Union thugs are at it again

[alterego]

Are the state and goverment broke because of unions? Why attack them ? Some of that money we pay in taxes must have been spent elsewhere not only to union employees.So abolish unions or take away collective bargaining from workers , do we think the buget will ever be balanced? Will our taxes will be lowered and our cost will be cut. I THINK NOT . I bet the goverment and politicans would love to have a vote to do with the extra money ,raise in pay ,hire family members,better bennies, Who knows. I will ask my wife she knows everything

The states are definitely not broke because of unions. I am thinking more big picture here. Per my earlier post, government bodies have 2 choices. In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn just raised state income tax from 3% to 5% (raise revenue). In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker is working on reducing costs via the public unions (reduce costs). I would lean more towards some format of raising revenue AND reducing costs. It hurts my fingers to type raising revenues but I am EXTREMELY concerned about what kind of mess WE (we vote them in) are leaving for my 3 young children. The Fed BORROWS $5 billion / day to service our debt for cryin' out loud! (Admin - I am not mentioning parties here as to stay away from any political persuasions).
Our wives must be related!

 

[noradonuts]

scary hairy

The states are definitely not broke because of unions. I am thinking more big picture here. Per my earlier post, government bodies have 2 choices. In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn just raised state income tax from 3% to 5% (raise revenue). In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker is working on reducing costs via the public unions (reduce costs). I would lean more towards some format of raising revenue AND reducing costs. It hurts my fingers to type raising revenues but I am EXTREMELY concerned about what kind of mess WE (we vote them in) are leaving for my 3 young children. The Fed BORROWS $5 billion / day to service our debt for cryin' out loud! (Admin - I am not mentioning parties here as to stay away from any political persuasions).
Our wives must be related!

Im worried about my kids future too, All we can do is hope for the best for them. Our wifes are not related mine is 350# and very hairy.On the bright side she holds a union card ha

 

[ezra]

your kids are doomed bottom line.unless we stop the insanity across the board.back to 1985 spending levels and if you ask me that is to much.if you work for the state or fed and dont like it tough shipt find a job in the privet sector.until we as a country are willing to make the very harsh sacrifices that need to be made we will be on the path of all other failed great societies and you kids will feel the biggest brunt.you do not need to increase tax you need to STOP THE SPENDING! then start CUTTING big big big time the USA has become FAT and LAZY and COMPLIANT.other countries are laughing at you and you dont care just give me my check and benefits package and let some one else worry about it BULL S. at the min you can show up to your city council meeting and school board and bring your neighbors {when they let you in}and voice your opinion until you are heard that is what I do along with giving time and money to people I think really want to change the direction of my local town and state gov.

 

[ezra]

BTW Merryann Sumi sucks arss. that is 1 other huge issue in this country voters elect people to represent them and cast votes on their behalf.now some spoild little ***** with money or a law office dose not like what the politician did or like CA and other states what the voters voted for.now they go judge shopping till they find one who agrees with them and start the lawsuit that is 1 thing that needs to be change yesterday

 

[indy_500]

Does Union and Worker belong in the same sentence ??....LOL.....Support Kwik Trip stores and show these THUGS the real meaning of getting ORGANIZED !!

so you want me to buy crappy gas now?

 

[Skylar]

so you want me to buy crappy gas now?

lol

 

[cat_man_mike]

and cat man mike remember your love for osha and next time you need work at your home make sure you let the contractor know you will be calling osha for weekly inspections and to bid to work around their demands.the cost of a residential roof job alone would be over 3g more on a ww2 rambler with 4/12 pitch.I had to get new ladders a few yrs back or get a 10g fine the ladders were less than 10yr old Werner alloy and no fall equipment how many guys use fall equipment on 2s window paint job. that was for a happenstance drive buy on a $800 ext window paint job.my old partner was put out of biz buy osha got caught having guys just demo a old house int wood work and cut out wall for pocket doors with out having the led crew do the testing and removel of led painted wood work and plaster 30k fine.re name new lic holder back to it no more city work

It is nice that you put the bottom line ahead of your worker's saftey. Just because your ladders where less than 10 years old does not mean they where in good condition and safe. You do realize that YOU CAN BE KILLED FROM A 2 STORY FALL, right? And if your ladders are in such bad shape after 10 years to be condemned, I imagine a harness and lanyard would be an excelent idea. I also guess you don't believe the harmfullness of lead. "heck, we had it around when we where kids, and we are still around." Ugh.

