Union membership increases for first time in 25 years.
By on Jan 25th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Union membership increases for first time in 25 years.
In 2007, “U.S. unions increased their share of membership among workers” for the “first time in the past quarter of a century,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) annual union membership report released today. In the past year, “unions added about 310,000 members, raising the unionized share of the workforce to 12.1 percent from 12.0 percent in 2006.” (HT: Ezra Klein)
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Bush
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Education
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Global Warming
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Iraq
Justice
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Maddow
McCain
Media
Military
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Public Plan
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Sports
Steele
Steve King
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Technology
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
How did Bush let this happen?
January 25th, 2008 at 4:45 pmA friend of mine is both a 25-percenter/Faux News devotee, and a union member.
It’s really, really weird.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:47 pmWhat do repukes hate the most?
Americans?
Civil Liberties?
Unions?
im thinking all of the above.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:48 pmTimes get tough enough, & the US government very noticeably doesn’t give a tinker’s damn what happens to the working folks, yeah, that just might trigger an increase in union membership…
January 25th, 2008 at 4:50 pmFourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism
#10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:53 pmThat new $8.00/hr job may not be working out to good.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:57 pmPretty sad when a few more workers feel the need for socialist tactics against the person that employs them.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:58 pmR2 would prefer that workers have no rights whatsoever.
Check that –
They have the right to show up, do what they’re told and maybe get paid what they were promised.
But if the business owner decides, y’know, for the good of the company, that the worker has to take less than what he was promised, then tough noogies.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:03 pmComment by Roger_Roger — January 25, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
I believe it’s a “Constitutional right”, you bleepin’ moron… the right to free assembly.
Okay, I’ll ask… why do you think this is socialism?
January 25th, 2008 at 5:04 pmComment by ralph the wonder llama — January 25, 2008 @ 4:47 pm
I recommend: What’s the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank
It explores the issue of why many people actually vote against their own interests.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:05 pmPretty sad when a few more workers feel the need for socialist tactics against the person that employs them.
Comment by Roger_Roger — January 25, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
How many hours a week do you work, Roger2? Do you have any benefits in your job? (Assuming you have a job at all).
40 hours? Good benefits? Fall to your knees and thank labor unions, bozo.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:05 pmThis is telling. I hope the anti-union crowd looks back to how and why labor unions came to be in the first place.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pmA friend of mine is both a 25-percenter/Faux News devotee, and a union member.
It’s really, really weird.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — January 25, 2008 @ 4:47 pm
Eh, perfectly normal. Most unionized workers have no idea how good they have it, or how much blood was shed to get them all those bennies. No sense of history, just “Hey, I got mine.”
January 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pmUnions increase because labor feels totally disinfranchised. Are they the best solution ? No, but isn’t the AMA, the Bar Association and others, a type of union as well ? They set fees for service. I have attended meetings for Personnel Managers where they decide how much clerical, accounting and on up are to be paid in that city. So, why is there a difference just the name.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pmI think Roger_Roger is really Joe Republican!
Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards.
With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.
All but $10 of Joe’s medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.
Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. the air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air.
He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards.
Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so the can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the GreatDepression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.
After work this evening, Joe plans to visit his father at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards.
He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification.
Joe is happy to see his father, who is now retired and lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to.
Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.
Joe agrees: “We don’t need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I’m a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.”
January 25th, 2008 at 5:09 pmComment by dim wit — January 25, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
Me! Me! Call on me! **hand waving in the air**
I’ll hazard a guess… ummm… because they’re stupid?
January 25th, 2008 at 5:09 pmI hope the anti-union crowd looks back to how and why labor unions came to be in the first place.
Comment by missmolly — January 25, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
missmolly, that would require a capacity for reflection and analysis that the anti-union crowd just doesn’t demonstrate on a regular basis.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:11 pmRoger thinks all the benefits are the result of the kind-hearted nature of all employers, that they willingly did this out of compassion for the working class. Who needs unions when you can trust the Corporate higher-ups to do the right thing? *sarcasm
January 25th, 2008 at 5:12 pmI wonder how many anti-union people would do the jobs of many union members, electrical, steelworker, fireman, policeman, teacher, nurses. We still need these people, they are all important jobs that without them our world would stop. So, those of you looking down your nose at people working with their hands, consider that next time your power goes out in a ice storm.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:14 pmI’ll hazard a guess… ummm… because they’re stupid?
