Aa
Scattered Walmart strikes don't dent bottom line
Well that turned out to be an expected Flop. Since we are now limited, I’m going to post the highlights of the article.
“2:12PM EST November 23. 2012 - Scattered strikes and protests by Walmart workers and their supporters in at least nine states may have scored symbolic points Friday by taking on the retail giant head-on, but apparently they did little to keep shoppers away as the company quickly claimed its best Black Friday ever. “The company said in a statement Friday morning that its stores rang up almost 10 million transactions from the time doors opened for Black Friday shoppers at 8 p.m. Thursday until midnight, or about 5,000 items per second.”
“CEO Bill Simon said in a statement that there were only 26 protests at stores Thursday night, "and many of them did not include any Walmart associates."
“Protests were also reported outside a Walmart in Quincy, Mass., and in Landover, Md., where hundreds of union workers wearing "OUR Walmart" T-shirts marched outside a store in Landover, Md. OUR stands for "Organization United for Respect."
(Notice the article say’s Union Workers not Walmart employees)
“Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman called the protest "insignificant" in a statement to HuffPost, claiming less than five workers walked off the job. He dismissed the rally as "the latest publicity stunt' by a union seeking media attention.”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/23/walmart-strike-protests-black-friday/1722551/
I have noticed that this subject of unions as well as taxes and a few other things go right down party lines. Any one else notice that? There was not a problem with the unions until the Republicans came out in 2010 with the intent on busting them. In fact, you never really heard of the hooplah till then, I wonder why that is? If you don't like the union, then like someone said about Walmart. By all means, don't work for a company that has one! See, simple solution. I settled it!
I don't think we are in real disagreement on this. Maybe it is a matter of dismantling unions as they are now and coming back with a new model that works more or less for everyone.
Here I go dreaming again, lol.
For me it is kind of like government, so many bad things happen in the name of it, but we don't want to give it up, we need the laws, the support and advocacy and mostly we need safeguards against abuse of power, including the power of a corrupt union.
I am so new to all this, I won't presume to have answers, but it is good to hash it out and think about it, I think.
Here I go dreaming again, lol.
For me it is kind of like government, so many bad things happen in the name of it, but we don't want to give it up, we need the laws, the support and advocacy and mostly we need safeguards against abuse of power, including the power of a corrupt union.
I am so new to all this, I won't presume to have answers, but it is good to hash it out and think about it, I think.
"You mentioned above that the union will "support" people if they are being treated unfairly.... I've watched that not happen to union dues paying members."
I paid union dues for 6 years, before I retired, and as I stated in another thread, when I was treated unfairly, I was told by the union rep, that there was nothing they could do about it. I even got ragged on by the union rep for going with another employee, who also had a grievance, to see the human resources director, without a union rep present......... after the rep had said they couldn't help us... How much sense does that make?
And yes, we watched people who were lazy and/or incompetent get protection from the union, while many who really needed/deserved protection didn't get it.
I'm not saying that unions are ALL bad; simply that they do need to be revamped, and they have to understand that companies can't continue to pay higher and higher wages, or provide more and more benefits, without eventually, suffering. They also need to realize that when a company isn't doing very well, that belts may need to be tightened (wages/benefits curtailed), until things pick up again. We all have to learn to do that when circumstances warrant.
Safety issues are always a concern, but I do feel sometimes, that those go by the wayside, because companies are forced to pay the ever increasing wages/benefits and can't always afford to address safety issues.
Totally agree that we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water, but we sure do need to provide some fresh water.
I paid union dues for 6 years, before I retired, and as I stated in another thread, when I was treated unfairly, I was told by the union rep, that there was nothing they could do about it. I even got ragged on by the union rep for going with another employee, who also had a grievance, to see the human resources director, without a union rep present......... after the rep had said they couldn't help us... How much sense does that make?
And yes, we watched people who were lazy and/or incompetent get protection from the union, while many who really needed/deserved protection didn't get it.
I'm not saying that unions are ALL bad; simply that they do need to be revamped, and they have to understand that companies can't continue to pay higher and higher wages, or provide more and more benefits, without eventually, suffering. They also need to realize that when a company isn't doing very well, that belts may need to be tightened (wages/benefits curtailed), until things pick up again. We all have to learn to do that when circumstances warrant.
Safety issues are always a concern, but I do feel sometimes, that those go by the wayside, because companies are forced to pay the ever increasing wages/benefits and can't always afford to address safety issues.
Totally agree that we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water, but we sure do need to provide some fresh water.
I've got no clue as to how you'd reorganize unions. I don't think they are anything like they were in the early days. I don't think they represent all of the people, all of the time.
You're kind of bathing the baby in a cesspool.... I don't think you throw the baby out, but you'd damned well better get your water elsewhere and make sure the kids shots are up to date after that.
You mentioned above that the union will "support" people if they are being treated unfairly.... I've watched that not happen to union dues paying members. I watched one of the strongest believers in a union drop his wonderful impression of them when they told a whole shift of people to go pound sand. (By the way, every boss I mentioned above that got fired was male, over the age of 50, and were largely replaced by women (90% were women) and the unions wouldn't touch it......
People have to lawyer up all of the time. Look how litigious our society is... In the work place, it's no different. And the union did their part. They helped establish so many important things. But, if they won't support everyone equally, if they won't oust their bad eggs (and by keeping the bad eggs they are giving the real workers a bad name) I think they are in it for the money only. Just my opinion.....
You're kind of bathing the baby in a cesspool.... I don't think you throw the baby out, but you'd damned well better get your water elsewhere and make sure the kids shots are up to date after that.
You mentioned above that the union will "support" people if they are being treated unfairly.... I've watched that not happen to union dues paying members. I watched one of the strongest believers in a union drop his wonderful impression of them when they told a whole shift of people to go pound sand. (By the way, every boss I mentioned above that got fired was male, over the age of 50, and were largely replaced by women (90% were women) and the unions wouldn't touch it......
People have to lawyer up all of the time. Look how litigious our society is... In the work place, it's no different. And the union did their part. They helped establish so many important things. But, if they won't support everyone equally, if they won't oust their bad eggs (and by keeping the bad eggs they are giving the real workers a bad name) I think they are in it for the money only. Just my opinion.....
I have no problem with major overhaul and reorganization of unions. I just don't want the 'baby thrown out with the bath water', as OH says.
Back in the 80's, there was a massive firing at the Las Vegas Hilton. (Formerly called "The International") An entire shift of male pit bosses, floor managers, and cage bosses were fired. The first place these individuals went was to their union. The union was jerking these guys around, like they didn't know who they were.
It became obvious after a week of no calls back from union reps that these individuals were going to have to "lawyer up" in order to get their rights protected.....
It became obvious after a week of no calls back from union reps that these individuals were going to have to "lawyer up" in order to get their rights protected.....
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