LABOR UNIONS HELPED US REACH ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE

The United States has the bloodiest history of labor of any industrialized nation on Earth. It is a story rich in human drama and tragedy. It is also one of progress and hope. For example: Janitors at General Motors are compensated at the rate of about $30 per hour. Assembly line workers are compensated at around $80 per hour. Considering that neither of these positions requires even a high school diploma to fill, there seems to be something incredibly wrong with their pay scales. Entry-level, unskilled labor rarely earns more than the prevailing minimum wage. And, unskilled labor - even with 10 years experience in whatever their field - is lucky if they are earning 50% over minimum wage. Learn a skill or get an education... but, if you fail to do either, learn to enjoy your career at McDonald's.

Pushing a broom and swinging a mop is not rocket science. Running a pneumatic nut driver, placing the same nuts on the same bolts for 8 hours per day doesn't even approximate brain surgery. Granted, they are both necessary and honorable ways of earning a living, but at that level of compensation they are earning two or three "livings". Labor compensation packages are a major part of the price of American-made automobiles... that, and corporate greed. Since 1935 the compensation packages for automotive workers have been negotiated by the United Automobile Workers union (UAW). The UAW is also known as the United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union, and is a part of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations). The AFL-CIO is without doubt the largest union organization in the world.

Labor unions - on a relatively small scale - probably began in the USA in 1778, when the New York City journeyman printers united and gained an increase in wages. Apparently the idea of "unionization" didn't catch on right away, because the next notable action of that type didn't occur until 1785, when New York shoemakers struck for three weeks, and in 1786 printers of Philadelphia staged a successful walk-out strike for higher wages and gained a minimum wage of $6 per week. Keep in mind however, that in the 18th century 10¢ per hour was a better-than-average wage. And, in 1792 the Philadelphia shoemakers formed the first local craft union for the purpose of collective bargaining.

Thuggery was a common practice in both union organizing practices and union busting practices. Workers who spoke out or acted against the interests of union organizers frequently found themselves on the wrong end of an axe handle or billy club. Those beatings were simply warnings. If the worker was stupid enough to continue speaking out against union organizers, he might have found himself crippled... or sometimes even converted to a corpse by union thugs. There was an equal amount of blood on the hands of company officials as well, who would hire "special police" (read: "goon squad") to confront the union thugs - either in an all-out donnybrook, or in a 3 (or more) to 1 ratio, in order to explain the company's labor philosophy. Each entity would try to out-thug the other thugsmeisters. Union organization was a very messy undertaking (no pun intended) in the late 17th through the early 19th century.

Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, we are faced with labor unions being backed - and even being enthusiastically presented - by the current Administration in Washington D.C.
They are stacking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with radical nominees who will put forward the Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act via administrative action. Union bosses are pushing forward with efforts to represent airport screeners. One single thread runs throughout: an insatiable desire for money and power on the part of Big Labor bosses. Have they not heard that we are in a depression? We are suffering from a national financial hernia! If we keep applying pressure it will rupture... and our nation will bleed to death. Can you imagine the turmoil if the National Security Agency, the CIA, and the Transportation Safety Administration were to become unionized? Imagine even a brief, 1-hour work stoppage at Kennedy, O'Hare or LAX. Thousands of business meetings, surgical appointments, freight deliveries, etc. would be missed, and some possibly lost forever. Now imagine a 24 hour strike, or a week-long strike... the ramifications are mind-boggling.
Once upon a time, unscrupulous business owners and uneducated workers made unions a "necessary evil". Those times have passed. For the most part workers are no longer uneducated... but, there are still those business owners who would consider attempting to take advantage of the working class. I say "consider" because even the unscrupulous realize that workers are smarter today, and that they are basically familiar with federal and state labor laws. They are also aware that they can leverage businesses into making certain adjustments in compensation packages by simply organizing the employees of that business and initiating a sit-down or walk-out strike at the local level. There is no need for national, dues-collecting unions - they have outlived their usefulness. National unions do nothing but add to the cost of production so they can take (dues) from the workers. If collective bargaining negotiations at the local level cannot resolve issues between management and labor, an arbitrator would be used to facilitate that resolution. If either side refused to comply with the arbitrator's recommendations then an administrative law judge would have the final word. (It sounds like a workable plan to me... but I am also aware that I tend to over-simplify sometimes.)
Union membership was once a symbol of true, demonstrated craftsmanship. Today it is a symbol of security for the barely competent.