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — January 25, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
uh. I wasn’t ready to call Ralph’s friend stupid, but I have made the point in the past that Americans are, generally, dumb.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:21 pmAlthough it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
~ John Stuart Mill
January 25th, 2008 at 5:23 pmEh, perfectly normal. Most unionized workers have no idea how good they have it, or how much blood was shed to get them all those bennies. No sense of history, just “Hey, I got mine.â€
Comment by gummitch
I retired from my union early. When they started signing contracts that had a no strike clause I decided it was time to let them work it out for themselves…..I’m too old to fight that battle with them before we can even fight for ourselves as a group.
Not one of the youngters knew who Samual Gompers was, Joe Hill or Big Bill Haywood. People who died to advance the cause of the working man in America. When they were amused I decided that the union was done for this generation……they will come back when they must.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:23 pmSome employers would give their workers a fair salary but trying to match taxes to a higher wage strangles small busines owners. So to discourage Unions it would be a great political move to lower payroll taxes. Only disgruntled workers seek union support.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:23 pmSo, those of you looking down your nose at people working with their hands, consider that next time your power goes out in a ice storm.
Comment by texaslady — January 25, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
What made the US an economic powerhouse wasn’t corporate profits, but a strong, vibrant middle class. I’m so surprised the corporatocracy can’t see this. Treat your workers better, give them more money to spend, and EVERYBODY is better off.
This endless obsession w/ percentage points on balance sheets and quarterly reports over human beings is just insane.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:24 pm… and they did so by making concessions to automakers, so that jobs didn’t continue going overseas.
As long as unions are willing to compromise with employers to achieve viability, then union membership will continue to grow.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:24 pmComment by dim wit — January 25, 2008 @ 5:21 pm
Well, to be perfectly honest, Sir… you didn’t call them stupid, just dumb.
I called them stupid. Tis merely a question of semantics, no?
January 25th, 2008 at 5:26 pmThis endless obsession w/ percentage points on balance sheets and quarterly reports over human beings is just insane.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
the corporations have been accepted to represent what America is…..we are here to serve the machine not the other way around and the sad part is that many think that this is appropriate.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:27 pmComment by citizen_pain — January 25, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
This excellent parable should be posted on at least one TP thread every week.
Very nice!
January 25th, 2008 at 5:27 pmMakes me wonder that corporations write CEO contract to pay them millions even when they don’t keep the company strong. But complain when workers who do a good job want a fair wage.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:28 pmWhat made the US an economic powerhouse wasn’t corporate profits, but a strong, vibrant middle class. I’m so surprised the corporatocracy can’t see this. Treat your workers better, give them more money to spend, and EVERYBODY is better off.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — January 25, 2008 @ 5:24 pm
Yeah. What he said.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:28 pm40 hours? Good benefits? Fall to your knees and thank labor unions, bozo.
Comment by gummitch
This is the absolute truth……all workers in America owe their conditions on labor unions even if they say they hate them…..Without unions we would be Chinese.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pmOkay, I’ll ask… why do you think this is socialism?
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
Well, sorry, but of course it is a socialist idea that workers organize themselves in order to fight for their rights.
And I agree with Roger Roger, it was really sad that children labor was banned. Those poor owners…
January 25th, 2008 at 5:31 pm#27 – Hasn’t any of our MBA corporate heads wonder who will buy their products when no one has a job here in America? Can’t ship it all to China.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:31 pmwow a full .01%
January 25th, 2008 at 5:32 pmWell, sorry, but of course it is a socialist idea that workers organize themselves in order to fight for their rights.
Comment by Juan C
They don’t call it the workers party for nothing. The problem is that republicans demonize anything that smacks of socialism….saying that anything that has it’s roots in socialism is doomed to fail…
of course our firefighters and police are socialized organizations and they work pretty well.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:34 pmComment by Fred — January 25, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
Ya know, Fred… perhaps the 3 most important things we could do to rescue democracy in this country are:
1. Strip corporations of their “human rights”.
2. Stop treating money as “free speech”.
3. Break up the corporate media monopolies.
I have no doubt there are other things we need to do, but these 3 seem like a really, really good start.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:34 pmWell Juan C – child labor isn’t banned thanks to Tom Delay and others in this administration. Maybe not here but not in our adjoining countries. Don’t get me wrong I think kids need to work from whenever they can but not at backbreaking 100 hour week jobs. Education first but knowing how to nail a nail or run a lawnmower never hurt anyone.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:35 pmComment by The Republic of Stupidity — January 25, 2008 @ 5:26 pm
I’m simply trying to be polite. I didn’t want to pass judgement, specifically, on Ralph’s friend, who may or may not be stupid.
