No, They're everywhere over the "dial."

SORRY... I worked my way through the ranks..passing other because I wa ambisious, hardworking and wanted to learn. I rose from a change order clerk making $2.45 an hour to a Vice President of a $60M consulting firm make 6 plus figures. This would not have happened if the union was involved... the guy with the most senioity would have moved, not the right person for the job.

I think the unions served thier purposes and made better labor relations and working enviorments..but thier time has passed..

I have no beef with unions. I am sure that they serve a crutial role in keeping management honest. However, and this is a big however, this argument is simply about the power of the secret ballot. This is fair to both labor and management. I do notice that we do not have check cards for any local, state or national election. I wonder why.

Congratulations on your success, but are there enough of "you" to support a robust economy on your own? The system is supported by contributions of the many, not the few.

Unions are just as relevant for the majority of the work force today as ever. Most people are just one bad management decision away from the unemployment line. That is particularly devastating if you are a hard worker at the end of a lifelong commitment to a company looking to down size.

It is a mistake to think that seniority prohibits advancement. I started in production, scored my way into the engineering trades and was appointed as a joint UAW/GM partner in quality management during my carreer. Hard work is still rewarded in a fair minded manner in a seniority system
ie: all things being equal (education, performance etc) the tie breaker is then seniority.

Yes and can all see the success that resulted from the 'GM/UAW partnership'.
There are now less than 60,000 UAW employees at GM down from a high of 600,000 in 1979 and the company has gone from one of the most profitable in the world to bankruptcy. The benefits of unions are as clear here as they were in the steel and many other industries. Union card check legislation would extend there 'benefits' to many more people and industries.

What's banking, insurance, the airlines, tourism's (pick your favorite)..... reason for failure..... 8 years of an oil man in office perhaps?

An oil man in the White House didn't force Wal-Mart to go from a Made-in-USA only store to almost exclusively a Made-in-China store, or force people to use their Mastercard to buy Chinese-made computers, TVs, coffee cups and clothing, and then pay their Mastercard with a convenience check written against a Visa card.

An oil man in the White House didn't force a working couple with each making $60K per year to buy a $400K house with $20K down (and that was borrowed) on a 3-5 year interest-only balloon mortgage, and the house dip $50K in value at the same time one spouse left his/her job (for whatever reason) and the one income alone wasn't enough to cover the house bills.

If American is ever going to get out of this financial situation people better start standing up and taking PERSONAL responsibility for risky financial decisions and personal buying habits, because "government" and the "oil man in the White House" did not sign those credit card slips, use the products, or live in the over-mortgaged house.

Until people admit their own judgment was faulty, and learn from their mistakes, the paying-Mastercard-with-Visa and overcommitting without reserve will just happen again and again, with the same after-action bellyaching and the nation always teetering on recession. The soon-to-be "lawyer in the White House" can't be everyone's parent any more than the "oil man" could.

Like this:
John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock
(MADE IN JAPAN ) for 6 am.
While his coffeepot
(MADE IN CHINA )
was perking, he shaved with his electric razor
(MADE IN HONG KONG ).
He put on a dress shirt
(MADE IN SRI LANKA ),
designer jeans
(MADE IN SINGAPORE )
and tennis shoes
(MADE IN KOREA )
After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet
(MADE IN INDIA )
he sat down with his calculator
(MADE IN MEXICO )
to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch
(MADE IN TAIWAN )
to the radio
(MADE IN INDIA )
he got in his car
(MADE IN GERMANY )
filled it with GAS (from Saudi Arabia )
and continued his search
for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.
At the end of yet another discouraging
and fruitless day checking his Computer
(Made In Malaysia )
Joe decided to relax for a while.
He put on his sandals
(MADE IN BRAZIL )
poured himself a glass of wine
(MADE IN FRANCE )
and turned on his TV
(MADE IN INDONESIA ),
and then wondered why he can't find
a good paying job in AMERICA !

Another contributing factor to a complicated mess.

Any suggestions on how to change this?

A first step might be to crack down on employment of illegals. This would free up their jobs for American citizens who will spend the money here rather sending it back to support their families. Companies may have to pay more, but they did before illegal workers were here in such numbers. One of the first industries that would hire more American workers is construction. With the government looking at massive spending for infrastructure, power generating facilities, etc, wouldn't be nice to know that the money we are spending is going into our communities rather than being wire transferred out of the country?

Unions create a higher wage environment...
 

thus increasing costs while making sure the productivity is not too demanding or efficient (union greed). As a result, auto companies take work off shore to reduce costs, improve quality and eventually management greed (this time) leads the company toward bankruptcy.