 

[cat_man_mike]

Nope, no owner here, just a factory worker.

The union garbage man has to have plenty of skill to pick up the garbage huh? LOL.

While there are a lot of union jobs that a person can be called a skilled craftsman, do NOT try to tell us that just because a person is a UNION craftsman, he is BETTER or has more SKILLS, than a non union craftsman, that is one of the biggest loads of crap I have ever heard.

The garbage man does not need skill to pick up garbage, but he is essentally dealing with a hazmat situation at every stop. Sometimes it is not the skill that dictates the pay scale, but the dangers involved. Do you think any of the guys on "Deadliest Catch" have PhD's? They do a dangerous job and get paid for the risk.

 

[cat_man_mike]

Bone to pick with OHSA, really? Again I am by far pro-union or against union but I am 110% committed to workplace safety.

I have investigated more workplace deaths and severe injuries than I care to name but for sake of this thread I will show a few.

Small metal factory that was non-union. 20 yr. old worker (college kid, national wrestling champ, studying electrical engineering), working with a hobb machine cutting teeth into flywheels for auto, loses both hands up to his wrists. 12 yrs. later, working minimum wage jobs living w/parents, fighting severe depression every day. Used to be active in community and now relies on alcohol to cope with loss of hands. Company didn’t have a safety program, no lockout tag out, limited training time no safety curtains, or emergency shut offs – company answer to this was it would cost us $10,000 dollars to do that. Multimillion dollar company with large profits. No longer in US, moved all jobs to Mexico.

Painting company, specializes in painting water towers (non-union) – 20 yr. old employee who is the company owners soon to be son in law, falls from top of water tower and dies while working with his fiancés’ father (the owner). No fall protection program, reason - costs, the program for his company would have cost him around $2000.00 dollars total.

Small excavating company – union. 18 yr. old employee working in a trench running electrical lines to a house. Trench was not secured or benched and a cave in trapped the employee. Employee died from crushing injuries before he could be rescued. Company had a safety program but foreman did not follow work rules or procedures. His comment was they were in a hurry to get the job done and had done this way forever with no problems. Company had a history of citations but usually just slide by with the minimum. Company also had multiple workers comp cases going on as well.

I could go on and on with many more stories. Point is without some type of regulatory agency in place to enforce certain rules this would happen much more often. Construction is the leading offender. Usually 100-150 deaths per year just in the State of Michigan. Probably 90-95% of these cases are employers who say that it cost too much and would put them out of business which I can prove to be untrue. Sure there are costs but they are very small most times. Which costs more, a person’s life or $500.00 lockout tag out kit and about an hour or two worth of labor hours to develop the program.

We can’t rely on common sense for safety issues because things do happen; it’s not a matter of if they happen but rather when they happen. As far as residential roofing, there are ways to do that fairly cheap. It depends on the amount of employees you have. You can do it for less than $100.00 per employee for a base program. A lot cheaper than a workers comp claim or an employee death. The average return on investment for safety is a $6.00 return for every dollar spent and that is proven in many studies. Many employers don’t want to spend or should I say invest in the employees for safety. It all comes down to year end profits. If they only make 2 million this year and they made 8 million last year than they claim they lost money. Either way I see it as they made a profit period. Quality life is worth way more!!!!!!!!

Excelent post!!!!!!

 

[cat_man_mike]

so you want me to buy crappy gas now?

Sure, it's not like you are putting it in an arctic cat.

 

[zx6r1996]

Indy... Let me tell you a real-life story. I am the person you are complaining about.

Perhaps I have an income in the neighborhood of what you initially mentioned (on a good year).

I am 32 years old, and I now own two businesses. I started one when I was 19, and the other when I was 21. One of them is a DJ business, which means I get to work weekends. I threw away the best years of my legal-drinking-age life DJing for anything I could get, while all of my friends were out partying, meeting girls, and most importantly - enjoying life. I still have both businesses today, and I now have 6 people who depend on me to put food on their table... And hopefully it continues to grow. Kinda crazy to think that what I started at 19 turned into this.