However, in general, the majority of Americans are stupid/dumb.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:35 pmAnd I suspect many of them are more than happy to be this stupid.
Those poor owners…
Comment by Juan C. — January 25, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
I was put to work as a five year old, and whipped to make me work harder. Upstate NY, in the late 1950’s. True.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:36 pmMy goodness… common ground!
TP works!
January 25th, 2008 at 5:36 pmI’ve lost all interest in being polite, espiecally w/ trolls and righties in general. It doesn’t work. A nice piece of 2X4? A whole different story!
January 25th, 2008 at 5:37 pmof course our firefighters and police are socialized organizations and they work pretty well.
Comment by Fred
Capitalism is afraid that the wealthy stop making huge amounts of money. AS wealth can’t be created out of thin air, in order to have better conditions for everyone, wealth has to be distributed. That’s a communist idea, that’s forbidden.
So it is better to keep the illusion that someday if you work real hard, you will get to the top. You know, like those CEOs that get up at 5:00 am and figure out how they are gonna feed their kids.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:38 pmthe corporations have been accepted to represent what America is…..we are here to serve the machine not the other way around and the sad part is that many think that this is appropriate.
Comment by Fred — January 25, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
I do my part to throw a wrench in the machine by blogging incessantly each and every day.
Screw you Productivity!!!
January 25th, 2008 at 5:39 pmComment by The Republic of Stupidity —
Comment by dim wit
comment about a republican union man…….
these people defy common sense. Like the contradiction of a gay republican or even a woman republican…..
like a christian that is pro-life/pro-capital punishment.
basically, nothing they say after that matters….they have lost all credibility.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:39 pmI guess coming from a farm I get really riled when people working with their hands are considered “dumb”. I have lived in both worlds white collar and blue and dumb is 50/50 across the board with neither worker claiming it all.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:40 pmAgain, when MBA’s run companies into the ground be it Ford Motor or Countrywide, I don’t think blue collar workers have the majority on stupid.
A friend of mine is both a 25-percenter/Faux News devotee, and a union member.
It’s really, really weird.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama
Yep, I have a friend just like that.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:41 pmPretty sad when a few more workers feel the need for socialist tactics against the person that employs them.
Comment by Roger_Roger — January 25, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
Do you notice a certain view in this man that tends to believe in a feudal relationship between workers and employers. I see it as capitalism.
Corporations were formed to permit a group of people to obtain the advantage of massing resources, creating a larger economic enterprise and obtaining a better barganing position in the market place. Leads to a more efficient allocation of resources as well as economies of scale for the producer.
Labor unions follow the same theory. It evens out the barganing power between the workers and the employer. It permits the workers to enjoy advantages from econcomies of scale such as obtaining health coverage and insurance.
Sounds like you only want effective economic barganing on one side. Sounds like you want economies of scale on only one side. This distorts the market place.
DO YOU HATE CAPITALISM? ARE YOU TRYING TO UNDERMINE THE MARKET PLACE?
January 25th, 2008 at 5:42 pmUpstate NY, in the late 1950’s. True.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
You’re kidding, right? How so?
January 25th, 2008 at 5:42 pmComment by citizen_pain
Thank you for your post, that was right to the point.
And the F’ing repukian scum will never understand a word you posted though.
Buck Fush
January 25th, 2008 at 5:43 pmA General Motors Supervisor tells that lines are not stopped even when workers tell of problems. That is not Union decision. Teachers tell of being victims of theft, bullying, and not being supported by their Principals, that is not Union decisions.
I think our whole moral compass has been lost and right is now wrong with no one trying to change course.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:43 pmthey have lost all credibility.
Comment by Fred — January 25, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
It must really, really suck to be a GOOPer/Neocon/troll these days, and I’m loving every minute of it!
BWAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
Here ya go, GOOPer, take this quarter and call someone who cares.
(old C&W song title…)
Or, how about…
How can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away???
January 25th, 2008 at 5:43 pm#48 – I have friends with business’s and they adore Fox news but are not Union members….as I said, stupid is 50/50 across all people.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:45 pmUpstate NY, in the late 1950’s. True.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
You’re kidding, right? How so?
