Union thugs are at it again

[superski]

Sure, go a head and elinimate all the unions because that will be good for everyone. You guys think you get paid vacation, parental leave, health insurance, and other benefits because the company you work for thinks your such great employees ? Guess most of ya don't remember when they locked people in manufacturing plants to keep them from leaving. You think you'd have things like OSHA,Lock Out, Tag Out, light curtains on punch presses, air filtration systems in hazardous working conditions ? You need to take a look at the conditions coal miners hgave in states where the coal industry owns the politician.
Yes, the unions have overstepped in some instances, but in the last election of the top 10 largest political contributers 7 were corporations and only 3 were unions. The Republicans ALWAYS out spend the Democrats. Now the Republican plan is to crush the unions so the democrats lose money and elections while due to the Supreme Court decision Corporations can contribute unlimitted funds to Republicans.
Also why is it that unions are BAD, but manufacturing associations aren't. I have been at a lot of these manufacturing getogethers and hear discussions about how much each company pays or how much health insurance they carry. During these discussions you can see these guys asking themselves why they should pay any more than the next company
does cause if they don't where are the employees going to go. Sure you guys can say " If ya don't like it where you are at leave" but when you are 35 -50 years old , own a house, have community ties, and kids with friends and school - do you really want to move ?
Maybe you should also think about how the teachers unions got so powerful - most of it has happened since the time when both parents have full time jobs. The teachers want more and threaten to strike and mom and dad go nuts cause what the **** are they gonna do with the kids during the day while the strike is on - who's gonna be the one who takes off work to watch the kids ? And they pressure the school boards to settle. My kids are grown now and I'm retired, but what are the rest of ya gonna do when the teachers say enough of this BS we aren't appreciated and have a walk out. Who's gonna take extended time off you or the wife ?
Go a head buy into to this it's the teachers and public workers fault cause that's just what they want, but watch the spread between the rich and poor get wider while you do. REMEMBER during this major economic down turn corporate profits are at record highs, Wall street benefits and bonuses are at all time highs - how well have you done ?
Lower corporate tax rates because it creates jobs - like that has worked so well for the past 10 years - give the corporations a break for sending jobs off shore also cause that's worked so well. Now lets get down on teachers and public workers cause they are the evil ones who took your money. No wait lets blame the Mexicans, blacks and jews

 

[alterego]

Always is a long time

Superski, Since you are retired, you should have ample time to do some qualitative research verifying these facts.
FUNDRAISING / SPENDING FOR 2008 ELECTION according to opensecrets.org
Obama - 745 million raised, 730 million spent
McCain - 368 million raised, 333 million spent

 

[Lake County]

Teacher salaries;

www.familytaxpayers.org/salary.php

Not sure if it's multi-state.

I will not provide the last name, but found my old P.E. teacher is earning
$130,000.00/year. (this includes coaching football and wrestling).

 

[harvest1121]

I did a search on that its only for Illinois. For my area there was not anyone that made less then 42k. But divide that by 9 months. I rather know what there benefits cost. I think they have cut down on the younger teaches but the old ones with there pensions are the killers. There is a big difference what teachers make in the big suburbs compared to small more country towns.

This argument always comes up where the unions try to play teachers, police or fire fighters against the public. There are many place they can cut that are complete waste. All you have to look at these new schools they build and the waste. Look at the city halls they build a total waste they could use a pole building with heat. I went to a private high school that did not have ac in a lot of the class rooms. Quit babying these kids and make them study. A good kick in the butt goes along way. Make the parents be part of it.

 

[noradonuts]

130000 a year

good for him he must work for it, I bet he spends it too, new cars, meals out,vacation. Thats good for the economy

 

[michaeladams]

I will not change my opinion. I'm just sick of republicans making 100k a year, complaining about the economy and blaiming unions and the union workers who make half as much as them. What do they have to complain about anyways? That it costs them too much for fuel to go boating, atving, and snowmobiling? And it cost too much for them to fill up their big ole F-350?

I will shut my mouth before I get in trouble

i am a republican who makes less than 100 k per year.in order for me to keepmy job i had to give up home garaging of my work vehicle, thats about a 3 dollar an hour benny thats gone when you consider gas,wear and tear of a vehicle,insurance on said vehicle and since my vehicle was old i had to buy something more dependable.i pay 30 percent of my healthcare which is 10 percent higher than last year and you have union government employees who have never felt a recesion wanting more and more andmore then whining because "we" the people that have to pay them through taxes want them to chip in a little,but i guess that is asking way too much.dude, don't be one of them.

 

[coldbear]

I worked Union.