THERE SHOULD BE NO UNIONS CONTROLLING GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS!

"Fla. Hospital Defends Secretly Deporting Patient"

Here's the scenario, as reported by the Associated Press: "During the early hours of a steamy July 2003 morning, Martin Memorial Medical Center chartered a private plane and sent 37-year-old Luis Jimenez back to the Central American country without telling his relatives in the U.S. or Guatemala — even as his cousin and legal guardian, Montejo Gaspar, frantically sought to stop the move."

Jimenez was seriously brain injured in an automobile accident in 2000. He spent more than a year in a "vegetative state", and eventually improved to where he had the cognitive ability of a fourth grader.

The question now is one of, "What's a hospital to do with a patient who requires long-term care, is unable to pay and doesn't qualify for federal or state aid because of his immigration status?".

My point of view is, as always, perhaps overly simplistic:
1. As an illegal immigrant in our country, he should NOT have access to benefits or services for which he cannot pay... except medical treatment for life threatening injury or illness.
2. The hospital had fulfilled their responsibility at the point which Jimenez was no longer in danger of dying as a result of his injuries. Any services provided beyond that point were strictly humanitarian in nature.
3. The hospital, which spent more than $1.5 million on his care over just three years, says Jimenez wanted to go home. If their claim is true, then their act was one of "repatriation," not deportation. Deportation is a legal process of the government, not the administrative process of a hospital releasing a patient. And yes, it probably was financially beneficial to the hospital to assist their patient in fulfilling his desire to return to his home country, but their moral and legal obligations to him had been satisfied for years. People do get homesick, and hospitals are a business... in this case it was a win-win situation.
4. A hospital is not a hotel. A hospital is a facility which provides immediate care for the sick and injured. The only procedures a hospital should have to provide on a pro bono basis are life saving and stabilization procedures if a patient doesn't have the means to pay... BUT, that should apply to ALL patients, not just illegal aliens.
5. The availability and quality of care Jimenez can receive in his own country should not even be considered. It is whatever it is, but it is where he belongs... what it is NOT, is it is not our problem.

I realize how easily my opinion could be interpreted as "racist", but it has absolutely nothing to do with his race... it has to do with his immigration status. People whose first act upon stepping onto American soil is criminal, deserve NO free benefits or services for having violated our immigration laws and procedures! If Jimenez was a white man named Lablanc, in the USA illegally from Canada, I would feel exactly the same way.

My attitude about illegal immigration could be completely wrong, but I tend to see things mostly in high contrast, with very few shades of gray. An act is generally either right or wrong.

Monsanto Chemical: Buys Government, Scares Press, and Sells Out Public!

Where is the hue and cry from all the government agencies that "protect" us, or from the so-called independent press, that supposedly is "looking out" for us.  Monsanto (previously Monsanto Chemical) - the folks that brought us the unforgettable Agent Orange, among others - like the relatively innocuous Roundup weed killer.  However, what happens when you start manipulating the market to eliminate the competition?  How do they do that?

First you start by genetically modifying produce - like corn, soybeans, or wheat - to make them resistant to Roundup and similar products.  Next you back-engineer one of your other products - like fertilizer - to include Roundup in it.  Something like Monsanto's "Asgrow Roundup Ready" or "Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans."  From the Monsanto website: "This is a new proprietary seed treatment from Monsanto which will be commercialized in conjunction with the launch of Asgrow Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans."  Monsanto offers "Simple, flexible and dependable weed control you expect from the Roundup Ready system.", and "Powerful genetic trait combinations created through our advanced breeding process deliver higher yield potential than other brands."  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, what we're talking about is Frankenfood!  And it's not just soybeans ... Monsanto has genetically modified corn, wheat, and God only knows what else to resist Roundup.  Can you see where this is going?  Modify the seeds to resist a weed poison, then include the poison in either the pod or the fertilizer, to kill those pesky weeds.  So far, so good!

