Walmart and Unions

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

"My family enjoys the benefits of being in a union. And thats all that matters."

 

I guess that about says it all.

236710[/snapback]

 

Yes, to hell with the free market! This guy obviously deserves his $30 an hour to turn a light bulb.

[N.Y. Orangeman]

Uh, last time I checked, Buffalo also had the lowest rate of job creation of any major American metropolitan area.   Think the two facts might be connected?

 

I don't think anyone's denegrating the late-50ish guy who, unfortunately, doesn't have a lot of options when it comes to retraining, relocating, etc.    

 

However, for 20, 30 and 40 year-olds that do have the ability to adapt and change, but find it easier to whine and hope for "Big Daddy" to protect them, I don't have a lot of sympathy.

236885[/snapback]

 

I don't think most union members would have much sympathy for those guys. I'm not accusing you of this, but there seems to be some misconception that union members don't want to work and are oblivious to the changing world around them. This isn't the case. Most people want to make a decent, not extravagant living. Is this wrong to want?

 

That being said, this is not the biggest factor that has hampered Buffalo's growth. If this were the case, other areas with higher percentages of the population with union membership would be in worse shape than Buffalo.

[goober]

No jackass, actually, our governement isn't a bunch of total slobs like in the Buffalo area.  And my uncle is a good worker, just caught up in all the big union BS up north.  So, if he would be willing to move, YES, I would hire him in a minute.  And, in case you couldn't read, at a 10K pay cut, less than what he makes at the mine.

 

And you see, when goverment works down here.....people DO wise up, and give us even more resources to work with.  I produce new parks that the kids play in.  Top of the line athletic fields.  New gymnasiums, a soccer complex, and new practice football fields. 

 

Instead of typical jackass statements like the one you just made.....how it really works is like this........The local government does a pretty decent job.  The quality of life goes up.  People actually WANT to move here.  They get good schools, employment, and quality recreation.  Thus, the area is PROGRESSIVE in it's thinking, unlike BUFFALO. 

 

Then, an ordinary maintenance worker.....instead of begging a union leach for more money would simply do a good job in his current position, and then move up to a supervisory role when another NEW park opens up in the same thriving county.  And this may be a shock, but yes, new parks are opening as we speak.

 

I'm not in government work to make sure you make money.  Do that for your friggin self.  I'm in gov't to make the area I work for more liveable, and to see it survive and grow.  If Buffalo's gov't chooses to ride the sinking ship of what is does now, you have no one to blame but yourselves.

 

As a gov't employee, driving through Buffalo makes me sick.  There are all kinds of resources up there that are untapped, and un-used.

 

THINK IN THE 21st century.  Develop the fuggin waterfront.  Develop Niagara Falls.  Develop the friggin gorgeous waterways you guys have.  THEN PEOPLE WILL WANT TO COME THERE.  Until then, keep voting Democratic.  It's amazing that poor areas have done nothing but voted Democratic and stayed pro-union, despite their communities being driven into the ground.

 

There is one northern state up there that seems to do OK.  The state of Indiana is a Republican state surrounded by all that BLUE and Union BS up there.  From the bottom 2/3 of the state that is mainly anti-union and strong Republican ideals, the state thrives.  Drive North and East, and what do you have?  Drive south and what do you have?  Self Explanatory! 

 

Don't promote yourself as a unionized, whoa is me kinda town.  No one feels sorry anymore for those kinds of people.  THINK Progressive, change leaders, and let's see Buffalo move in to the 21st century!

236901[/snapback]

 

Of course, government jobs in Virginia have other benefits you failed to mention. Like having a paid state holiday for the leader of the Confederate army...very progressive!

[bbb]

That being said, this is not the biggest factor that has hampered Buffalo's growth.  If this were the case, other areas with higher percentages of the population with union membership would be in worse shape than Buffalo.

237087[/snapback]

 

Maybe it's wrong, but I read a while back that Erie Co. is the most unionized county in the country.

[CentralVaBills]

Of course, government jobs in Virginia have other benefits you failed to mention.  Like having a paid state holiday for the leader of the Confederate army...very progressive!

237116[/snapback]

 

Yep, stupid I agree. But at least the state can afford to take the day off and still pay it's employees!

[Alaska Darin]

Yep, stupid I agree.  But at least the state can afford to take the day off and still pay it's employees!

237230[/snapback]

Yeah, because if they run out of money they simply raise taxes and throw the people who refuse to pay them in jail. Too bad WalMart doesn't have that kind of power.

[mead107]

walmart fined $135,540 child labor law violation ,GO WALMART

[gmac17]

walmart fined $135,540 child labor law violation ,GO WALMART

 

they have 1.5 million employees - they are bound to f up along the way.

