I believe it. Having negotiated agreements with Steel Workers I can tell you that they have no problem with a company shutting down if they can’t get what they want. 240 union workers out of jobs and now working for non union companies, a 115 year old company closed because it was the last union company in it’s sector and just couldn’t compete with all of the non-union competitors. One of the most foolish things I have ever seen.
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Truly is it the union reps or members that decide this? Someone from union needs to also have some objectivity I hope. Sounds like a good tactic to take attention away from all bs union has been pulling and their issues. I strongly support unions but not to the point of having companies shut down or protecting employees that do not pull their weight.
Can you please tell me why if you happened to know?
For the life of it I don’t understand this logic. How can they wportrait closing down a company as a win???
Why? I understand the need for them at the dawn of the industrial revolution. What purpose do they serve today? If these workers were actually worth what they were asking they would have many companies bidding for their services. Artificially inflating value never ends well. All I see is Unions destroying anything they touch. They have absolutely decimated the public school system.
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I also have a hard time understanding the necessity of unions in this day and age.
Based on my own experiences and observations, it’s protection for underperforming individuals who just want a paycheck. A union is an insult to any employee that is worth a damn. I wonder what would happen if I decided to not show up for work for days at a time because I felt I was underpaid or didn’t think the handout was large enough. In the adult world, that is probably cause for termination.
I really do hope some of these companies handcuffed by unions shut down as it seems like that’s the only way to trim that fat. I have no doubt the high performing workers will land on their feet. The other leaches… Too bad so sad.
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They have issues, absolutely, which is why I don’t contribute to my union.
However, I can see the value in them still. They help to ensure a safer workplace and whilst I know employers have an obligation to keep ALL employees safe, not just the union staff, Unions can put pressure on employers to ensure an improved environment of safety. Equally other benefits like healthcare and pensions which are so, so important here given the lack of a social safety net are all important items the unions help to achieve.
I’m currently in a class on labor relations and the professors both agreed that this strike is just to distract from the FBI raiding UAW leaders’ homes. The workers are the ones to lose here considering they won’t get backpay. The professor more familiar with the UAW (other is more in touch with hospitality) expected that it would be a short strike
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doesn’t the strike just highlight the ongoing corruption scandal though? If they had taken the deal everyone would’ve just mostly forgotten about the champagne, golf clubs and slush funds by the time the next contract negotiation rolls around?
By striking, it generates headlines and the corruption scandal is far more juicy than workers on picket lines so it’s fairly obvious which story the media would follow.
Genuine question: where else would auto workers go w/ their skill set that is relatively geographically close to where they already live?
how so? Teachers I know are pretty awesome. They don’t all drive Bentleys, yet still have to buy their own class supplies.
The best option for you is not always geographically close to where you live. Detroit is a dying town. We live in the most mobile time for human beings. It is very easy to move. I have moved for a job as have many other people. If you have a marketable skill you can find someone willing to pay what you are worth for it. If you limit yourself to your immediate geographic area then yes you drastically limit your options.
just wondering if anyone on the same page of hating the police unions, since those do a much more immediate harm.
Will we finally see those $99/month, $0 down Bolt deals you said would be available like…2 years ago?
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I am not sure how you took this as a knock on teachers. I agree most teachers are pretty awesome. The issue is the unions not the teachers. As an example I have a good friend who is an amazing teacher and she works with several terrible teachers. Due to the unions it is basically impossible to fire bad teachers. That is one of the many reasons our schools are bad. We spend more money per student then anywhere else in the world yet still get terrible results. The unions are a big part of the problem.
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that’s generally the same case in many industries, health care, military, etc.
Correct, and we have the best healthcare and military in the world while our schools lag behind.In every other area more spending equals a better outcome but not so with schools. California has more than doubled spending with zero improvement in test scores. Why is that? A major reason is the unions, another is the archaic department of education. Most charter schools get better outcomes while spending less per student. The fact that they aren’t beholden to the unions and the department of education allows them to innovate. Unions and government stifle innovation and our kids suffer.
Hold on a second, we spend more on heathcare and military that any other country and get abysmal results. Unless you think spending a trillion dollar on military per year, yet still having a poor sleep at night is the best we can get.
As far as school systems, you can check the rankings yourself, it’s a mixed bag, union or not. I would expect Wisconsin to beat NJ by now, but North East is still the best, while having the strongest unions.
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You sleeping poorly at night is not a quantifiable metric. What basis do you have to state we get “abysmal results” ? By every objective standard we have the strongest military and best healthcare. The only knock on our healthcare is that it is expensive which I don’t refute. However to say we don’t have the best healthcare is just absurd when we lead in every quantifiable metric. When the sultan of Brunei comes to the US when he gets sick that is a pretty good measuring stick for where the best care is.
As far is results varying across the US. Of course they do, but across the board we vastly underperform vs. most of the rest of the worlds top countries.
Well that’s the point. While it seems like we’re spending a lot on education, it is nowhere near the other expenditures.
That is also not a quantifiable measure. Many people I know fly to Russia for dental work, it doesn’t mean they have the best dental care.
We’ve come a long way from the Triangle Fire 
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