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Strike shows Northwest's true colors
"Steven L. Robinson" wrote in message ... Strike shows Northwest's true colors By Michael Kuchta, St. Paul Union Advocate editor - August 24, 2005 http://www.workdayminnesota.org/view...13a34031fadcdc ffde4bec2f0cedc51 BLOOMINGTON - The strike by mechanics at Northwest Airlines demonstrates how far airline executives are willing to go to cut costs, Because if they DON'T cut costs, they AND the workers will be out of jobs. You obviously know nothing about how much economic trouble the airline industry was in before the recent jump in fuel prices - you think it's in any better shape to just hand out raises left and right? |
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Okay, Mr. Genius, if you had read the article you would have seen that the
workers are willing to take pay cuts. They are just not willing to vote themselves out of jobs... which is what the proposed contract from the bosses would do. But of course, who needs unions. You can always get a job as greeter at Wal-Mart, make minimum wage, get food stamps and medicaid. Isn't the free enterprise great or what... SR Because if they DON'T cut costs, they AND the workers will be out of jobs. You obviously know nothing about how much economic trouble the airline industry was in before the recent jump in fuel prices - you think it's in any better shape to just hand out raises left and right? |
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Steven L. Robinson wrote: Okay, Mr. Genius, if you had read the article you would have seen that the workers are willing to take pay cuts. They are just not willing to vote themselves out of jobs... which is what the proposed contract from the bosses would do. But of course, who needs unions. You can always get a job as greeter at Wal-Mart, make minimum wage, get food stamps and medicaid. Isn't the free enterprise great or what... SR I'm a 14 year union man. One of the most stupid things a union can do is to get stubborn and force a company into bankruptcy. As soon as a company files for bankruptcy it can continue to operate but ignore the union contracts. If the union continues to push and the company goes out of business the union members are all unemployed. Who needs unions? We do. Who needs stupid unions? Nobody. |
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Tchiowa wrote: Steven L. Robinson wrote: Okay, Mr. Genius, if you had read the article you would have seen that the workers are willing to take pay cuts. They are just not willing to vote themselves out of jobs... which is what the proposed contract from the bosses would do. But of course, who needs unions. You can always get a job as greeter at Wal-Mart, make minimum wage, get food stamps and medicaid. Isn't the free enterprise great or what... SR I'm a 14 year union man. One of the most stupid things a union can do is to get stubborn and force a company into bankruptcy. As soon as a company files for bankruptcy it can continue to operate but ignore the union contracts. If the union continues to push and the company goes out of business the union members are all unemployed. Who needs unions? We do. Who needs stupid unions? Nobody. It is a difficult decision, and I suspect is rarely made logically. But for a trade union, it can be important not to allow one company to drive down wages for all the other companies. Occasionally, for the larger membership/trade it might be necessary to "allow" a company to go belly up to preserve wages. In the airline industry right now, you could probably make that case. In order to preserve or defend wages for the industry at large, some airlines might have to fail. |
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wrote in message ups.com... Tchiowa wrote: Steven L. Robinson wrote: Okay, Mr. Genius, if you had read the article you would have seen that the workers are willing to take pay cuts. They are just not willing to vote themselves out of jobs... which is what the proposed contract from the bosses would do. But of course, who needs unions. You can always get a job as greeter at Wal-Mart, make minimum wage, get food stamps and medicaid. Isn't the free enterprise great or what... SR I'm a 14 year union man. One of the most stupid things a union can do is to get stubborn and force a company into bankruptcy. As soon as a company files for bankruptcy it can continue to operate but ignore the union contracts. If the union continues to push and the company goes out of business the union members are all unemployed. Who needs unions? We do. Who needs stupid unions? Nobody. It is a difficult decision, and I suspect is rarely made logically. But for a trade union, it can be important not to allow one company to drive down wages for all the other companies. Occasionally, for the larger membership/trade it might be necessary to "allow" a company to go belly up to preserve wages. In the airline industry right now, you could probably make that case. In order to preserve or defend wages for the industry at large, some airlines might have to fail. Except that there would then be even more unemployed union members, and wages would be further driven downward. |
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" wrote:
It is a difficult decision, and I suspect is rarely made logically. But for a trade union, it can be important not to allow one company to drive down wages for all the other companies. Occasionally, for the larger membership/trade it might be necessary to "allow" a company to go belly up to preserve wages. In the airline industry right now, you could probably make that case. In order to preserve or defend wages for the industry at large, some airlines might have to fail. Considering trade unions now represent only about 8 percent of the workers in non-government jobs, they don't have the clout they did at one time to force companies to hold the line on wages. A non-union company will simply blow them away. |
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Jeff Hacker wrote: wrote in message ups.com... [snip] It is a difficult decision, and I suspect is rarely made logically. But for a trade union, it can be important not to allow one company to drive down wages for all the other companies. Occasionally, for the larger membership/trade it might be necessary to "allow" a company to go belly up to preserve wages. In the airline industry right now, you could probably make that case. In order to preserve or defend wages for the industry at large, some airlines might have to fail. Except that there would then be even more unemployed union members, and wages would be further driven downward. Only under certain conditions. Where workers are represented by unions, even if it is not the same union, the union will hold the line on wages despite large unemployment. In some fields, where currency can be required (pilot for example) the longer someone becomes employed, the longer it takes for them to be recertified (and that cost someone money). So at some point afterwards, there are just plain fewer qualified folks. |
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James Robinson wrote: " wrote: It is a difficult decision, and I suspect is rarely made logically. But for a trade union, it can be important not to allow one company to drive down wages for all the other companies. Occasionally, for the larger membership/trade it might be necessary to "allow" a company to go belly up to preserve wages. In the airline industry right now, you could probably make that case. In order to preserve or defend wages for the industry at large, some airlines might have to fail. Considering trade unions now represent only about 8 percent of the workers in non-government jobs, they don't have the clout they did at one time to force companies to hold the line on wages. A non-union company will simply blow them away. However, in certain trades, they represent a significant number of certain skills. Airline pilots have one of the stronger unions there is. In a trade where certain specific certifications are required, and must be maintained over time, unemployed workers tend to lose their certifications and leave the immediate market. |
#9
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