I was also a union president and have also worked in management. Bottom line, there is plenty of blame to go around. All free countries have labor unions, in fact America has much less than most other developed countries. Fact. without unions, there wouldn't be overtime, vacation pay, benefits, OHSA, or many other workers rights. Would you really want to live without these things? You union haters, can thank men like Henry Ford, who let men freeze to death waiting in line for jobs, literally. My father retired from Chrysler and was a UAW man. Do I think they are whiners at times? Definitely.
I live in a right to work state with little or no unions. I am self-employed plumber now, and at times easily beat that $70.00 mark. It really seems to enrage your typical arrogant white collar worker. They can't stand to think about a nasty plumber making more money than they do. Unfortunately for them, I have a valuable skill that people are willing to pay for. I think the union and non-union argument comes down to the same fact, people are jealous of their pay and benefits.
Any of you non-unions guys drawing government benefits right now need to thank all those lazy union guys, because you wouldn't have them without organized labors influence.
"there wouldn't be" - past tense. Do you honestly think that the 5 day, 40 hour workweek would vanish if unions ceased to exist?? That BOLI overtime laws would disappear? With all of the government bureaucracy, that OSHA would somehow be dismantled?? That a company that decided to drop vacation pay and such wouldn't get shellacked by its competitors once all the good employees jumped ship. Pshaw. Unions did, at one time, serve a valuable purpose. Nowadays, they spend almost all of their time and union dues, giving help to liberal causes that a lot of their members find very objectionable. If you think they have your best interests at heart, think again, most are out to support any and all legislation helping illegal aliens come here and take American jobs, they figure they can bribe them into union membership if they help them politically.
SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina met with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to discuss immigration reform.
In the first of its kind meeting -- to convene a diverse group of advocates to begin sketching a framework for reform-- Vice President Medina issued the following statement:
"Today's White House meeting with Secretary Napolitano and a diverse group of labor, faith, and business leaders is an important step towards shaping smart, comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the comings months. As the leader of the Department that has for far too long been tasked with the impossible job of enforcing broken, outdated laws, Secretary Napolitano knows first-hand how critical it is that
we pass sweeping immigration reforms that are smart, enforceable and strengthen our economy for the long term.
"In coming months as the immigration debate heats up, Secretary Napolitano will play a central role in promoting real progress on the issue. In order to achieve the smart policy solution that the American public wants, we urge Secretary Napolitano to stand up publicly, light the fire and become an outspoken champion of comprehensive reform.
"Enforcement without reform has been tried for decades with dismal results. Instead of solving problems, it wastes taxpayer dollars, marginalizes immigrant communities and degrades the quality of life for all workers. In particular, expansion of employment verification programs like E-Verify is like painting the roof when the house is on fire; it's the wrong solution at the wrong time.
"For every day we delay on passing a solution to our broken immigration system, we impede our nation's economic recovery, create unnecessary divisions in our workforce, and cost taxpayers billions of wasted dollars.
"It is unacceptable to live in a country where millions of workers are living in shadows. The only way to
ensure that every job in this country is filled by a legal permanent resident is to get undocumented immigrants out of the underground economy, into the system and under the rule of law. Diverse groups are aligned on the need for a comprehensive solution. Now we need the Administration and Congress to take bold steps, roll up their sleeves and pass smart reforms once and for all.
The last part is decoded as follows:
ensure that every job in this country is filled by a legal permanent resident is to get undocumented immigrants out of the underground economy, into the system and under the rule of law.
Translation: we make all 20-30 million illegal aliens legal with the sweep of a pen. No more illegal aliens, they're legal now. Amnesty is what the unions are supporting.
I've got a radical idea, why don't we ensure that every job in this country is filled by a US CITIZEN or someone who has obeyed our laws and gone through the Naturalization process and has learned our history, our language, our culture, and our Constitution and supports it??
Keep paying your union dues, illegal aliens need your support.
