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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 ...)