Some union leaders are still so peeved that the Democrats are holding their convention in right-to-work North Carolina that they want to hold their own political gathering a few weeks before the Dems' Charlotte convention.
The Associated Press is reporting that this "labor summit" would be held in a more union-friendly city, like Philadelphia. They're even planning to invite Democratic elected officials -- governors, members of Congress -- who are longtime labor allies.
Though most labor unions are still planning to send members to the Democratic National Convention, about a dozen or so unions announced last year that they'd be bypassing the convention in Charlotte -- a city, they also point out, that has no union hotels.
Here's a more complete report.
Tim Funk
Home loan forgiven? It may count as income
9 years ago
Posts
44 comments:
It's hard to imagine an industry that since 1960 has been made better by a union. It not a coincidence taht Boeing is expanding in Charleston or Hundai goes to Alabama.
Just another reason why unions suck! It also shows you that unions are biased drastically toward democrats, therefore, in states where there are forced unions, it's shouldn't be legal for unions to collect fees from every employee and use part of their money to support the democratic party against a person's will. How anyone can look at this and say it's fair or right, is beyond me!
The only comeback I've heard when I question the advantage of unions is "They gave us the 40-hr work week". Uh... Well I'm a pretty recent college grad and work at least 50/week, and some Saturdays if I have important projects to get done... So there goes the validity of that argument.
What are you guys talking about, Detroit is booming? Philly is a power house of industry. Trenton, NJ... people are moving there in droves.
Ouuu, yea... I see another Chicago 68' brewing here... let's get some popcorn and watch the show...
Unions are archaic. They had their place years ago but not in today's economic environment. It's what drives consumer costs up so much in the states. It's why Ford and GM can't compete with the likes of a Hyundai. Hyundai doesn't employ unions so that keeps there costs down so they can invest in better technology and pass on the savings to consumers while still turning a profit.
Have at it unions. Have your own convention. No one is stopping you.
Anonymous at 2:47.....are you getting OT pay for that time over 40 hours? Another idea that unions helped bring about,as well as the 40 hour work week!If you aren`t getting overtime pay for any hours over 40,that`s crazy! As well as the fact that you`d be called a slave and a fool!
Fuh get about it
TC, not all people work an hourly wage job. Unions would probably like you to believe that so you wouldn't want to start a small business or get paid by the job or put forth some effort towards an end goal that pays more. They want to control the employees wages so they can compensate $ not to better the worker.
YET THE LEADERSHIP OF THE AFL-CIO JUST VOTED TO ENDORSE BARACK OBAMA. WOW! A REAL SHOCKER THAT THEY WENT DEMOCRATIC!
TC,
How does it feel to get paid the same hourly wages as the lazy sloth beside you doing half the work not producing a thing....Just taking up space?
It should bother you unless you are the lazy sloth forcing me to produce 12 widgets and hour to make up for your 6.
Unions are relevant to the corrupt Dems, they are set to spend $400,000,000 of money the confiscated throught unions dues and hand it over to President Moron. Hopey changey.
There's no question unions over time have been a huge help to the American worker. The problem is they have never really changed with the times, approach their role exactly the same way they did in the 1940's. Now, they just are not as necessary as most businesses have already implemented many of the work rules they fought for. Times have changed. Working with a union is very time consuming and costly. Businesses cannot survive if they have to keep old school rules that impact productivity. And the worst of them are teacher's unions.
We can hope this just widens the fracture in our country even more.
You can only assume this is what is wanted by those interested in themselves and not the country working together to fix our many problems.
Amen DistrictSix! Testify!!!
This will post as anonymous, my name is Dan and I can be reached at danimalwing@gmail.com, no worries.
Since we've got a lot of anti-union posts you can put me in the other category. Some things to consider...
Whether we are part of a union or not the middle class owes it's existence to organized labor.
The 40 hour workweek as a standard, the concept of a weekend, and numerous safety precautions--all union. Since industrialization working class people have made dramatic strides in achieving a higher standard of living, as work injuries and fatalities and terrible work conditions are no longer the norm.
This being said, saying there is no need for a union is like saying there is no need for a police force, or separate branches of government, or trial by jury since we have come so far in achieving a relatively peaceful existence in the face of greater tyranny throughout human history.
