Union Thugocracy

[DaytonIllini]

In a typical response by labor unions (aka organized crime syndicates) we see the true stripe of the Democratic party.

Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.

Think they are fighting for the rights of union workers against non-union labor? Think again.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that's staffing a workforce of other union laborers.

Think this was some harmless vandalism in an isolated incident?

The blockade appeared to defy a federal restraining order issued last week against the union after it was accused of assaults and death threats.

http://news.yahoo.com/longshoremen-s...144921214.html

The bottom line is that if you are a union member you are either a thug or a stooge for thugs. If you hire union labor, you're simply a dope.

Right to Work!

[illinirazorback]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

If you hire union labor, you're simply a dope.

I avoid hiring union labor whenever possible. Haven't experienced this need much yet, but I will always ask.

[NV Illini 74]

Now, now, boys.

You will never get any grossly inflated stimulus funds without hiring union labor.

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by NV Illini 74

Now, now, boys.

You will never get any grossly inflated stimulus funds without hiring union labor.

This is true. We had access to special SBA loans from the stimulus when we were working on a project. The interest rates were appealing. As we went through the work, we found that we had to pay 'prevailing wages' on all labor in the project. That turned out to mean, union only, labor. Nice giveaway to our 'brothers' and 'sisters' down at the union hall. We passed on the loans. The 30% upcharge on getting the work done, didn't make up for the 2/5 of a point in interest savings.

Laughable.

The really hilarious part is that these lemmings in the unions support candidates that support illegal aliens stealing jobs and driving down wages. Kind of comical when you think about it. The people that benefit from illegals in this country are the wealthy. You can get some great illegal maids, lawn guys, factory workers, roofers and migrant workers. Anyone not in the top 2% income wise hiring illegals? I almost choked when I heard la raiza telling us that illegals pay taxes. Yep. Those people without social security numbers get their payroll taxes filed! :laugh:

[KBLEE]

WARNING: Extreme Language





Stay classy Mr. Longshoreman

[pizzaman]

I paid for my UI education with the earnings I amassed while I was a member of the united steel workers union. Consequently, I maintain some affection for them. Without the union, I never could have made enough to pay for 6 years at the UI.

They're not all bad, they're not all good, that's all I got to say.

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by KBLEE

WARNING: Extreme Language





Stay classy Mr. Longshoreman

I don't take joy in people's misfortune but if anyone ever deserved to lose their jobs, it would be your union leadership. I think we see a very good example of why companies gladly offshore jobs ANYTIME they can. Can you imagine putting up with this dude as an employee? Can you imagine the people that "elect" these kind of people to represent them?

[illinirazorback]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

I don't take joy in people's misfortune but if anyone ever deserved to lose their jobs, it would be your union leadership. I think we see a very good example of why companies gladly offshore jobs ANYTIME they can. Can you imagine putting up with this dude as an employee? Can you imagine the people that "elect" these kind of people to represent them?

The problem isn't so much that this guy is a worthless punk who needs kicked in the balls, it's that he has absolutely no fear of acting like a worthless punk because his job is perfectly secure thanks to his thug union colleagues. In any normal setting, this guy would never work again. No so with unions.

[Capt Slammie]

Scum of the earth right there.

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by illinirazorback

The problem isn't so much that this guy is a worthless punk who needs kicked in the balls, it's that he has absolutely no fear of acting like a worthless punk because his job is perfectly secure thanks to his thug union colleagues. In any normal setting, this guy would never work again. No so with unions.

This is quite right. And this is what is so inherently wrong with unions. It isn't the idea of getting better working conditions or better safety or even better wages. It is the extortionist and terroristic tactics they employ. It is their defending the 'least common denominator' of human swill. No matter how bad an employee, you can always count on some human waste product at the union house coming to the guy's defense.

If their mission was to do the best possible job for the best possible wage in the best possible environment while ensuring the fiscal solvency of the company they work for (and thus their jobs), I would be a huge union advocate.

[OlivetNaz]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

The bottom line is that if you are a union member you are either a thug or a stooge for thugs. If you hire union labor, you're simply a dope.

Not excusing the rogue union that's rioting down there...but...

Your first sentence here is a gross generalization that mischaracterizes a ton of good people who are in unions. Are some union hacks thugs? Yes. However, being PART of a union does NOT make one a thug. Many people simply have no choice in their chosen profession as to whether or not they are part of a union if one exists - and refusing to join such a union voids any offer of employment. You find this situation in everything from blue-collar manual labor jobs to police forces to hospitals to schools and universities, and even more beyond that.

It seems you would rather have people NOT work so that they aren't part of a union. That's not realistic for 99.99% of the people in this country - if a job comes up that betters their situation overall, do you really think people are going to turn it down because joining a union might be part of the requirement for employment?