My 2 cents as follows. For one, I was a card carrying union member. The union was terrible about bringing back the same lazy assholes time and time again. I'm talking drugs and alcohol, tardiness, sleepers,thiefes,etc. These finest made it hard on the few that had to pick up the slack. I could understand giving a guy or girl a chance, but three, four , and five reinstatements was just B.S. Especially when there were hundreds of good people that wanted to work. There is a place for unions, and their place is to protect the safety and the well being of it's membership. But they often overstep their boundries. The bigger the Union, the more corruption in the Union. It's as simple as that.

 

[noradonuts]

dude

don't be one of them? a hard working union man,teacher,or police man.

 

[coldbear]

Where'd they come from???

Will someone tell me how many full and part time lobbiest are working for the National Teachers Assn.? This answer should be enlightening! This is where NTA get their deals, mandates for saleries and time off. This B.S. did not start untill those lobbiest were hired by the Teachers Union. And if it was funded with private money it wouldn't be noticed. But it's not. The American taxpayer has to assume the monetary load. A Washington lobbiest makes millions a year on the back of taxpayers. jmo.

 

[dcsnomo]

Won't be long now before somebody takes a dump in the pool and this thread is a goner!

 

[eagle1]

Speaking of greedy thugs............................ how bout those NFL owners. LOL

 

[acatzl550]

My 2 cents as follows. For one, I was a card carrying union member. The union was terrible about bringing back the same lazy assholes time and time again. I'm talking drugs and alcohol, tardiness, sleepers,thiefes,etc. These finest made it hard on the few that had to pick up the slack. I could understand giving a guy or girl a chance, but three, four , and five reinstatements was just B.S. Especially when there were hundreds of good people that wanted to work. There is a place for unions, and their place is to protect the safety and the well being of it's membership. But they often overstep their boundries. The bigger the Union, the more corruption in the Union. It's as simple as that.

that sounds like those screw offs had buddies up top, because that kind of behavior should have been tolerated, in most trade unions if you're acting like that they will just go and fire you off the job and find someone thats happy to have it and will work

 

[whitedust]

that sounds like those screw offs had buddies up top, because that kind of behavior should have been tolerated, in most trade unions if you're acting like that they will just go and fire you off the job and find someone thats happy to have it and will work

No what I have seen from being a union rep. Unions make it very difficult to fire a union member maybe not all of them but CWA brought in the big guns when management wanted to fire a card holding member. Cases I saw were indeed losers from the get go not worth a dam & in trouble all the time real rear ends & poor excuses for a worker. Sad but true.

 

[dragon_07]

I have experienced the same thing, the union protects the worthless employee that does everything but their job because its their duty as a brotherhood. The sad part is none of them can understand why there is no money left for a raise at contract time, how soon they forget that a lawyer had to be hired to defend why your sack of **** buddy was terminated.

 

[heckler56]

There have been a number of very valid points made, giving credit to both sides. Clearly the opinions are polarized.

I think it will be difficult to see unions or politicians change their ways, and I appolgize if that offends anyone as that is not my intent.

Seeing as this group represents a share of the population, how about we try to come up creative ways to resolve problems? As an example, when there were numerous union uprisings at GM, I suggested that GM consider making "power steering, or windows" and/or other options standard equipment. The thought being the union could look that these plants would be producing product, as for GM, they would be producing an inventory of vehicles with options that could be sold to the general public. The idea did not catch on and apparently ahead of its time. How many people custom order their car vs buying off the lot today????

 

[lenny]

Every one is entitled to their own opinion and Indy might not be as misinformed as you might think, true he has 0 real world experience but he also has the time and resources to study this situation I'm just afraid his judgment might be swayed alittle by his surroundings. He needs to study both sides indepth and make an informed decision them speak smartly about it. Not sticking up for him but not bashing him for his opinion either. Cmon guys he's 16 help him to understand instead of treating him like his opinion doesnt matter. Kids are our future maybe they can do better than we have done in the past.

good point but look at the history of Indy's posts and you'll see why he gets resistance. He lacks giving respect. He has been around a while now and as he often says, he is unwilling to budge on positions. Indy needs correction, not the benefit of the doubt. He has earned his shi*y reputation IMO and I have little to no respect for the kid. Indy is confident and hard working but lacking in many ways. I kinda fear to how he'll turn out as far as unity in a community because he surly does not contribute to unity on this site. Communication is crucial in any controversy and we need more people to actually listen without barking like an animal at each other. Once you bark you loose credibility and it is very common. You can be heard with a right or wrong position but with a attitude you are not heard. Not to try an poke at Indy buy I often do not read his posts because I know what to expect, not a good legacy to leave behind.