Every weekday is at least a 14 hour day, and on the weekends, you guessed it.. No time to unwind when there's shows to be played. Combined, I put in at least 80 hours a week.

I am not doing any of this, putting up with all of these headaches, because I owe these people a job. I do have satisfaction in providing the best that I can for my employees, but I am certainly not required to provide employment for them.

Just as you mentioned... I have an F350. (Actually, an F450, but whatever.) Along with a handful of other toys that I have essentially sold my soul to my businesses for in order to purchase.

Now, with all of that being said, I never cared about politics until a couple of years ago. I certainly did not get to where I am because I consider myself a Republican. I got here because I believe in working hard, maintaining good relationships with my customers, and running a reputable business. I did this completely on my own, without taking advantage of anyone, with no financial help from my parents, without a government loan. All by myself, the old fashioned way: 13 years of hard work and going the extra mile. My first company vehicle was a 1987 Ford Escort that had duct tape holding the left tail light in.

There are two attitudes you can take when you see someone driving around with their nice trucks, cars, boats, snowmobiles, whatever. A person with a self-driven, enthusiastic entrepreneurist attitude will say to themselves "they've acheived that level, how can I do it too?". The other half, they will say to themselves "screw that guy, I want to bring him down.".

Don't be the latter of the two above, Indy... Go out and make it happen, man. Let the people with less drive and ambition sit around and complain. If I can do it, anyone can.

The right-wing affiliation comes later. <-- there's my cop-out.. haha

 

[Skylar]

Indy... Let me tell you a real-life story. I am the person you are complaining about.

Perhaps I have an income in the neighborhood of what you initially mentioned (on a good year).

I am 32 years old, and I now own two businesses. I started one when I was 19, and the other when I was 21. One of them is a DJ business, which means I get to work weekends. I threw away the best years of my legal-drinking-age life DJing for anything I could get, while all of my friends were out partying, meeting girls, and most importantly - enjoying life. I still have both businesses today, and I now have 6 people who depend on me to put food on their table... And hopefully it continues to grow. Kinda crazy to think that what I started at 19 turned into this.

Every weekday is at least a 14 hour day, and on the weekends, you guessed it.. No time to unwind when there's shows to be played. Combined, I put in at least 80 hours a week.

I am not doing any of this, putting up with all of these headaches, because I owe these people a job. I do have satisfaction in providing the best that I can for my employees, but I am certainly not required to provide employment for them.

Just as you mentioned... I have an F350. (Actually, an F450, but whatever.) Along with a handful of other toys that I have essentially sold my soul to my businesses for in order to purchase.

Now, with all of that being said, I never cared about politics until a couple of years ago. I certainly did not get to where I am because I consider myself a Republican. I got here because I believe in working hard, maintaining good relationships with my customers, and running a reputable business. I did this completely on my own, without taking advantage of anyone, with no financial help from my parents, without a government loan. All by myself, the old fashioned way: 13 years of hard work and going the extra mile. My first company vehicle was a 1987 Ford Escort that had duct tape holding the left tail light in.

There are two attitudes you can take when you see someone driving around with their nice trucks, cars, boats, snowmobiles, whatever. A person with a self-driven, enthusiastic entrepreneurist attitude will say to themselves "they've acheived that level, how can I do it too?". The other half, they will say to themselves "screw that guy, I want to bring him down.".

Don't be the latter of the two above, Indy... Go out and make it happen, man. Let the people with less drive and ambition sit around and complain. If I can do it, anyone can.

The right-wing affiliation comes later. <-- there's my cop-out.. haha

Excellent post!

 

[einne]

Excellent post!

x2

that be one devoted hard working american.

 

[zx6r1996]

Thanks, guys!

One thing I forgot to mention is that this didn't happen in some far, far away land. Indy lives in Greenville, I live in Kaukauna... 15 minutes apart.

 

[windingtrailgal]

zx, great post. Congrats on working your butt off and living the American dream!

Lenny's last post was awesome too...

