Adventures in Union Marketing
The Asbestos Workers Union (didn’t realize there was such a thing) is taking the shock-and-awe approach to raising awareness for its services by erecting a couple of coffins on Flushing Avenue this morning. Evidently, there’s some contractor or another with headquarters inside the Navy Yard that has yet to see the wisdom of paying top…
The Asbestos Workers Union (didn’t realize there was such a thing) is taking the shock-and-awe approach to raising awareness for its services by erecting a couple of coffins on Flushing Avenue this morning. Evidently, there’s some contractor or another with headquarters inside the Navy Yard that has yet to see the wisdom of paying top dollar for their services. For a view inside the coffins, click through to the jump. Update: A reader sent in a scan of one of the flyers that the protesters are now handing out. You can view it here.
very late coming back to the party, but it looks like many points are flying past eachother. I have no issue with brainiacs profiting from free trade. I sincerely dont have too many fears for US workers in the tech/legal/medical fields. We have many smart people who are using their knowledge to get design things and get rich. I was not, and am not, concerned about them.
What is not being spoken about in any depth for some reason are the people who obviously lose their blue collar jobs when corporations flee to the third world. Where do our “unwashed masses” go for a living wage then? Dont tell me about retraining! lol, retraining to do what? Build airplanes? Come on guys. These folks will always exist, I dont care what economy you try to create. You need good paying manual labor jobs in abundance to sustain a society like ours, particularly if you’re realistic about the state of our education system. We cant all make money with our minds, and we cant expect everyone to be retrained to.
As for the whole “unions are evil/ Unions are good” debate, for me its not so much about that. I have worked with and against both good and bad unions, and am fully aware that many leave a lot to be desired. Still, that is a far cry from saying they are all corrupt and/or obsolete.
Oh and Jag, see you created your name just for this post. New to the blog or got something to hide?
Yeah, that chamber of commerce can sway a lot of votes in an election – good one.
So, pig 3 (good name for you by the way), unions aren’t supposed to become political mercenaries but businesses (ever hear of the chamber of commerce) can? Seems like if the union members don’t like it, then they can change it. I would agree however that it would be more honest if we just had a Labor Party in America so that the Unions didn’t need to pander to (usually) the Dems and vice versa.
lechacal,
no, not random and really not that deep- just the foundation for what should have been a more complex discussion. I, like DIBS, applaud your posts. I often see the casual use of terms like “workers rights”, “our Democracy” used inappropriately in discussions like this one. Talking about unions, pay, competition and production (in the US and world wide) are almost pointless without recognizing that Unions (not necessarily the individuals that belong) are or have become a business within a business. Unions have become political mercenaries. I could use this entire day to throw down a rant, but I am just grateful that more and more people are recognizing and discussing the issues surrounding Unions, our federal, state and local governments. Unions and education. And, the place, effects and overall abuse (public and private sectors) unions are having on our economy and way of life.
I know, I know, god forbid people who use their physical labor to do things should band together to negotiate with the people who employ them. Perhaps when you want to have the asbestos taken out of your lovely brownstone that you bought (and aren’t you happy it cost less than the widget predicted? Such a deal!) you should go to the corner and hire the nearest day laborer to do the job. $10.00 an hour sounds about right for a trustifarian who can afford to buy a brownstone (below widget price) and put in all the fancy appliances but maybe can’t quite afford the labor costs for the physical and/or hazardous costs. Shame on those asbestos workers who dared to form a union to make sure that they have adequate safety protections and are fairly paid. The nerve! As for fair trade, while it certainly has its benefits, it is rather obvious to me based on my experience in both labor law and law enforcement that without unions, we would have the labor conditions that exist in the developing world so wouldn’t need so much of that free trade since we could just exploit people here. I know, I know, American companies pay great wages, never stiff their workers, etc. etc. By the way, aside from lax regulation and lower wages, one major reasons that US companies make things abroad is that many countries in the so called developing world have something the USA lacks, namely a plan, an industrial plan. When the US has a unified industrial policy that provides tax credits etc. for building a factory and creating jobs, then maybe more companies will stay at home and make stuff here. As it is, we, or more specifically the south, looks like the Mexico of Europe the way governors down there promise European auto manufacturers that they can build a plant in their state and darned if any big city union will be able to organize it. What goes around comes around.
Yep. Limousine liberals. Typical selfish me me me me me me and they think they earned it.
pig three – Please explain to us how anything in your post was relevant to this discussion. Or are you a random deep thought generator?
sorry i missed this one. so much more to Unions in this country that what was covered. and for what it is worth we (this country) are not a Democracy. We are (supposed to be) a democratic Republic. Big difference. One more note from me. “Rights” are something that cannot be taken away. Anything that is given and therefore can be taken is a “privilege”.
ok benson, I’ll agree to mostly but not completely agree on that 🙂
I’d like to get after the liberal nimbyism that doesn’t want no stinking factory in their back yard.