As far as the union thingy, the current state of the economy cannot support the weight of the union load. In a prosperous economy yes, now no. One point to illustrate, and I say this from experience. Unions are widely known to bully non-union shops and that to me shows an ill intent. An imbalance of power and not healthy to all the workers, union and non union. I am not saying they are all that way because I have no experience of personal knowledge of this but I do see a commonality in the union elite mentality. Do I throw the union under the buss,,, no,,, I say make it better and more efficient, trim it up and stay the heck out of the lives and affairs of the non-union worker. I do not require help from anyone for my future. I WILL an AM doing it on my own.

Indy, regardless of being right or wrong, dump your friggin attitude and show some respect around here. I know many people discouraged by you and your ways. Are you even aware of this or are you blinded in this way also. Sorry to come down hard on you bud but I am tired of people lifting you up just because you are young despite you dumping on so many. How about stepping up in a way and earning some respect. All "your knowledge" can easily fall on deaf ears when barking like an animal. These little 's don't make it all better. It's a cop out way to be a rude punk and cover it up with sugar. Step up bud, you can do it. You have what it takes, you just need a ton of refining. I am not suggesting you change your opinions just your attitude

 

[luke_duke]

your right teachers get paid way too much, this is my 3rd year teaching and I make 33,355 a year. way too much, oh and my wife the nurse she is in a union and she makes way too much too. the police liaison officer at school makes way too much 40,000.


the highest paid teacher in our district with 20+yrs of service and a PhD still can only make 65k. dont doctors with PhDs dont even make that much

this guys says it pretty well, really putting us overpaid slackers in our place

"Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.



That’s right. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM

with 45 min. off for lunch and plan — that equals 6 1/2 hours).



Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.



Now how many do they teach in day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.



LET’S SEE…. That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 peryear. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).



What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children

X 180 days = $280,800 per year.



Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here! There sure is!



The average teacher’s salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student–a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your

kids!)"


oh yea thanks for the support indy!

I started my teaching job at $21,500. I am up to $52,000 and our school district is about average compared to others in our district. I had to live at home and work on our farm as well as work for a basement company in the summer in order to pay my loans off(I couldn't afford to live by myself).

Many teachers considered good insurance and good retirement as part of the reason they went into education but both are going away real fast. Im thinking about taking out my retirement because when I retire the system might be bankrupt. In big cities teachers get paid more but cost of living is higher too. I have a masters degree plus 15 and two certifications in special education. I also have to pay for 6 semester hours of college classes every 4 years to continue to teach, I'm not aware of too many college degrees where this has to happen in order to have a job.

For years, most factory workers made what I did and alot made more than me in our area(Ford, GM, and Honda). I had one GM worker ask me straight up one day "whats wrong with someone making $60,000" I could understand that maybe if you earned a degree somewhere. Im not complaining about my job or this guy making this kind of money, I'm just stating some facts, I chose this profession so I can't blame anyone else, but so did he.

I agree that unions are needed, but I don't agree with the system in place for most unions. As far as the original post about union thugs and some of these stories, it makes me sick.

 

[dfattack]

Well said Lenny

 

[snoeatr]

I think a lot of the posts on here are coming from people that really don't know much about unions and dislike them for any reason. Teachers invest lots of money in thier education to educate the future of this nation. How can anyone say that they are overpaid. They deserve what they make and thanks to all of them. If a person takes initative to get a degree or trained the best they can for a career then they deserve to make a decent living. There are many different kinds of unions and I can only speak for the trades, but we are trained in class and on the job (5 years for me) to be able to competently do our jobs. I can be fired at anytime for mistakes or bad behaivor without the union stepping in. They are there to protect me as far as a contract, but not to keep my job. Out of work? No pay. We work hard everyday to make a paycheck. The jobs are dangerous at times, I work with high voltage wiring everyday, one mistake and that could be the last. Over the 30+ years in construction our bodies will be wore out. I'm not complaing, I like what I do and make a middle class living but certainly not getting rich.
Should everybody work for minimum wage? We can all make $8.00/hr with no benefits, kill the unions, things will be cheap and people will maybe stop bitching then. (yea right) The economy will really be great when nobody besides the rich can afford to buy a house or new car or even food for that matter. The pay moves with inflation, union members aren't doing better now than they were 30 years ago, the money just doesn't go as far. 10k + for a new sled for example. I understand that there are places that are not strong union and that is fine with me, not saying its for everybody and not everything they have done is good. Just not necessary to sit here and bash all of them into one classification.

 

[tpski]

X3 Lenny. Tired of this site being taken over by"top posters"