But, there's an unanswered question here too - How does the Roundup not get absorbed into the produce it's protecting from weeds?  It doesn't!  We are unknowingly and trustingly ingesting toxic materials with almost every item we are being sold as food!  Have you eaten a nice steak, or enjoyed a good hamburger recently?  If so, then you should familiarize yourself with the acronym BGH - Bovine Growth Hormone.  Have you wondered why your 10 year old daughter is sprouting breasts already?  There's your answer - BGH!  Monsanto's Bovine somatotropin (abbreviated bST and BST) is also called bovine growth hormone, or BGH.  BST can be produced synthetically, using recombinant DNA technology. The resulting product is called recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), or artificial growth hormone. It is administered to the cow by injection and used to increase milk production. Currently Monsanto is the only company that markets recombinant bovine somatotropin, under the trade name Posilac.  According to Monsanto, approximately one-third of dairy cattle in the U.S. are treated with Posilac; approximately 8,000 dairy producers use the product. It is now the top-selling dairy cattle pharmaceutical product in the U.S.  Use of the recombinant supplement has been controversial. While it is used in the United States (though not without reaction), it is banned in Canada, parts of the European Union, Australia and New Zealand.  Is there a reason for this ban?  Are they perhaps more concerned with the welfare of their citizens, than our government is for OUR personal well-being?

Monsanto's lawyers scared Fox television affiliate, WTVT/Fox-13 in Tampa, Florida so badly, the station manager fired two staff members who had done an investigative reporting piece after they refused to modify the story to appease Monsanto.

Monsanto is running roughshod over our citizenry in their (thus-far successful) attempt to bribe, intimidate, threaten and otherwise leverage those who would question the negative human health factors of Monsanto-produced  Frankenfoods.  Our complacency as a nation will be our undoing.  I could be wrong ... but, I'm NOT!

Automotive Industry Bailout? The UAW Should Bail Out!

We have the UAW to thank for the decreasing revenues of the Big 3 U.S. automakers. Some illiterate Bozo pushing a broom in a Detroit auto plant is making $20+ per hour! Here's a breakdown of actual labor costs per hour at the Big 3, this is for hourly workers only, and does not include extremely overcompensated white-collar salaries -

Labor cost per hour, wages and benefits for hourly workers, 2006. (Correction to the below information: I have just discovered on Nov 19, 2008 that, since 2006, the average laborer's compensation package for American owned automobile manufacturers has increased to slightly over $81 per hour! Therefore the following figures for the "Big 3" are about 12% low.)


Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year)


GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year)


Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year)


Toyota, Honda, Nissan (in U.S.): $48.00 ($96,000 per year)
(source: Forbes)

Is it any wonder that American auto manufacturers cannot compete in the open market? They're being strangled by labor costs! That, coupled with the fact that, across the board, Chrysler, Ford and GM produce an inferior product, when compared to the quality and durability of competing Japanese imports.


As credit availability has tightened - to the point that it should always have maintained - consumer spending has slowed to a crawl. As a result, major U.S. automakers have seen their profits fall. Severe adjustments must be made in order to bring this industry back from the brink of extinction.

1. American auto manufacturers must return to the business of building a durable product. It seems that competitors in foreign countries produce products that can last for years with little need for maintenance. Many American made vehicles often have major mechanical problems within the first year or two of usage. In order to remain competitive in an emerging global market, the auto industry must produce vehicles that are more reliable and can attain optimum gas mileage.