At the same time foreign auto makers decide to move to the USA to cut costs, improve quality WHILE DEMANDING THE SAME EFFICIENCY THEY DO back home....even with the union....for a lower wage.
These auto makers are not in line for bail outs and their employees are still working.

Now just what could be the difference? For one, this subject will never hit the main stream media. You also will not hear this comparison being made during the hearings for the auto maker bail out. Why? Because there is no incentive to understand the real problem and solve it.

Anyway, I may have strayed from the thread....but just followed suit.

BTK

Good post.....I agree with all !!!

Your comment on the main street media is right on target. From my perspective, most and I mean the far largest percentage of our problems are actually a result of the media. They are supposed to be our "watchdogs" and they are anything but !!!!!!

I wish I had answers, but I do have a couple of observation and suggestions:

I think that Americans as a whole want to do the right thing, for the country and the planet. They are, however, afraid of being taken for a ride, appreciate value, and are a bit lazy and easily overwhelmed by giant overhauling lifestyle changes.

Take the environment for an example: Ten years ago you got laughed at as a tree hugger if you cared about the environment, we now have accepted as truth the value in taking care of the planet. We are now learning to help by making small incremental changes, like using florescent bulbs and recycling.

So I think the plan has to be to make Americans understand that buying American products are good for the country (the patriotic thing to do), a good value, by producing innovative, high quality goods that people want to buy (value is not only price), and make the right choice easy (Clearer labels, retailers dedicated to American made products).

Our trade policies may have to be revised to assure equal trading status only for equal trading partners. Preferred status given only to countries that respect the environment, protect workers and do not tariff our imports.

I think the free market will take it from there and more entrepreneurs will invest here, make things here, more people will be employed and the circle expands. Eat the elephant one bite at a time.

Agreed! We still have a double-edged sword at our throats - our foreign policy for the last three decades and our domestic economic policy counter each other.

One of the main reasons - if not THE reason - we have a pseudo-peace with many nations is by giving them "most favored trading partner" status. So, even though the foreign government may control in fact or in part the factories, give pittance wages in sweatshop conditions, and otherwise do things (greenhouse gas monsters?) that US companies can't or don't, the foreign goods are allowed into the US either duty-free or almost-duty-free. That gives the foreign goods a distinct pricing advantage versus the US manufacturer when similar goods are placed before consumers.

So, US manufacturers find themselves competing toe-to-toe in the US market with Chinese competitors who pay their labor anywhere from $0.40-$.90 per hour (depending on location) for a basic 44-hour workweek which can stretch to 80+ hours per week when the factory can get away with it. That's the biggest reason why US companies have sought illegal alien labor - to help level the labor-cost playing field, because the illegals work non-union and for whatever they can get.

As an example - a lot of noise has come out concerning the ICE raids on Midwest meat-packing plants and a New England leather/nylon goods manufacturer. There is great pressure to bear by Rep. Pelosi and others to stop these raids. In each of the raids, several dozen illegal alien workers were rounded up. Human rights and local business owners got upset because the plants closed afterwards. However, no one wanted to comment on the fact the alien workers were being paid 1/4th to 1/3rd of what US workers used to get in the same plants before they were forced out. No one wanted to discuss the dozens of OSHA violations in all of these plants. No one especially wanted to discuss the 13-17 year olds working in the plants like they were adults. No one surely wanted to recognize that these illegal aliens, for the most part, were all involved in identity theft by virtue of the documents and SSNs they were using (and if you have been an identity theft victim, you understand the long-term problem you now have).

To be honest, I understand the viewpoint of the illegal alien and the plant owner. The illegal alien is doing whatever it takes to feed his/her family and could care less if that harms the American worker. The plant owner is trying to meet all of the safety, environmental and labor laws of the Fed, the State and locals, and still try to make a product and profit, and finds the Fed has sold him down the river by allowing his foreign competition to do everything the Fed won't let the US plant owner do, and the result is a huge price differential in the foreign versus US goods.

All of the bailout plans presented so far do not address any of this, and this is basic economics in the 21st century within the US.

So, until such time as this "most favored trading partner" program is leveled to a neutral balance-of-payments situation, there is no true way out of our industrial and financial dilemma.

Just a follow-up note on the EFCA (card check legislation)...now the general thoughts are that with the Republican senatorial win last night in Georgia, the "card check" portion of any labor law reform legislation is probably doomed. Also indicative of that is the centrist and pragmatic approach that the Obama appointees seem to be taking on other issues. The current expectation is that some labor law reform will take place, probably in the form of quicker elections, stiffer penalties and more legal pressure for reaching agreements on initial labor agreements, but the card check idea is waning.

again, I will take no sides on this or the other labor issue being discussed but will keep you up to date on the legislation.