery Systems, a unit that distributed the Times and 200 other publications to newsstands in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. With it, the NYT is shedding 550 full-time union jobs. Instead, company will increase its reliance on non-union contractors (read: cheaper) to distribute the Times to area retailers, much like the national edition of the Times, which is distributed by third-party companies.

The unit was formed in 1992 in a bid to diminish the clout of unions over the newspaper delivery business. The Times bought two newspaper wholesalers to form the unit and negotiated a long-term employment contract with drivers. A good idea at the time, but as NYT GM Scott Heekin-Canedy says now, "the business environment has changed dramatically since 1992 when City & Suburban was formed and wholesale distribution is no longer an economical business for the Times Company."
Link

Certainly at some point they were important for workers but I think they've outlived their usefullness given how many gov't agencies and regulations we have today to make sure workers are kept safe and compensated.

[LogansPapa]

Cooling off here - overcast, but still no large waves from the South Pacific.

TOTD: As I’ve previously - many times - Unions have evolved into a monster they were never meant to be. Like formal Communism - their place in the world is going away-incrementally - and they will soon, with any luck and fortune, soon be a footnote in history.

[Gingersnap]

You do know that eggplant have almost zero nutrition value, don't you? It has a little fiber and that is about it. You might as well eat cardboard, although eggplant may taste better.

I managed union workers in my division during most of my career with Lockheed Martin. I pretty well think they suck.

Don't be a veggie hater, Gator:

Eggplant is:

Low in Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Cholesterol

High in Dietary Fiber, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper

I don't see how unionizing will benefit anyone other than the unions and their pet politicians. :mad:

[Shannon]

I'm tired and grumpy today. I have to start thinking about what to do for Tristan's birthday this year. Personally, I think 12 is too old for a party but he doesn't.


TOTD: I've never worked for a company where unions were a factor. I don't think much of them though.

[JB]

TOTD: Unions. What do you think of unions today?

If you want to work as an usher at the baseball park in Philly, you HAVE to be a member of the Painters Union. Nuff said.

[noonwitch]

Eggplant Parmesean. Mmm. Unfortunately, I live alone and it doesn't keep in the fridge, so I don't make it often. Chicken parm keeps in the fridge better.


I'm in a union, and work in what they call a closed shop. That means that everyone pays some level of dues-if you choose to quit (and one of my anti-abortion republican coworkers did so), you pay a lower level of dues because the union is still contracted to represent you against management.

I have mixed feelings. When I have a good steward, I love the union. When I don't, I hate them and resent the chunk of my check that they take. Right now, I don't have a steward at all, we have to get the stewards at large.

Really, though, the UAW has consistently given in to management pretty much since Blanchard left office in 1990. He gave us whatever we wanted, which was not politically popular, but went over very well at the office.

[lurkalot]

Nevada is a right to work state. This means that if you work at a company with a union you cannot be forced to pay dues or join the union to work. (a lot of people think it means that the company can fire you anytime they want but thats a whole different thing)
I work in/run a union building. I have no problems being "management" with a union crew. Negotiations are friendly, no issues, the only hassle is having union and non union management positions and having to remember different scales and rules for each...

[Cold Warrior]

Nice day here in southern New England. Slept late after a hell of a 48 hour period. Took my girlfriend to the airport this afternoon as she's off to Bucharest for the week! :eek: :D

TOTD: Don't see a lot of unions in IT consulting. I'm not very fond of them, given their performance over the last few decades. However, I also know they're not responsible for the collapse of American manufacturing. That's simply a natural result of globalization, something Americans are quite fond of when it benefits them.