 

 

What amuses me about your whole union argument is that you talk about the good of unions, but also brag about the nights you go to work to make time and a half and don't have to do any work.....

[KRC]

What amuses me about your whole union argument is that you talk about the good of unions, but also brag about the nights you go to work to make  time and a half and don't have to do any work.....

237412[/snapback]

 

It is a good thing that we have unions to protect the employees who screw the company like that.

[Alaska Darin]

If being a member of a union is what motivates you, you probably have an easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon.

[SilverNRed]

If being a member of a union is what motivates you, you probably have an easy job.  The kind robots will be doing soon.

237763[/snapback]

Or just people who are actually willing to work hard.

[Chef Jim]

I'm sure that's probably the case, as it is in most entities.  The military is a good example.  The lowest paid easily work the hardest on a daily basis.  They're also the easiest to replace.  A good manager can do the job of his employees in a pinch, but the same can rarely be said in the other direction.

236062[/snapback]

 

Exactly. Guess who works the hardest in restaurants? Dishwashers...sooooo based on that logic, they should be paid the most.

[mead107]

they have 1.5 million employees - they are bound to f up along the way.

What amuses me about your whole union argument is that you talk about the good of unions, but also brag about the nights you go to work to make  time and a half and don't have to do any work.....

237412[/snapback]

when i am not working ,that means that all the production people are doing there job making GE money .

[gmac17]

Fair enough, I don't know the details of your job but it just suprised me to see the same person who argued against the lazy union argument also be the same one who brags about going to work, drinking coffee and having nothing to do some nights.

[IUBillsFan]

You know what? I have a two-year degree, as well. And *I* got laid off earlier this year. Having a degree doesn't entitle you to a job either. What did *I* do?

 

*I* went out there, while on unemployment, and worked in a sh-- job PT to supplement my unemployment. All the while, *I* cultivated personal contatcts and worked on *MY* resume. *I* took civil service exams. *I WORKED* to find another job.

 

*I* found one, and at a better employer than my lost job. No union was there to pull my nuts out of the fire, *I* did it for *MYSELF*.

 

So quityerbitchin and get out there and do it for yourself.

236211[/snapback]

I have NEVER understood someone who is unemployed but won't take even a temp job because they thinks it's below them...Like some have said on the board get a job any job to it great and you'll move up and make more money...Problem is it takes hard work.

 

It's not hard but it is hard work...

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I have NEVER understood someone who is unemployed but won't take even a temp job because they thinks it's below them...Like some have said on the board get a job any job to it great and you'll move up and make more money...Problem is it takes hard work.

 

It's not hard but it is hard work...

238407[/snapback]

 

Exactly. When you've got no job and a child, you take what you can get.

 

Unless you're in the union, then you wait for them to "call back".

[Cash2Burn]

That being said, this is not the biggest factor that has hampered Buffalo's growth.  If this were the case, other areas with higher percentages of the population with union membership would be in worse shape than Buffalo.

237087[/snapback]

 

Take a look at Table 6.1 on the URL below and tell me unionization doesn't affect job growth:

 

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CED/publications/milwecon/chap6.html

 

Buffalo had the highest level of unionization (as a percent of labor force) among the 14 major U.S. metro areas studied in 1966, 1991 and 1996.

 

In 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, among these same 14 metro areas, only Detroit had a larger percentage loss in private sector jobs (-1.5%) than Buffalo (-0.7%).

[Alaska Darin]

Take a look at Table 6.1 on the URL below and tell me unionization doesn't affect job growth:

 

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CED/publications/milwecon/chap6.html

 

Buffalo had the highest level of unionization (as a percent of labor force) among the 14 major U.S. metro areas studied in 1966, 1991 and 1996. 

 

In 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, among these same 14 metro areas, only Detroit had a larger percentage loss in private sector jobs (-1.5%) than Buffalo (-0.7%).

238803[/snapback]

One of the telling statistics of the "Clinton Economy" showed just how abysmal WNY really is. It went something along the lines of:

 

If WNY were a state during the economic boom, it would have finished 51st in economic growth during the 1990s.

 

Sad.

[nobody]

One of the telling statistics of the "Clinton Economy" showed just how abysmal WNY really is.  It went something along the lines of:

 

If WNY were a state during the economic boom, it would have finished 51st in economic growth during the 1990s.

 

Sad.

238817[/snapback]

 

 

And we all know that under the "Bush Economy" that WNY in the 2000's isn't doing any better.

[Alaska Darin]

And we all know that under the "Bush Economy" that WNY in the 2000's isn't doing any better.

239002[/snapback]

Thanks for completely missing the point in a vain attempt to turn this into some kind of partisan argument.

 

It has little to do with who's President and much to do with the time warp the area is stuck in and the willingness to continue accepting the same mediocrity/status quo.