The unemployed need a union

[Linkmeister]

And the Int'l Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has created one. The idea is to organize into a group which speaks for all 31 million Americans who are currently jobless.

See here for story; see here for union website.

I looked; there's only one organization of unemployed people in Hawai'i so far, over on the Big Island, so I created one called Ewa, for unemployed folks living west of Honolulu. Link here. If you're unemployed and want to create a cube for Honolulu, East Honolulu or Windward, be my guest.

[Bobinator]

Re: The unemployed need a union

On the flip side, unions cause the price of everything to go up exponentially. Let Capitalism reign, and they'll be more work for everyone.

[Linkmeister]

Re: The unemployed need a union

Ooh, you're right! Without unions, I could make my employees work for 12-hour days at pennies per hour! I'd make zillions!

[Bobinator]

Re: The unemployed need a union

Gee, that's funny. I don't see the private sector doing that right now. Perhaps they're union, and we don't even know it.

[Linkmeister]

Re: The unemployed need a union

The point was, without unions we wouldn't have 8-hour days, we wouldn't have paid vacations and sick leave, and we wouldn't have minimum wage laws. You'd prefer that?

[turtlegirl]

Re: The unemployed need a union

You hit the nail on the head a few times there, Linkmeister. Unions are necessary, to maintain fairness between employers and employees. Especially to keep employers from mistreating and underpaying employees. Thats just the first thing that comes to mind, but to sum my ramblings up -

Unions would not be necessary if employers treated their workers humanely.

[sophielynette]

Re: The unemployed need a union

I've never been part of a union myself, but there is a union where my parents work, although they're not members of it. According to my stepdad, it actually causes a lot of problems, because it means that workers can pretty much get away with anything they want. They can sit there not working the entire day, and the supervisor can't do anything about it for fear of Union retaliation. They're not allowed to reprimand an individual either -- if somebody does something wrong, they have to call a meeting of the entire department and remind everyone not to do that.

Again, this is what I've heard from my stepfather, not experienced personally.

[timkona]

Re: The unemployed need a union

Minimum Wage laws hurt the least capable among us. Here's why.

The only point of competition attainable by the least able/trained person is price. Minimum wage laws take away a persons ability to compete on the single advantage they have, which is price. It's basic economics. You know, the guns vs. butter graph.


Min Wage laws are a noble cause, with the best of intentions. Alas, so many feeble minded ideas start out that way.

[Kalalau]

Re: The unemployed need a union

This country's economy was at its best when union membership was highest. It is very simple: you want prosperous customers coming thru your doors--people who can buy whatever you are selling. To that end, you ultimately benefit by paying your workers well. Henry Ford figured that out all on his own, even though he struggled against unions. You also do not want to ship the jobs of your customers over seas to sweat shops and child labor shops. Money is a flow, even if the rich sit on it it is still a flow, it is being lent out and "invested", usually in Wall Street "securities" which even at their best are crap shoots. If the flow goes to poor and middle class people it is always spent on things that directly produce employment--houses, food, clothing, etc. Then the people who build the houses, grow and transport the food, make and sell the clothing, have money to spend when they walk in your doors. They don't just look at what you have to sell, they can buy it. History is littered with countries that let wealth concentrate at the top, they all came to miserable ends whether thru revolution or collapsing into poverty. No matter the system wealth has always tended to concentrate in fewer and fewer hands, that tendency has to be resisted if the economy and society are going to function. Soak the rich. Its good for them.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: The unemployed need a union

I've been both a card carrying Teamsters Union member as well as a manager so I know both sides.

Unions if done right put expectations in writing and everybody is clear about their jobs.

Unions when done wrong create a rift between superior and subordinate.

If you're the type of person who just wants to do the samething until retirement then unions can work for you.

If you're the type of person who strives for excellence and upward growth, then you need to step out of unions.

I was a technician for 22-years with no growth in a union. In a parallel career path, I became a manager in less than 8-years working in a non-union environment.

BUT BACK OT...the unemployed don't need a union...they just need better representation by their elected officials. And if that doesn't help, then a public watchdog group is needed to lobby against inefficient lawmakers and get them out, party affiliation set aside.