Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Fortune) 6/7/84; site dmsd.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!hao!hplabs!hpda!dmsd!bass From: bass@dmsd.UUCP (John Bass) Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: The Sub-Minimum Wage Again Message-ID: <134@dmsd.UUCP> Date: Mon, 20-Aug-84 03:03:22 EDT Article-I.D.: dmsd.134 Posted: Mon Aug 20 03:03:22 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 22-Aug-84 04:47:29 EDT References: <469@tty3b.UUCP> Lines: 110 Mike: Your love for labor unions and the cause they were created for has distorted your objective view for what they have (and continue to) become. Larbor unions are CORPORATIONS run effectively as an unregulated monopoly ... with Federal and State support that protect that monopoly ... and in closed shop areas force it down the pocket books of workers that may not need or want it. The Myth is that workers unhappy with managment organize to better their workplace and salaries ... the fact is that unions TARGET sucessful companies by PLANTING union advocates and forcing elections. Anyone who as worked for a company that is a union TARGET will be subjected to DELAYED raises, DELAYED increases in benifits, DELAYED .... DELAYED ... DELAYED attempts of the management to meet the workers needs because the LAW prevents such during a union contest ... which is continous until either the employees get tired to the DELAYS and vote the union in, or the UNION GIVES UP (not very often). I have heard on ONLY ONE sucessful attempt to decertify a union ... that was a very ugly battle between the empolyees of the company and NON-EMPLOYEE union members. The employees that voted for the decertification were black listed ... making it tough to get a job in closed shop areas. On the other hand the employer SPECIFICALY DOESN'T have the right to black list UNION workers and prevent them from being hired ... that is against the LAW ... whose LAW? the UNION monopoly protection payoffs ... The Myth is that UNIONS make the WORK PLACE FAIRER by uniform wage scales ... the fact is that TRADE UNIONS a run by senior trades people and professional managers which are interested first in their salaries and second the salaries of the junior work force. The CARTEL of unions limits membership in a union to DEFEAT free market setting of wages by creating ARTIFICIAL SCARCITY of skilled trades people. The local concret truck drivers get $17.50/hr + plus benies of an other few dollars with no-layoff and guarentied year round employement AND a very good OVERTIME rate ... net effect is a basic salary of $17.50 * 8 * 5 * 52 = 36,400/yr with the average for a worker that works available overtime and has a little seniorty of over $50k/year. Contrast that with the 1984 average DP managers salary with 15yr experience of slightly over $40,400/yr. What is fair about a CLOSED union (go try to join it ... hope you have enough to PAY under and over the table) that BLACKMAILS the entire construction industry to raise wages to drivers (without a highschool education requirement) above that of MOST management personel across the broad range of US industry? Now for you stary eyed college students looking to make the big bucks ... consider that for every 1 of you there will be 10 UNION trades people who bring home a higher salary for less work and no education required ... for LIFE including a better and earlier retirement program on the average. Also consider that they CONTINUE divert the attention to the poor underpaid manager getting his first reasonable pay increase in 4 yrs of 15% ... while all along the UNION employees got COST of LIVING, +++ PLUS +++ minimum contract increases, ++++ plus +++ merit and time-in-grade raises due to union scale. They draw attention to concessions of trival dollar amounts in RELATIVE terms by using LARGE ABSOLUTE SUMS like 4 billion. UNIONS are quick to point a the few excesses in managment salaries ... but we never hear about the wage increases in BLACKMAILED union contracts as excesses ... in relation to job training, education, skill, degree of difficulty etc ... across the entire market ... what is the pay of other delivery drivers ... NOT %50k/yr average. But then it might be next year ... The time for PROTECTED CLOSED UNIONS is past ... they are a MONOPOLY of trade labor ... CORPORATIONs selling labor in a federally protected and closed market. In comparison AT&T and IBM are only minor industries ... It's PAST time to cut UNION excesses down to size. But try to raise that issue in our press (UNION CONTROLLED) and radio/tv media (UNION CONTROLLED) and goverment (UNION CONTROLLED). With our future being strangled by UNIONS everywhere of importance it IS NO STRONG WONDER that action to correct their abuse of industry go uncorrected. IN THE END it doesn't matter if UNION workers in the US have an average salary of $3.50/hr or $10/hr ... or what the minimum wage is ... what really matter is it LOW enough to allow american bussiness to compete in the world market with a STRONG US DOLLAR. The answer is NO ... US industry workers have OVERPRICED their labor by a factor of 2 to over 30 in some cases ... making it IMPOSIBLE for their employers and managment to make a profit or even CONTINUE BUSSINESS. That is why those big bad greedy business men are closing US shops, laying of US workers, and sending the JOBS over seas ... BECAUSE the BIGGER BADDER GREEDIER unions have priced themselves, the businesses, and the rest of NON-UNION professions clean out of the market ... You can keep your starry eyed vision of perfect union (and perfect socialist) workplaces while you look for one of the FEWER good jobs in the computer industry. Personally I think that a manditory 5 year education in SIBERIA would give those liberals mouthing BIGGER UNIONS an idea of what the perfect UNION really is ... a socialist state ... a prison by any free persons view point. Free today ... and would like to stay that way ... John Bass (Debate is the spice of life .. and a time to think and grow ..) (Next ...)