a64armt wrote:
While this is off topic on GM’s sales, I still feel compelled to speak my mind.
Why is it that when anyone says anything negative about unions, suddenly they are attacked and vilified as some evil criminal. Also, the premise that the only way an individual could earn a decent wage is to be a member of a union is absurd.
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Probably because when anybody says something positive about unions they are attacked and vilified as some evil criminal or worse "socialist". If this country was "socialist" then the $100mil CEO would be paying about $1000 for a loaf of bread and the bottom worker would be paying $1.
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Some speak of “basic economics” when pointing out that union workers will buy goods and services with their abnormally high union wages as if they are solely responsible for the economy in this country. However, if these educated individuals paid attention in any basic economics course they would have learned that price floors on wages tends to create an abundance of labor and a shortage of jobs and actually hurt employees. Price floors and price ceilings prevent the labor market from reaching a point of equilibrium.
Any one truly familiar with economics will recognize the below graphic and identify the supply and demand slopes.
Assuming that without labor price floors companies will suddenly take advantage of the workers is a bit short sighted. If companies want to attract a skilled labor force then they will have to pay, otherwise those desirable workers will go elsewhere. That has never been as true as it is now. People can job search on the internet for jobs all over the country. People can easily relocate to almost anywhere. You go where the jobs are.
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Not really. Companies go where the labor is cheapest.
I guess you could relocate when your company eliminates your $25hr job and sends it to Alabama where it will pay $10hr. Not to mention Alabama gave the company a 20 year free ride on tax breaks for coming there. Guess who makes up that revenue...the now $10hr worker. In the mean time shareholders reward the CEO for a brilliant move with a few more million in bonuses.
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Yes, unions did serve this country well, many years ago. However, we currently have enough labor and labor related regulation in place to protect workers. I once heard a union worker state that without a union, he wouldn’t have any of the safety gear he has. I guess he hasn’t heard of OSHA.
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May be true on a federal level, but state by state they are dismantling these regulations to attract companies.
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Yes unions bargain for benefits like pensions, health care, etc, and all that becomes a part of the cost of labor. Manufacturers have to absorb the cost or tack it onto the product. Then you encounter similar supply and demand curves based on product price.
If you feel that company executives are overpaid barons that are trying to bleed everyone dry, then you are free to work to put yourself in a position of authority to change that. Go to school, make the personal sacrifices needed to achieve a executive position and change things.
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If you think a union worker making $50-60,000 is obscene and bringing the downfall of this country then sacrifice your own pay to bolster the profit margins.
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abx
OJ
