Inflection Points: Some History, Some Speculation

[peristaltor]

I have to admit, I was a bit shocked when a simple observation of mine, that the GOP has a plank in its platform stating its aim to "explore a greater role for private enterprise in appropriate aspects of the mail-processing system", blew up into such a kerfuffle. The GOP, after all, has long been the party supported by anti-union forces in

Comments

[kylinrouge]

why are you so smart

[peristaltor]

I'm not. I just manage to delete most of the stupid before you get a chance to read it. ;-)

[caerbannogbunny]

We got entitlement-based government which wasn't in the Constitution, why not spin off the mail system which is in the Constitution?

[underlankers]

A standing military isn't in the Constitution either, and 1000% was not the intention of the Founding Fathers, so what does it make any difference in this regard? If conservatives have no comprehension of the Founders' well-developed animosity for those to justify our huge military expenditure and the MI-Complex, then we either shove altogether any claim of constitutionalism into the wastebasket of history or we acknowledge that real life has a lethal effect on ideological coherence.

[notmrgarrison]

tl;wihr

That said, what was the point of this post?

The more others follow the lead of getting out of the gadget arms race, the fashion acquisition trend, the drive to get better and better cars to drive

So that more factory workers are out of jobs?

[peristaltor]

I wouldn't say the quote you picked was the point. I think the only point was to flesh out a pet concept of mine, that labor markets respond to applicant pool size as a way to set wages.

The quote simply reflected my strategy for being able to maintain my own personal sanity. If others adopt it, whatever. It would take a massive movement to affect even one factory, in this country at least.

[notmrgarrison]

Two other reasons that could have to do with declining union membership:

1) labor laws are better
2) things like this: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/11/usa-campaign-strike-idINL1E8KAFV920120911 that make unions look bad.

[peristaltor]

Unions striking makes unions look bad? Nah. It only takes one to negotiate in bad faith. And as the child of 5 teachers (long story), I can tell you almost first hand how desperate districts are to reduce costs in ways that don't effect service, especially in times of falling tax revenue.

What strikes me (pardon the pun) is how insistent the news piece is tying the strike to the President as a campaign issue. It really isn't. Looks like Reuters has become a right-wing editorial mill.

[sandwichwarrior]

I'll admit that I haven't read the whole post but in keeping with a side theme of Paft's...

The relationship many young workers have with unions is fundimentally different from prior generations.

Getting fed into a mine or factory like meat through a grinder is rare these days.

As such many unions are less about standing up for individual workers and more about allowing the older guys to hold on to thier power.

Afterall if the choice is between cutting pensions and cutting workers the oldsters will always vote to cut workers. Afterall they have seniority and thus nothing to fear.

I see no reason to give a percentage of my paycheck to a group that'll consistantly fuck me over.

I get enough of that every Apr 15.

[peristaltor]

I work for a union. There's a flip-side to the tension between newer and older workers: in a non-union shop, the older workers are likely to be put to pasture, whether or not they are ready to leave. Seriously, look into GE's annual review process.

And don't knock the money going to the union until you need it. Even I, an exemplary employee, have had to drag a shop steward into the chief's office. Sure, it makes the news when some fuckwit really screws the pooch and kills someone, especially when some digging reveals the fuckwit managed to "get off" thanks to union "intervention." What absolutely doesn't make the news is when a really good worker is absolved of potentially career-ending accusations thanks to union help.

That said, hey, anyone can tell that a union is formed of people, who can either be good or bad. There are some pretty silly, petty, idealistic and downright deluded union leaders out there mingling with the better ones. That's why we have elections every two years. ;-)

[mahnmut]

Yep.

[peristaltor]

Thanks, man! I appreciate it.