Comment by Juan C. — January 25, 2008 @ 5:42 pm
I was a little older and never whipped, but in the 50s our school year ended in early May because without children, the strawberries couldn’t get harvested. Some kids, like my perfect big sister, made decent money. Others of us ate more strawberries than we packed, and were terminated.
In my own defense, these were Marshall strawberries, which are no longer commercially planted. They could easily grow to the size of a kid’s fist and were deep, deep red and full of juice. Easily the best strawberries on the planet, ever. Only a poltroon could resist them.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:48 pmHow so?
Comment by Juan C. — January 25, 2008 @ 5:42 pm
Father. Got me and my older brother and sister up the first Monday after school let out, and told us we had to work sunrise to sunset, seven days a week, all summer long. We could stop for lunch, and for dinner, and that was it. He said he didn’t have to pay us anything, and he took off his belt and whipped me on the first day because I wasn’t work hard enough.
Completely true. I remember wondering how to get a gun at the time, so I could shoot him. He was a registered Republican his whole life.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:48 pmI’ve lost all interest in being polite, espiecally w/ trolls and righties in general. It doesn’t work. A nice piece of 2X4? A whole different story!
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — January 25, 2008 @ 5:37 pm
I think Ralph has earned a certain degree of politeness.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:49 pmI’ll trust your judgement, dimwit.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:50 pmCompletely true. I remember wondering how to get a gun at the time, so I could shoot him. He was a registered Republican his whole life.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
Gee, I’m sorry. I would have beaten the crap out of him first thing after I grew up.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:50 pmMany thanks to JMOHR, #49!
Whenever we have a strong middle class, we have more union membership and whenever we have more union membership, we have a stronger middle class. And, that’s what the “American dream” used to be – a good living, a good place to live, a good quality of life, a strong family, etc. etc.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:52 pmI’ll trust your judgement, dimwit.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — January 25, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
What?? Are you stupid????
January 25th, 2008 at 5:52 pmI think Ralph has earned a certain degree of politeness.
Comment by dim wit — January 25, 2008 @ 5:49 pm
Thanks, dim wit. But I didn’t think TRoS was threatening me with a 2×4. I do appreciate your consideration of my friend the Republican union member, and no, he’s not stupid. In fact, he’s brilliant at what he does.
Just politically misguided. And a little arrogant. Okay, very arrogant.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm63 — I was talking about my REpublican union member friend when I said he was arrogant.
I wasn’t talking about TRoS. Although TRoS has moments of brilliance on this forum.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:56 pmI would have beaten the crap out of him first thing after I grew up.
Comment by Juan C. — January 25, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
Ya know, for a long time, I wanted to kill him. I never did.
I tell people I was always a lot nicer to him than he was to me, because I never went back and took a baseball bat to him. He knocked me out cold with a sucker punch once, when I was six. I never saw it coming.
I haven’t been east of the Rocky Mountains since the early ’80’s, because I was afraid that if I got w/in one day’s drive, I’d just say “F- it all!” and go get him. I haven’t talked to him in nearly 25 years.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:57 pm#60 – We have seen the good and the bad of Unions which some have forgotten why they were formed. But there was still a pride as a member that trying to go alone against the corporation just isn’t the same. Those who feel they are safe, wait til they hit 50 years of age. I have seen corporations put together platforms to fire good workers turning 48 years of age. Why ? Because they were in Beer distribution and drivers could start sustaining injuries.
January 25th, 2008 at 5:58 pmSaw this in two different states. Check out age discrimination in white collar workers, happens as well.
So Unions are needed until company’s realize they need workers.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — January 25, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
Thank you… thank you verrrry much!
Dimwit… what name do I post under? The Republic of STUPIDITY, no?
The name says it all…
January 25th, 2008 at 6:00 pmCol Ripper, I have had the distinct feeling for years now that there are those amongst us who are simply not satisfied until they see the rest of us suffering.
What’s that old saying…
It is not enough that I win… I must also see my enemies suffer, too!
January 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pmTRoS, thanks for sharing that story. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Makes me realize how lucky i was growing up.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pmThe Fascistes would also have children under 10 years old working for them if not for unions.
The simple fact is that Corporatists do not want anything standing in their way to bring unskilled immigrants into the country to fill the jobs that union members do now. This I think is the plan by the Neo-Cons on both sides of the aisle have for the armed forces, which is offer amnesty and citizenship if you are illegal. Go to jail, back to your country, or fight in the marines/army.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pmI’m doin’ okay, Ralph.
