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members only because their fathers were & w/o a skill of any description.
That’s wrong but it’s something I could live with. I’d rather the guy’s son be a good-for-nothing worker than a good-for-nothing pimp/drug dealer/mugger.
“The problm is you jump from some extreme example of corruption to some poor school aide making $12 an hour. Most union workers work HARD for just barely fair wages, without it we’d ALL (union or no) be making around $10 / hr. less guys.”
I’m with Joe here. Like “welfare queens”, rent stabilized millionaires and other classic examples of people scamming the system, these people are not indicative the masses of people who truly benefit from unionization. I have no problem with people picking on the truly corrupt and stupid, but let’s not lump all union workers together. We would look more like China or Mexico without unions in the manufacturing trades, and that trickles down to all of us.
I’m not saying there is not need for reform or intelligent thinking, there certainly is, I’ve worked trade shows at the Javits, too, and it’s ridiculous, but all union workers are not making out like fat cats, especially those in lower rungs of health care, office work, retail, and manufacturing. It really smacks of robber baron elitism for a group of finance people, lawyers and other well off people begrudging a stage hand for doing well. Isn’t that the American ideal to make a good living with one’s skills? I’d rather the stage hand got the money over some overstuffed CEO or exec of some company my tax dollars had to rescue because of their mistakes and greedy manipulation of invisible assets and paper shuffling.
bxgrl – I’ve worked in many of the big stages in NYC including Linc. Ctr. & Radio City &, yes, there are good techs who know a lot but there’s also a huge amount of featherbedding & there are a bunch of “workers” who haven’t got a clue – members only because their fathers were & w/o a skill of any description.
quote:
No-one begrudges a brain surgeon’s ability to make millions
ahem.. ahem.. i am of the opinion that doctors are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over paid in this country. i know i know medical school bills, but most people in medical school get their money from their rich families anyway and those that dont easily pay it back once they start bringing in the dough which is a lot. and i guess lawsuits and stuff. the concept of Doctor and the concept of Lawyer are basically what has destroyed humanity and KEEPS us from evolving. we’ve been the same for thousands and thousands of years, it’s pathetic. when we will be evolving? hello, we’re not! the $perm (why is that word filtered? and eggs in some in vitro clinic on the UES are the same $perm and eggs found in the altamira caves of prehistoric times. you call that progress? blech.
unions seem to only exist in any meaningful fashion in the northeast. with this econ and trend of outsourcing jobs out of the area, out of the country,… wonder if Unions will make a comeback
Its really obvious none of you have worked backstage on show or constructed sets. You have no idea the amount of expertise, skills and liabilities that go into mounting a major show. Head stagehand and master carpenter positions are part trade skill, part art, part legal rep, part diplomat and part engineer. It’s a hell of a lot more than hammering in a nail pulling a rope. And to all of you who love to put down “creative professionals”- just imagine the ghost town this would be if it weren’t for the Arts. Not only a major source of income for the city, but prestige and, dare I say it? inspiring and stimulating.
It’s such a hoot to hear financial types and -as rob so aptly put it- paper pushers complaining about the salary of someone in the arts or who works in nonprofits. Creative professionals sure aren’t the ones responsible for the mess we’re in now.
members only because their fathers were & w/o a skill of any description.
That’s wrong but it’s something I could live with. I’d rather the guy’s son be a good-for-nothing worker than a good-for-nothing pimp/drug dealer/mugger.
Slope, sorry left out a few but we can work out those details. I can head security and get paid 500K a year. I dont mind.
“The problm is you jump from some extreme example of corruption to some poor school aide making $12 an hour. Most union workers work HARD for just barely fair wages, without it we’d ALL (union or no) be making around $10 / hr. less guys.”
I’m with Joe here. Like “welfare queens”, rent stabilized millionaires and other classic examples of people scamming the system, these people are not indicative the masses of people who truly benefit from unionization. I have no problem with people picking on the truly corrupt and stupid, but let’s not lump all union workers together. We would look more like China or Mexico without unions in the manufacturing trades, and that trickles down to all of us.
I’m not saying there is not need for reform or intelligent thinking, there certainly is, I’ve worked trade shows at the Javits, too, and it’s ridiculous, but all union workers are not making out like fat cats, especially those in lower rungs of health care, office work, retail, and manufacturing. It really smacks of robber baron elitism for a group of finance people, lawyers and other well off people begrudging a stage hand for doing well. Isn’t that the American ideal to make a good living with one’s skills? I’d rather the stage hand got the money over some overstuffed CEO or exec of some company my tax dollars had to rescue because of their mistakes and greedy manipulation of invisible assets and paper shuffling.
bxgrl – I’ve worked in many of the big stages in NYC including Linc. Ctr. & Radio City &, yes, there are good techs who know a lot but there’s also a huge amount of featherbedding & there are a bunch of “workers” who haven’t got a clue – members only because their fathers were & w/o a skill of any description.
Most specialists are overpaid…
I don’t think teachers get paid enough. Most teachers in this country arent’t union btw.
quote:
No-one begrudges a brain surgeon’s ability to make millions
ahem.. ahem.. i am of the opinion that doctors are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over paid in this country. i know i know medical school bills, but most people in medical school get their money from their rich families anyway and those that dont easily pay it back once they start bringing in the dough which is a lot. and i guess lawsuits and stuff. the concept of Doctor and the concept of Lawyer are basically what has destroyed humanity and KEEPS us from evolving. we’ve been the same for thousands and thousands of years, it’s pathetic. when we will be evolving? hello, we’re not! the $perm (why is that word filtered? and eggs in some in vitro clinic on the UES are the same $perm and eggs found in the altamira caves of prehistoric times. you call that progress? blech.
*rob*
unions seem to only exist in any meaningful fashion in the northeast. with this econ and trend of outsourcing jobs out of the area, out of the country,… wonder if Unions will make a comeback
Its really obvious none of you have worked backstage on show or constructed sets. You have no idea the amount of expertise, skills and liabilities that go into mounting a major show. Head stagehand and master carpenter positions are part trade skill, part art, part legal rep, part diplomat and part engineer. It’s a hell of a lot more than hammering in a nail pulling a rope. And to all of you who love to put down “creative professionals”- just imagine the ghost town this would be if it weren’t for the Arts. Not only a major source of income for the city, but prestige and, dare I say it? inspiring and stimulating.
It’s such a hoot to hear financial types and -as rob so aptly put it- paper pushers complaining about the salary of someone in the arts or who works in nonprofits. Creative professionals sure aren’t the ones responsible for the mess we’re in now.