 

[harvest1121]

I have friend I talked to last night just got caught by osha for not wearing a harness while on a roof. Well he is union the company supplies all the safety equipment that is needed. The company got fined $7000 for the infraction. Maybe the worker should be fined if they have all the gear needed and not used. Its not right to fine a company for something an employee knew was wrong or better yet fine the union.

 

[russholio]

I'm confused....if the company provides the safety equipment and the employee failed to wear it, why should the union be fined? I agree for sure the company shouldn't be fined. Sounds to me like a clear case of employee breaks rules, employee should pay the price.

 

[ezra]

It is nice that you put the bottom line ahead of your worker's saftey. Just because your ladders where less than 10 years old does not mean they where in good condition and safe. You do realize that YOU CAN BE KILLED FROM A 2 STORY FALL, right? And if your ladders are in such bad shape after 10 years to be condemned, I imagine a harness and lanyard would be an excelent idea. I also guess you don't believe the harmfullness of lead. "heck, we had it around when we where kids, and we are still around." Ugh.

no not bad shape 3/8 to tall between steps new laws dont you know.and most grown men are not chewing on woodwork nanny state BS like I sed make dam sure you hire only osha compliant contractors and make sure you tell them you will be calling on them for a quick inspection during the job

 

[ezra]

The garbage man does not need skill to pick up garbage, but he is essentally dealing with a hazmat situation at every stop. Sometimes it is not the skill that dictates the pay scale, but the dangers involved. Do you think any of the guys on "Deadliest Catch" have PhD's? They do a dangerous job and get paid for the risk.

and I have worked Alaska fishing boats every summer from when I was 9 till 20 and I guarantee no boat in the fleet would pass a OSHA test.the drug abuse alone would make most uninsurable if people were not turning a blind eye.and dont think there are many millionaire deck hands some yrs 100k or more some 20k

 

[indy_500]

Indy... Let me tell you a real-life story. I am the person you are complaining about.

Perhaps I have an income in the neighborhood of what you initially mentioned (on a good year).

I am 32 years old, and I now own two businesses. I started one when I was 19, and the other when I was 21. One of them is a DJ business, which means I get to work weekends. I threw away the best years of my legal-drinking-age life DJing for anything I could get, while all of my friends were out partying, meeting girls, and most importantly - enjoying life. I still have both businesses today, and I now have 6 people who depend on me to put food on their table... And hopefully it continues to grow. Kinda crazy to think that what I started at 19 turned into this.

Every weekday is at least a 14 hour day, and on the weekends, you guessed it.. No time to unwind when there's shows to be played. Combined, I put in at least 80 hours a week.

I am not doing any of this, putting up with all of these headaches, because I owe these people a job. I do have satisfaction in providing the best that I can for my employees, but I am certainly not required to provide employment for them.

Just as you mentioned... I have an F350. (Actually, an F450, but whatever.) Along with a handful of other toys that I have essentially sold my soul to my businesses for in order to purchase.

Now, with all of that being said, I never cared about politics until a couple of years ago. I certainly did not get to where I am because I consider myself a Republican. I got here because I believe in working hard, maintaining good relationships with my customers, and running a reputable business. I did this completely on my own, without taking advantage of anyone, with no financial help from my parents, without a government loan. All by myself, the old fashioned way: 13 years of hard work and going the extra mile. My first company vehicle was a 1987 Ford Escort that had duct tape holding the left tail light in.

There are two attitudes you can take when you see someone driving around with their nice trucks, cars, boats, snowmobiles, whatever. A person with a self-driven, enthusiastic entrepreneurist attitude will say to themselves "they've acheived that level, how can I do it too?". The other half, they will say to themselves "screw that guy, I want to bring him down.".

Don't be the latter of the two above, Indy... Go out and make it happen, man. Let the people with less drive and ambition sit around and complain. If I can do it, anyone can.

The right-wing affiliation comes later. <-- there's my cop-out.. haha

I completly understand where your coming from. But ya gotta spend money to make money... The way I look at work (probably not the best way of looking at it??) is go to work for 8 hours, make your money, go home and forget about work and go snowmobiling.... Would owning your own business like a sled shop of some sort be awesome? heck yes, but I don't know if it's a risk I want to take. I have a few years to decide anyways. I wanted to be a CNC machinist but don't know if I wanna sit my butt in front of a computer for 8 hours a day.