GOP senators in favor of "socialism"?
I'm wondering if the GOP senators' plan to take income away from the UAW workers in the next year and presumably redistribute it elsewhere constitutes their own brand of "Socialism"? If any "Joe the Plumber" fans are out there, I'd like your opinion.
posted by Mark @ 9:41 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
You're probably going to disagree on this one but I promise upfront that I won't call my buddies in child support or law enforcement for your background check if you do.
I don't see how asking workers to accept less in hopes of making the company more competitive, therefore providing a greater chance at job security amounts to a form of socialism. By no means am I saying the workers are solely responsible for the problems of the auto industry, but they certainly deserve some of the blame and therefore should be part of the solution. If you watch the WDIV piece about the two union reps that actually worked three hour days but clocked over two thousand hours of OT apiece in the past year it isn't hard to lose sympathy for the UAW. That behavior can't go on without a lot of people looking the other way.
I've spent most of my working life in non-union establishments and been through reorganizations, down-sizings and more than a few lean years during which there were little or no pay increases. I've witnessed a not always steady but significant decline in benefits over the past 25-30 years. When your employer tells you about the increased co-pay or the new plan that forces you to change doctors you grumble at first then you go back to work or you start looking for another job with better benefits. Like the UAW and most workers, there have been many times in my career that I felt I was worth more than I was being compensated but the labor market ups and downs haven't always shared my sentiment. On the plus side, there have also been times when I could go to the boss and say I was more productive this past year than many of my peers and demand to be compensated accordingly. A union environment would never allow me to do that. I don't envy the position the auto workers are in, but I know what its like to have to choose between getting under-paid and not getting paid at all. Why should the UAW be spared from having to make the same decisions I, and many like me have been making for years?
Good points Bob and well understood. I am speaking from the standpoint of the line worker or union member, and I saw the financial corporations bailed out with their leaders not taking a hit on their pay and bonuses and holding grand parties for themselves in the form of "meetings".
I was once "downsized" out of a job for nothing more than being productive as our company grew so productive that our facility was shut down. That was after a year and a half of exceeding corporate objectives with respect to productivity, safety, attendance, et al.
All I received was a severance check and six months of benefits (which is much more than most receive when they are downsized). Oh and a $50 watch that basically said "thanks for your hard work, sucker".
If the GOP senators were so concerned about the UAW line workers pay, they should have been concerned about upper management pay with the financial companies as well.
I'm not concerned about my background checks though. One good thing came out of the check into Joe the Plumber. He actually paid his back taxes lien, which for some reason he had ignored up until then.
I agree that there is blame to go around in the auto industry. I also see a decreasing middle class which is unable to afford many of the products which are being produced and a widening gap between the haves and the have nots.
Thanks for your opinions.
Mark
Post a Comment
<< Home