So, say you hire non-union labor and then the non-union labor goes and unionizes. By law, you can't engage in anti-union activities against your employees to stop them. Are you still a dope then?

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by OlivetNaz

Not excusing the rogue union that's rioting down there...but...

Your first sentence here is a gross generalization that mischaracterizes a ton of good people who are in unions. Are some union hacks thugs? Yes. However, being PART of a union does NOT make one a thug. Many people simply have no choice in their chosen profession as to whether or not they are part of a union if one exists - and refusing to join such a union voids any offer of employment. You find this situation in everything from blue-collar manual labor jobs to police forces to hospitals to schools and universities, and even more beyond that.

It seems you would rather have people NOT work so that they aren't part of a union. That's not realistic for 99.99% of the people in this country - if a job comes up that betters their situation overall, do you really think people are going to turn it down because joining a union might be part of the requirement for employment?

So, say you hire non-union labor and then the non-union labor goes and unionizes. By law, you can't engage in anti-union activities against your employees to stop them. Are you still a dope then?

I'd rather have people convert their states to right-to-work states.

And no, you are not a dope if they unionize. You are only a dope if you don't immediately (or more preferably after a nice quiet period to allay suspicion) lay them all off and move the jobs to another locale or country.

[illinois_hustle]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

This is quite right. And this is what is so inherently wrong with unions. It isn't the idea of getting better working conditions or better safety or even better wages. It is the extortionist and terroristic tactics they employ. It is their defending the 'least common denominator' of human swill. No matter how bad an employee, you can always count on some human waste product at the union house coming to the guy's defense.

If their mission was to do the best possible job for the best possible wage in the best possible environment while ensuring the fiscal solvency of the company they work for (and thus their jobs), I would be a huge union advocate.

Excellent post.
Don't get me started on the teacher's unions. There's simply no motivation to separate oneself from the pack, since everyone gets exactly the same pay & benefits, and your job is secure through tenure if you show a pulse for two years. So we get a great teacher and the worst teacher in the same subject in the same school, and your child's fate is a coin toss between the two. The only motivation to do a good job must come from within, and unfortunately within the human race, that type of motivation is few and far between when you don't "have" to.

[-josh-]

I guess i'm a P.O.S because i'm a part of the boilermakers union? I work my ass off every day creating parts that help this country run. Not to mention working in less than desirable work environments, yes i'm paid well because i'm in a union but for the work i do and the beating my body takes every day, your damn right i deserve to be very well compensated. Without people like me companies like caterpillar, reliant energy, fmc, boeing...etc could not function because of the parts we make...the forging hammer i use is a 25,000 pound erie steam hammer.


But i'm a thug because i'm in a union? GFYS

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by -josh-

I guess i'm a P.O.S because i'm a part of the boilermakers union? I work my ass off every day creating parts that help this country run. Not to mention working in less than desirable work environments, yes i'm paid well because i'm in a union but for the work i do and the beating my body takes every day, your damn right i deserve to be very well compensated. Without people like me companies like caterpillar, reliant energy, fmc, boeing...etc could not function because of the parts we make...the forging hammer i use is a 25,000 pound erie steam hammer.


But i'm a thug because i'm in a union? GFYS

Josh - organized labor is merely a front for organized crime. I don't know you so I don't know which category you fall into 'thug vs. stooge for thugs' but I am unaware of any union that doesn't use extortion, intimidation and other assorted unpleasantries to get their way.

I recall fairly recently a hospital nurse sitting on the other side of a divider from me being told that bad things might happen to people that voted against unionization. A doctor had his car window smashed in in the parking lot. His wife was a nurse organizing against the union. Dumbasses did it right under a CCTV. They pressed charges as did the hospital. The thing failed to pass.

It is a lesson in thugocracry that I won't soon forget.

[-josh-]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

Josh - organized labor is merely a front for organized crime. I don't know you so I don't know which category you fall into 'thug vs. stooge for thugs' but I am unaware of any union that doesn't use extortion, intimidation and other assorted unpleasantries to get their way.

I recall fairly recently a hospital nurse sitting on the other side of a divider from me being told that bad things might happen to people that voted against unionization. A doctor had his car window smashed in in the parking lot. His wife was a nurse organizing against the union. Dumbasses did it right under a CCTV. They pressed charges as did the hospital. The thing failed to pass.

It is a lesson in thugocracry that I won't soon forget.

Well considering i'm a union steward i guess you can chalk me up for a thug, and a proud one at that, some of us have to actually work for a living and the union i'm in protects only the interests of it's people.

