tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post878446184873865866..comments2023-08-07T09:56:04.428-05:00Comments on Better Than Machines: Get Your Name On This ListDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11154351095467482965noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-11387586747012071112009-02-15T11:48:00.000-06:002009-02-15T11:48:00.000-06:00Nate, I can understand why you would be wary of le...Nate, I can understand why you would be wary of legislation that is "pro-union" in the sense of expanding unions' rights vis a vis the workers, but that's really unrelated to what's going on with EFCA. EFCA really isn't "pro-union" legislation, it's "pro-worker" legislation. It doesn't give the unions any more power or influence over employees than they already have. Rather, it's intended to give workers more power vis a vis their employers. I agree that there are some policies that are "pro-union" that are arguably not "pro-worker," such as the legality of union security clauses. But EFCA is not one of these.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I'm in favor of labor law reform in theory but am still agnostic about EFCA until we know more specifics of how this is all supposed to play out. What I'm definitely NOT agnostic about, however, are the monetary penalties that it would impose for violations of labor law. This is the most important and urgent element of labor law reform. Right now, employers can violate the NLRA with near impunity. Until there are real financial penalties for breaking the law, it doesn't matter what kind of other changes we make.jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14696407100908902124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-50918971321024672222009-02-11T14:17:00.000-06:002009-02-11T14:17:00.000-06:00Jen, I'm not as familiar with the mandatory arbitr...Jen, I'm not as familiar with the mandatory arbitration provision as I'd like to be, because so much of the discussion has centered on the "card check" provision.<BR/><BR/>It seems like a needed, though imperfect, solution to a big problem: employers refusing to bargain in good faith and delaying a new union's first contract. I read about one study that showed that in one-third of cases, employers have not agreed to a labor contract after a year. Then employers can say to the workers, "See, your new union's not doing you much good. You don't have a contract." And that can be the beginning of a decertification campaign.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11154351095467482965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-53704113339141946052009-02-10T22:04:00.000-06:002009-02-10T22:04:00.000-06:00I think the Solzhenitsyn quote supports my point. ...I think the Solzhenitsyn quote supports my point. Until the Holy Spirit sets right the heart of every man, we had better try to create institutions designed to protect us from the harm we tend to do to each other. Whereas the abuse that is possible with unions is a bad thing, the evil that results from powerless workers confronted by corporations with all the financial, legal, and political power is so much worse.Camp Papahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03918758148818443535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-60829475076792351682009-02-10T21:22:00.000-06:002009-02-10T21:22:00.000-06:00I don't know if I'm anti-union, I'm just anti-stro...I don't know if I'm anti-union, I'm just anti-strong arm... almost anything. When I worked at UPS, the Teamster rep tried to coerce, guilt, and force me into the union (until he gave up?). And the crap that some of the union employees would pull was pitiful. There was one that intentionally misloaded a truck because of something the driver said the previous day. Because he misloaded the truck, the driver had to spend the first couple of hours of his day resorting the packages, meaning that he was out until 11 that night instead of back home with his family at 8. The employee that misloaded the truck was promptly fired. When he didn't show up for work the next day his supervisor called him to ask where he was and threatened to fire him if he didn't show up for work (if you're fired from UPS for anything other than stealing or punching your supervisor then you're expected to show up for work the next day).<BR/><BR/>I know I was in a particularly bad example of a union, so I'm not necessarily anti-union... it's just that unions scare me as much as corporations (it seems to me that unions like the Teamsters <I>are corporations</I> themselves). And the fact that I'd be forced to be a member of a corrupt union in 28 states... If the Employee Free Choice Act passes, then I'd also like to see a rider that every state has to be a right-to-work state (but of course that's probably a state issue and not a federal issue...).<BR/><BR/>Like I said though, UPS may be a bad example. I've heard many good stories about local education unions and farm worker unions. Still, because of my experience I'm expecting corporate unions to overpower local unions any day...<BR/><BR/>And honestly, the problem isn't unions or corporations, the problem is greed:<BR/><BR/>"Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either - but right through every human heart." - Alexander SolzhenitsynNatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06755878647524837095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-19423062676910871832009-02-10T16:31:00.000-06:002009-02-10T16:31:00.000-06:00I'm always a little perplexed when non-management ...I'm always a little perplexed when non-management workers are anti-union. Granted that there are plenty of stories about abuse of power in unions, but name an institution in which there are no examples of abuse of power. What is required of union members is the same thing that is required of citizens in a democracy - vigilance and activism. But, to take the position that, in general, unions are a bad thing is to say there should be no counter-balance of power in the workplace. What would make anyone think that there is not a potential for abuse when the power in any human situation is so one-sided as in a non-union workplace. I've been on both sides of this power balance and have seen examples of abuse from each perspective, but the necessity for the balance seems so apparent to me. <BR/><BR/>To paraphrase, the founder of the NEA's Education Defense Fund,"Active citizenship in a democracy is not possible for a scared hired-man." If you can be frightened on the job, you can be frightened in the voting booth, and everywhere else in your life.Camp Papahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03918758148818443535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-64012896418736974472009-02-09T22:58:00.000-06:002009-02-09T22:58:00.000-06:00Another interesting note, one day our union rep ga...Another interesting note, one day our union rep gave announced that benefits were being adjusted due to fiscal shortfalls in the union. Not more than a month later, a story broke in the news about Teamster management embezzling money. Maybe unions once served a purpose (and maybe some still do), but others are just as corrupt and dirty as corporate America.Natehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06755878647524837095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-34998726386449697312009-02-09T22:52:00.000-06:002009-02-09T22:52:00.000-06:00Unfortunately, after my experience at UPS I can ne...Unfortunately, after my experience at UPS I can never be pro-Union. This bill scares the hell out of me, because even though Florida is a <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law" REL="nofollow">right-to-work"</A> state, I was still pressured to join the Teamsters by their union representative and other union employees. Somehow I managed to duck under the radar after a month or two, but I had other coworkers that were hated by the union employees and the management (the union employees hated them because they were non-union and the management hated all employees because of the union). I would say that this is an isolated incident, but I've heard similar stories from other people too.Natehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06755878647524837095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4065910512732060865.post-7395763333149476802009-02-09T20:43:00.000-06:002009-02-09T20:43:00.000-06:00What do you think of the mandatory interest arbitr...What do you think of the mandatory interest arbitration provisions of the EFCA? I started to comment about it and my comment got too long; thought I'd see what you thought instead.jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14696407100908902124noreply@blogger.com