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.
JB;
I don’t doubt for a second that there are folks who are hurt by the process. Basically, I agree with Lech’s take. Free trade is gnerally beneficial, but here are those who are impacted by the dislocations it causes. The answer is offer these folks a way to re-tool themselves and temporary assistance while they do so.
Thanks, Benson.
I know it’s how the tide of progress goes, but just can’t help but feel for the little guy who can’t find work and isnt being greedy.
“But do you need a college education to participate?”
No, but job losses are concentrated among the less educated. On the whole, society benefits from free trade. But some people obviously do not. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is just to recognize that although fewer people are harmed than are helped by trade, they are different groups of people, and if we are all truly made better off by trade (which we are) then maybe we owe something to the people who take a hit when trade opens up. That’s when you get into ideas like wage insurance, job training, and the like. I don’t know exactly what is the right answer, but that’s the kind of dialogue that I think we need to have.
By comparison, the worst thing to do is to stifle trade so no one loses a job — the result of that is we all lose.
More Bullshit from the unions…….
New York Mayor to Eliminate Teacher Raises to Avoid Job Cuts
June 2 (Bloomberg) — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he will eliminate scheduled raises for teachers and principals for the next two years to cope with the loss of state funding for education.
The removal of planned 2 percent raises in 2011 and 2012 will help the city avoid getting rid of more than 4,400 teaching positions, Bloomberg said in an e-mailed statement.
“Laying off thousands of teachers is simply not the answer,†Bloomberg said. “It would devastate the school system and erase much of the great progress we’ve made — and all the hard work we’ve put into turning our schools around.â€
‘No Agreement’
Mulgrew didn’t immediately return a telephone message. In a statement on the union’s website, Mulgrew said the mayor “does not have the power to unilaterally decide on the teachers’
contract.â€
“The mayor has the power to unilaterally rescind the proposed layoffs, and I’m glad that he has made the right decision to avoid massive disruptions to our schools,†Mulgrew said. “We have reached no agreement on his proposal to freeze teacher pay.â€
Teachers’ contracts expired on Oct. 31 and the union is currently in mediation with the city with no strike deadline, said Peter Kadushin, a spokesman for the union.
In the budget proposal, teachers, principals and managers had been asked to accept a 2 percent increase on their first $70,000 in pay, instead of their previous 4 percent, which Bloomberg said would save almost $1 billion through 2013.
SO, the proposal is that they get a 2% raise instead of a 4% to save hundreds of teachers jobs and they are balking!!!!
Fucking assholes thay are.
Somebody needs to step up and bust a union.
JB;
In my office, we have people involved with shipping, import/export regulations, billing, etc. They make a decent wage, and a college education is not required.
By the way, one more thing: those like Guvna who advocate for trade protection have no idea what is going on in the world. I invite all to look at the back of your Japanese TV set or camcorder and look where it is made. Most likely in Malaysia, which has become a center of excellence for consumer electronics manufacturing. The outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to Southeast Asia is a worldwide phenomenon in all the advanced economies, and it’s a damn good thing.
Thirty years ago folks were railing against “cheap Japanese imports”. Fourty years ago, it was the Northern states railing against the transfer of factories to the South. You can’t stop the tide of progress.
Thanks, guys. Benson – it does seem to be a beautiful thing. But do you need a college education to participate?
By the way,
I agree 100% with FSRG’s take on unions, private and governmental.
JB;
I’ll give you my own example.
I work in the North American marketing office of a Japanese high-tech company.
The electro-optical components I focus on are as follows: the lasers are made in Japan, while the ASICS and optical fiber are made in the US. These components are assembled in Thailand per our engineer’s specifications, and then shipped to Japan for final test. They are then sold to American companiies, who then also assemble them into their sub-systems in Southeast Asia. These American companies have engineering offices in San Jose, Norway and Israel. These sub-assemblies are in tern sold to American Super-Computer companies like Cray, IBM and Sun (now Oracle), and then deployed around the world.
Is this not great? Wealth generated around the world, with each country focusing on its competitive advantages. Moreover, I daresay that this type of commerce does more for world peace than 10,000 meaningless UN sessions.
DIBS – I think she was asking about American jobs created — your answer was a bit mixed in that regard, but if you take the view (as I do) that being provincialist and thinking only about the welfare of Americans is a bad thing, then your approach is spot on.