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 think what annoys me most about this thread is the cynical representation of the working man/woman. Most people want to do a good job. As a teacher, I saw a lot of the same abuses you speak of in terms of lousy teachers with tenure wasting the time and education of their students. I agree that should not be allowed and that there needs to be some serious reorganization .
I worked 18 hours a day and many weekends. My colleagues and I never ever used he union as a reason not to do more than what was required of us. We gave our all to our kids because we cared and because there is real satisfaction in doing a good job. Nevertheless, I would never want the union to be dismantled. Just knowing it was in place prevented abuse of power.
My dad was working class. Worked long hard hours in a union job, never complained and earned his gold watch at retirement. A year later, the company was sold and went nonunion.The new company refused to honor his pension plan with supplemental health care that he paid into it his whole life. I don't know if what happened was legal or not but he didn't have the background or the fight in him to challenge the decision.
Like I said unions need to be revamped, but please stop blaming the working stiffs for the problems in our economy.
I worked 18 hours a day and many weekends. My colleagues and I never ever used he union as a reason not to do more than what was required of us. We gave our all to our kids because we cared and because there is real satisfaction in doing a good job. Nevertheless, I would never want the union to be dismantled. Just knowing it was in place prevented abuse of power.
My dad was working class. Worked long hard hours in a union job, never complained and earned his gold watch at retirement. A year later, the company was sold and went nonunion.The new company refused to honor his pension plan with supplemental health care that he paid into it his whole life. I don't know if what happened was legal or not but he didn't have the background or the fight in him to challenge the decision.
Like I said unions need to be revamped, but please stop blaming the working stiffs for the problems in our economy.
I can only say a resounding ditto to both Desrt's and Orphanhawk's posts.
"There are labor laws to protect employees from gross discrimination, or blatant disregard for safety (there's also OSHA). A union deals with things that people should be able to figure out for themselves."
If a worker has been denied his rights or is being treated wrongfully and he takes it to his employer, in many cases he will put his job in jeopardy. Even if it is against the law, his recourse would be to find a trustworthy lawyer to represent him and just how is he going to pay for this hep. If there is union in place he will have the support. There has to be advocacy for the workers, none of us are so naive to believe that our employers will always have our interests at heart.
"There are labor laws to protect employees from gross discrimination, or blatant disregard for safety (there's also OSHA). A union deals with things that people should be able to figure out for themselves."
If a worker has been denied his rights or is being treated wrongfully and he takes it to his employer, in many cases he will put his job in jeopardy. Even if it is against the law, his recourse would be to find a trustworthy lawyer to represent him and just how is he going to pay for this hep. If there is union in place he will have the support. There has to be advocacy for the workers, none of us are so naive to believe that our employers will always have our interests at heart.
The Chevron fire's disregard for not only the environment but it's workers and the public who live in the area is reprehensible.
Although I live some miles away from there, we had headaches and sore throats for weeks afterwords. It turns out there was still a 'leaky pipe' that for some unstated reason Chevron didn't plug.
Just like what happened in the Gulf, these big corporations simply don't care and have bought out the politicians so they don't have to care.
NG~ I know you mean well but you are highly mistaken if you think we don't still need unions or some other form of protection for workers.
Although I live some miles away from there, we had headaches and sore throats for weeks afterwords. It turns out there was still a 'leaky pipe' that for some unstated reason Chevron didn't plug.
Just like what happened in the Gulf, these big corporations simply don't care and have bought out the politicians so they don't have to care.
NG~ I know you mean well but you are highly mistaken if you think we don't still need unions or some other form of protection for workers.
Right, because OSHA, BSEE, the EPA, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, and all the other gov't agencies do such a bang up job of protecting workers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/chevron-fire-richmond_n_1757571.html
All it takes is one politician to promise $2/gal gas and people will clamor to gut any minimal protection that exists.
While the average life span in America has increased 10-15 years up into the 80s, average life span for blue collar workers has only increased about 6 months. So as the age for retirement and full Social Security keeps getting pushed up, more workers have to stay on the job until they're physically unable to work. And then medical care is begrudged.
The idea that everyone can belong to the investor class and have a comfortable retirement and good QOL in their old age doesn't work. Somebody has to actually do something. Somebody has to actually produce something.
And people need to buy American and invest American, at least until we can dig ourselves out of our failed economy.
Decent retirement for workers makes for a poor bottom line. That's the "employee-employer relatioship".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/chevron-fire-richmond_n_1757571.html
All it takes is one politician to promise $2/gal gas and people will clamor to gut any minimal protection that exists.
While the average life span in America has increased 10-15 years up into the 80s, average life span for blue collar workers has only increased about 6 months. So as the age for retirement and full Social Security keeps getting pushed up, more workers have to stay on the job until they're physically unable to work. And then medical care is begrudged.
The idea that everyone can belong to the investor class and have a comfortable retirement and good QOL in their old age doesn't work. Somebody has to actually do something. Somebody has to actually produce something.
And people need to buy American and invest American, at least until we can dig ourselves out of our failed economy.
Decent retirement for workers makes for a poor bottom line. That's the "employee-employer relatioship".
There are labor laws to protect employees from gross discrimination, or blatant disregard for safety (there's also OSHA). A union deals with things that people should be able to figure out for themselves.
Like I said, they foster the lazy, unproductive worker. A LOT of people in unions think they're untouchable, and basically, they are. Unions hurt productivity, profitability, and they harm the employee-employer relatioship.
Like I already said, years ago, before there were clear laws about child labor, discrimination, etc...they were a blessing. They are antiquated.
Like I said, they foster the lazy, unproductive worker. A LOT of people in unions think they're untouchable, and basically, they are. Unions hurt productivity, profitability, and they harm the employee-employer relatioship.
Like I already said, years ago, before there were clear laws about child labor, discrimination, etc...they were a blessing. They are antiquated.
I said it before and I'll say it again, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Before there were unions we had people working long hours, with few breaks in sweatshop conditions. This doesn't mean some unions may not need overhauls.
I'm in favor of small and local over big and global. But I'm not the average American.
Before there were unions we had people working long hours, with few breaks in sweatshop conditions. This doesn't mean some unions may not need overhauls.
I'm in favor of small and local over big and global. But I'm not the average American.
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