[DaytonIllini]

Originally Posted by -josh-

Well considering i'm a union steward i guess you can chalk me up for a thug, and a proud one at that, some of us have to actually work for a living and the union i'm in protects only the interests of it's people.

You know what my friend. I apologize for offending you. I don't think I will ever change my views on union workers but today (9/11) is not the day to focus on our differences but to stand together.

Again. My apologies josh.

[WizardBill]

I find this union debate quite interesting... I worked in business for about 15 years before becoming a teacher. Here is the part I find interesting: The business decided that they needed a 10% increase in profit over the next year. That became their goal.

Now, the way they decided to meet this goal was to reduce staff. This worked as follows: 200 people making between $30,000 - $40,000 per annum were terminated. That created between 6 and 8 million dollars. Because, the remainder of us got the additional work dumped on us.

My difficulties were this. The CEO got a 14 million dollar bonus for meeting this goal. Did we have a union? Nope.

[DaytonIllini]

Wizard - just out of curiosity were you able to get the same amount of work done without those 200 people? If so, why would you expect a company to pay people that are unnecessary?

And as for that situation having anything to do with unions, I would point out that Frigidaire, GE, GM, etc. all had unions during downsizing. Unions cannot do anything to prevent layoffs.

Labor costs will decline continuously until labor in the USA is the same wage level that it is in other countries. Until that day, the wages here will steadily decline either in dollars paid or spending equivalent due to devaluation of the dollar. It is unlikely that people doing something with their hands are going to continue to make above minimum wage for long.

I am not wishing for that, just seeing it as inevitable. Nobody wants to pay extra for things made in this country and that means anything that can be made more cheaply overseas or be done more cheaply overseas will be. See appliance industry, furniture industry, textiles industry as examples.

[bmb777]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

Wizard - And as for that situation having anything to do with unions, I would point out that Frigidaire, GE, GM, etc. all had unions during downsizing. Unions cannot do anything to prevent layoffs..

exactly. look at auto makers. they are mostly union, yet auto makers lay off people all the time, and close plants all the time.

[NV Illini 74]

One-day rehiring nets former Chicago labor leader a $158,000 city pension

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...0,913026.story

The story is even worse than the headline.

[DaytonIllini]

"I have no specific recollection of that particular event," he said. "This was 13 years ago. I probably received a number of requests from all different directions."

From NV's article. The guy in the quote is the VP of U of I now. Uggh. No wonder that state is the laughing stock of the nation these days.

[WizardBill]

Originally Posted by DaytonIllini

Wizard - just out of curiosity were you able to get the same amount of work done without those 200 people? If so, why would you expect a company to pay people that are unnecessary?

And as for that situation having anything to do with unions, I would point out that Frigidaire, GE, GM, etc. all had unions during downsizing. Unions cannot do anything to prevent layoffs.

Labor costs will decline continuously until labor in the USA is the same wage level that it is in other countries. Until that day, the wages here will steadily decline either in dollars paid or spending equivalent due to devaluation of the dollar. It is unlikely that people doing something with their hands are going to continue to make above minimum wage for long.

I am not wishing for that, just seeing it as inevitable. Nobody wants to pay extra for things made in this country and that means anything that can be made more cheaply overseas or be done more cheaply overseas will be. See appliance industry, furniture industry, textiles industry as examples.

Well, your first question is an interesting one. Since everyone in the area I worked was on salary, yes, we could get the work done. However, it was because we all worked about 60-80 hours a week instead of 40. So, yes, we did get it done. Most everyone that worked in my area left before the company sold out to India, though.

[Snowball]

"Big Labor thug watch: Judge fines longshore union $250,000 for sabotage; thugs threaten to “do what we have to do”

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/09/30...we-have-to-do/

snippet:

That’s the good news.
The bad news, of course: It’ll come out of rank-and-file workers’ dues while fat cat Big Labor thugs back in Washington sit clean and pretty in their Taj Mahal headquarters.
KOMO News/AP reports (h/t Steve G.):
A federal judge has fined a Longshore union $250,000 for its tactics in a Longview labor dispute.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton said Friday he needed to take action in an effort to stop what he called an “awful” situation.
He has held the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in contempt for blocking a train earlier this month and a protest at a grain terminal that caused damages.
The National Labor Relations Board had asked court to fine the union more than $290,000 to cover damages and other expenses. Leighton says he rounded down to be cautious and ordered additional penalties for future violations.
Meanwhile, the lonshore union’s president threatens more pain – via Victoria Taft:
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Another union goon says they’ll “do what we have to do” to prevail.

[DaytonIllini]

^^^^^

If they want to act like animals, treat them like animals. How about some jail time for vandalism? How about a little jail time for threats and physical attacks?