2. Our auto industry must not continue to give in to the crushing demands of the auto workers union. A key advantage that foreign auto makers have is they do not have to pay outlandish wages and benefits when they can simply expand or relocate to areas that do not bow to union pressures. Foreign auto makers have consistently surpassed their American counterparts in production and profitability. It is now time that the auto behemoths stand up to the unions and demand their employees work for a fair wage and competitive benefits without jeopardizing the life of the company. How does it profit the unemployed worker to say, "I used to work for Chrysler (or Ford, or GM) when they were in business." Or the underemployed worker to ask, "Would you like fries with that, sir?"

3. They need to control spending at all levels of the corporation. Many auto executives revel in lavish luxury compensation packages, fail-safe "Golden Parachutes," and outlandish bonus incentives. The only people deserving of a Golden Parachute are those who save a failing corporation, not those who failed to save it! This is true for ALL industries, not just automotive.

The average UAW worker with a high school diploma earns 57.6% more total compensation than the average university professor with a PhD (who earns about $93,000 per year), and 52.6% more than the average worker at Toyota, Honda or Nissan.

The true bailout won't come about until the UAW either renegotiates the contracts to a reasonable level of compensation, or the UAW is eliminated as the bargaining entity for those employed within the automotive manufacturing industry.

I could be wrong .............................. but I'm NOT!

No Child Left Behind

It's a wonderful sentiment! But, it is also a sad reality that not all children are capable of keeping up. Some are simply destined to be left behind, regardless of the best efforts of parents, educators, and the Federal Government. Education is like any other competition, there are some winners and some losers. Just as all children are not equipped with the physical strength, speed and stamina to win a foot race, not all children are equipped to excel at intellectual endeavors. To increase the chances of the slower students reaching some acceptable level of academic achievement, our government has instituted an unrealistic policy of "No Child Left Behind". The implementation of this policy is simply nothing more than "special" education, and another unwarranted lowering of the educational standards by which we used to measure varying levels of achievement. We are falling short of much of the world in the areas of science and mathematics. Our educational system, with the able assistance of the Federal Government, has reduced the emphasis on what were once referred to as "the hard sciences", and insinuated classes on various "diversities" instead. Education is gradually being replaced by indoctrination.

Who pays the ultimate price for this folly? The high school graduates themselves, and the business world into which they are thrust, or the institutes of higher learning.

Businesses complain that high school graduates are not prepared to enter the work force, because they lack the basic skills to be successful. The business world must either "go begging" for acceptable employees, or invest large sums of money in remedial education for new hires, or 'in-source' employees from outside the country. Colleges have lowered the minimum acceptable SAT entry scores for certain "minority groups", and must provide even more basic 101-level (perhaps 100-level?) courses, to insure that many students stand even the slightest chance of completing their degree.

Potential employers want people who can do the job they are being paid to do. If the employees feel good about themselves that's an added bonus, but it's not what they're being paid for - ability is what they need to bring to the workplace. Whether or not Heather has six mommies, and Tommy has 3 dads doesn't mean diddly-squat to the people who pay the wages and salaries!
What they want, require, and deserve, is a good return on their investment in the employee.

All people are NOT created equal! Accept that as a fact, and perhaps we can get back in the education game. Only a few will be captains of industry, several will attain upper management positions, quite a few will be middle management, many will achieve supervisory status, and the vast majority will be production workers. Our society needs more blue collar workers than we do white collar workers. We need mechanics, police officers, military personnel, mail carriers, custodians, farmers, ranchers, sales associates, bus drivers, truckers, and technicians of all types. Our society needs them much worse than we need politicians, CEO's and CFO's. It is the production worker that keeps our country mobile, fed, healthy, entertained, and communicating! But, those production workers must have a practical education. They need to master those hard sciences in order to be effective in their chosen field(s) of endeavor!

But, complacency seems to be the motto of the majority of Americans. Social indoctrination is the order of the day, and education has been relegated to the category of "nice to have, if we can work it in". Nothing is free, and we will soon pay the price of complacency.