One day at a time, and the occasional swift boot to the deserving groin.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:07 pmPretty sad when a few more workers feel the need for socialist tactics against the person that employs them.
Comment by Roger_Roger
Tools like RR are undoubtedly sitting in a cushy job with a good income and good benefits. The thing they will never admit is that they have that good income and good benefits because of the unions. Even if your company if not unionized, the union gains affected your pay and benefits because your company had to match the pay and benefits the unionized company pays in order to remain competitive.
These tools really believe that the corporations in this country actually care about their workers and are going to do the right thing for them. They are wrong of course. Given the chance to screw their employees and still make the same profits, they will screw their employees every time. A good example of that is sending the good job that supported a middle class family to India.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:15 pmYa know, Bilbo, last time I checked, ideas like “the five day work week”, “the eight hour work day”, “overtime pay”, and “medical benefits” were all the fruit of progressive ideals…
January 25th, 2008 at 6:18 pm#27 – Hasn’t any of our MBA corporate heads wonder who will buy their products when no one has a job here in America? Can’t ship it all to China.
Comment by texaslady
That’s a question I have been asking for many years now. Like the 92% of the people in this country who think they will be ok if we go into a Recession. Do they really think they will still have a job if the economy tanks? When none of us have any discretionary money to spend, who is going to buy their products or whatever else they are selling?
January 25th, 2008 at 6:19 pmI’m having a hard time here folks. Help me out. They are both dumb as a brick but I can’t decide which troll is dumber, GG or RR. Who do you vote for? Right now I’m leaning towards GG but RR is gaining fast.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:20 pmGood_gullible gets my vote.
R_R tends more towards “Poo-n-shoo” these days, but g_g actually comes back to roll in it. Even R_R isn’t dumb enough to wonder if an associate’s degree is the same as a bachelor’s.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:24 pmgg has a better book to copy and paste from…..I think has a little training at dealing with us…..very little but you know maybe some daily memo’s with a tip of the day. RR is just a renegade fool.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:24 pmI think Fred is right.
R_R is just flying solo, and his appearances are sporadic.
g_g smacks of an organized effort at times.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:27 pmR2 is just a hit-and-run (or “poo-and-shoo”, even better) troll who seems to get his jollies dropping his trousers and dumping a load, then scattering before he has to deal with the smell.
Gigi actually thinks she has good arguments and will stick with them.
On the one hand, R2 has no investment in his droppings. On the other hand, he doesn’t show any real signs of thinking he’s smart.
It’s a tough one. But I vote for R2.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:30 pmSimple fact is that without labor capitalism fails. People are resilient and can survive on their own. We have thousands of years of history to back this up. Capitalism is synonymous with excess. Make the most money off the least outlay of expense.
Until we change the equation to create the greatest benefit to society (as a whole) from the least outlay of expense things will never change.
Even in Europe workers conditions are deteriorating, all in the name of being competitive. I look at it as a poker game. If someone at the table is cheating the only way to compete is to cheat as well. This is why any trade agreement without worker rights guarantees is dealing from the bottom of the deck.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:34 pmWhen unemployment reports that there are less claims filed, I wonder if the ones who dropped off without jobs is noted anywhere? In our area there are many people working from their home carpenters, plumbers, alot of cash only business. Well, our smart corporations are going to have to pony up taxes that used to be paid by employees. Wonder how long it will take them to figure that out.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:03 pmThe main word is greed…squeeze the quality out, squeeze the worker doing 2 & 3 jobs as one. Anyone else notice how little training is given to Customer Service departments? Another short cut to the customer.
This is why any trade agreement without worker rights guarantees is dealing from the bottom of the deck.
Comment by stovob
What is completely amazing is that the supposedly regulator of trade, the WTO admits and even encourages trading with countries where labor rights are almost non-existent, for example China.
And corporations are thrilled about the idea of having slave hands in order to make their stuff that we buy as if they were gold. In part, I think it is our fault. Imagine, just for a minute, one million people decides not to drink Coke for one month. They would freak out. The only language this f_ckers understand is profits. The moment we step up and say no more of prodcuts made in sweatshops, they probably change.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:19 pm3. Break up the corporate media monopolies.
That is something that needs to be done, and sooner than later!
January 26th, 2008 at 8:44 amReagan-shock doctrine.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:12 pm