Here they've been raised for generations with the expectation that if they can get on with a big company, they can work hard for a few years and then be guaranteed a job for the rest of their working life and a fine retirement thereafter. Aren't they entitled to job security? Didn't they make the company what it is? So what if they don't actually own the company. Why can't they impose their will? They're union!! Doesn't that mean anything anymore? Don't they deserve to be treated better than others? Who is screwing with the system that has worked so well for them?
21 replies (most recent on top)
keep telling yourself that...denial is not a river in Egypt.
"it is supply and demand."
And we're living in a true-blue-free-market-society? I've got a bridge - conveniently located in Brooklyn - for sale. Interested?
"The fact that they are not having any problem hiring replacements at a cheaper rate to them is proof that there is merit to their analysis. "
It's easy to hire replacement workers. Always has been. What is not so easy is getting the actual work done. That's why we have to walk out every now and again. To remind the company of that reality.
"we live in a global market place that is pushing most wages down to what the market demands are. "
Funny how wages haven't been pushed down in the rest of the civilized world. In those stupid, backwards-thinking, socialist countries that maintain some serious labor laws in place in order to protect their citizens and legal residents...
exactly...why would a team overpay for a free agent when they feel there is/are substitutes that can fill the void at a lower cost? it's the same market principles at work here. You are free agents, your 'team' feels you are over the hill/overpaid at the current rate and your contract is now expired. They hold the chips.
it is supply and demand. The company believes you are overpriced, period. The fact that they are not having any problem hiring replacements at a cheaper rate to them is proof that there is merit to their analysis.
we live in a global market place that is pushing most wages down to what the market demands are. Economics 101 guys.
"I was even asked today by a coworker why it wasn't getting any press - not more press - ANY press."
Do a simple google search and you will find plenty of coverage. The reason "mainstream" media doesn't cover is because all the media outlets in the country are owned by 6 corporations. Who's side do you think they are on? You have obviously not been blessed with the ability to logically think things. Also many, not all, people who join the military is because they don't have much of an option in order to succeed in life. That is because college costs way too much money and there are no good paying jobs left in manufacturing because all have been sent overseas to the detriment of society but the benefit of the rich and powerful. Please just stop spewing your hate and educate yourself a little better as to what is happening to you, me and our children.
"The only place of 'work' that deserves everything the union is askin....demanding is the military."
And who exactly gets to decide this?
"You are no better than the rest of Americans "
No one ever claimed that we were.
"and their jobs are easily replaced and obviously outsourced. Wake up people"
No, you are the one who needs to wake up, along with millions of others, and demand that American jobs stay in the U.S. before our kids end up working for Indian-level wages in this country...
tba --- For that you may pay the ultimate price, your life. Comparison? I don't think so.
fossils.
The only place of 'work' that deserves everything the union is askin....demanding is the military. Do a good job and you can stay in until you retire and pull a nice pension and so/so bennies. Verizon workers are not the military and their jobs are easily replaced and obviously outsourced. Wake up people. You are no better than the rest of Americans and certainly not those of you who hold the minimal educational requirements for you job.
There are THREE Verizon offices/stores within a 5 mile radius here. No a single CWA person has showed solidarity and picketed them. I was even asked today by a coworker why it wasn't getting any press - not more press - ANY press. Because 7% of the companies profits and 40k people spread out over a bunch of states don't matter to the rest of small town America.
It's a free country so think what you want. There are many reasons the middle class is in such large decline- one reason is the decline of unions. It's amazing post WW2 what this country accomplished technologically and economically- the notion of working for a company, having pride in your job and having that stability is what enabled the middle class to thrive- it's the heart of the community- volunteer fireman, EMS workers, little league coaches, girl and boy scout leaders church volunteers, etc, mostly done by folks who have good stable jobs who don't have to work 19 hours a day under the fear of getting canned. Now look around you communities- as these jobs go away, you have less of a community, more trouble finding folks to volunteer and do the important things- but if you are a newer generation, you expect all of that to be handed to you- it's the mindset- it's been changed.
While maybe dated and not as effective, using the collective leverage of the skills of 39,000 people to get a better compensation package is at least worth a shot- the alternative is to cower in your cubicle or under your desk afraid of being fired art the drop of a hat. At least some still have the balls to fight.
HzbHwA8-ddl
I think you have been sitting behind your computer a little too long? People ARE behind us. The support we see in the community is more than any of us expected. Don't you watch the news and see why Trump and Sanders are so popular? It's because the rest of the country are tired of being taken advantage by our corporate masters and wealthy investors. Even a monkey can see what is happening to this country. Just crawl from under your rock and get some fresh air. You might be surprised as to what you'll find out.
The only that makes me feel sorry for the union is that they are so utterly ignorant as to how their cause is being viewed. They think they are on some sort of holy quest, when in reality everyone who pays any attention realizes this just simply about their greed and arrogance. They are like dinosaur fossils that are totally out of place in today's world. Yet they are either too stupid, or too arrogant, to see it.
"What if the rest of us don't want a union but have it forced down our throats?"
VZ Web was a chock full of 1st level management positions openings prior to the strike...no one stopped you from applying for one...
HzbHwA8-yxh
Please don't feel sorry for us. It is you who we feel sorry for. That's right, we were brought up to work hard and to be rewarded for it. The union takes care of us by providing a voice in the market place, similar to the same concept that health insurance uses. There is strength in numbers. Unfortunately along the way the unions have slowly but surely been busted. Now with the new generation called the millennials we are starting to see the destruction of what corporate America has done to this country. No longer can our kids be expecting to do better than their parents. No longer is it possible to have one working parent in a household and pay all the bills. No longer is it even possible for many to even leave their parents household. Anybody who sides with corporations on this are either part of upper management who make these horrible, greedy decisions,are just too stupid to see that they soon too will be f---ed right out of a job or have already been screwed and are jealous of the people who have a say in their future. No matter what kind of those three people you are, I feel sorry for you!
What if the rest of us don't want a union but have it forced down our throats? How American is that?
"I also feel sorry for them because they've latched onto a 1970s technology "
FiOS is a 1970s technology?
All joking aside, I do feel sorry for them. Most of them have grown up being taught that job security is an entitlement and that doing the bare minimum is all they have to do.
Unfortunately for them that line of thinking has all but disappeared and these people are finding out that the unions can't take care of them forever. And they're finding out that they actually have to do a GOOD job to get ahead, not a lousy job with good seniority.
I also feel sorry for them because they've latched onto a 1970s technology and can't get their heads around technology moving forward much like a 70 year old former model stays in denial about her looks fading.
It really is sad.
Don't feel sorry for me, if I left today I get a hefty pension. I should feel sorry for you, but I don't.
Take out "union" and replace it with "working men and woman" and it would not change the sentiment of your post one bit. Isn't that what its all about?
"Don't they deserve to be treated better than others? "
Nope. It's the "others" that should insist on being treated as well as union members expect to be.
In truth, 35 years of Reagonomics has most certainly done its fair share of damage to this country, not only in the segment of economics, but in the ethics department as well...
I do deserve more than you, and I will get more.