Unions are not perfect, and are occassionally miting factors for improvement, but so can be the court system, so can be the legislature, this does not mean people should abandon democratic institutions merely because they are not flawless.
Anyone who has ever been abused by their employer, or take advantage of in the form of any dishonest practice can understand the importance of representation. Finally, which of these is the worse alternative, a company with one corrupt board or CEO that functions like a dictator, or a comapnany with mostly well intentioned employees with a handful of workers that underperform (who by the way are factors in non union environments as well). Union members are subject to disciple and firing for their abuse just as in non union environments.
Consider that currently less than ten percent of workers in the US belong to a union, and the income is greater than it has been since the 1920s when union membership was nearly as low as it is today. The very concept of middle class is built upon profit sharing that has allowed several million Americans the ability to afford higher education, access to medical care, and livable wages. And the best part, your boss will still be much richer than you, just not possess the same overbearing power that has college educated people working for peanuts.
Corrections:
Income gap grater than 20s, not just income
Discipline, not disciple
-Dan
I love it...all of these southerners commenting about industry again, just like they fought they changes in the workplace at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
You uneducated southerners don't know jack about Unions, yet you sit there and comment. All of you believe that life is better with less pay, lousy working conditions and whenever your Boss tells you to bend over, you do it. Next, you southern rebels will be giving us your opinion on the West Bank, or your drivel about something else you read in Reader's Digest...that is IF you can read.
Look, all you do is fight EVERYTHING and EVERYONE for the past 150+ years, so how would you even know how a Union operates? No, you watch things from afar and form an opinion, based on hearsay. You don't actually value knowledge, leadership, or education; you simply want to rebel.
Unions serve the purpose of checks and balances with management and ownership. It's not all about the money...but why explain it to you simple southerners.
5:07, Thanks for deeming to even try to inform us of how things should be like those great industrial cities up North.
9. Camden, NJ
> Credit rating: Ba2
> 2009 revenues: $181,257,000
> 2009 debt: $103,284,000
> Median household income: $25,418
Camden suffers from high unemployment, high poverty, and a weak tax base. The city’s median household income is less than half that of the national median income and is the lowest of all the municipalities on this list. Moody’s notes that “more than half of Camden’s real estate is tax-exempt, hampering already weak tax collections.” The city has had a speculative grade credit rating since 1998. Three out of the past five Camden mayors have been sent to prison for corruption, the most recent in 2001.
Also Read: Short Sellers Savage Banks
8. Strafford County, NH
> Credit rating: Ba2
> 2009 revenues: $36,204,000
> 2009 debt: $23,866,000
> Median household income: $58,363
Strafford County’s low rating is largely due to a money-losing nursing home, on which the county spends two-fifths of its budget. Just under 85% of the patients at the Riverside Rest Home are eligible for Medicaid, yet state reimbursements to the county continue to decrease, according to Moody’s. Between 2004 and 2009, the nursing home lost $36 million. The county does not expect to recover much of the money it used to cover these deficits.
7. Riverdale, IL
> Credit rating: Ba2
> 2009 revenues: $8,358,000
> 2009 debt: $9,350,000
> Median household income: $40,659
Riverdale has run operational deficits for a number of consecutive years, driven primarily by
a reduction in the amount the village relies on debt financing. “The village funded itself by borrowing money from its sewer and water funds, and now carries an operating fund balance of -52.1% of revenues.” The city, like many others on this list, is extremely small, with a population of just over 14,000.
Also Read: Pew Research – Local Information Need Buoys Newspapers
6. Salem, NJ
> Credit rating: Ba3
> 2009 revenues: $7,059,000
> 2009 debt: $10,098,000
> Median household income: $28,397
Salem guaranteed bonds issued to finance an office building downtown. The city planned to pay for the bonds with revenues earned from leasing office space in the building. However, revenue fell short of what was projected when construction delays caused lease payments delays. “The project’s debt service reserve fund has been drawn down numerous times,” Moody’s reports. “Once the reserve fund has been exhausted, the city is obligated to pay debt service for the life of the bonds.”
5. Detroit, MI
> Credit rating: Ba3
> 2009 revenues: $1,280,791,000
> 2009 debt: $2,449,480,000
> Median household income: $29,447
Detroit has suffered worse from the recession than almost any other U.S. city. The effects of the city’s economic situation are reflected in its credit rating. Many of Detroit’s biggest companies, such as General Motors and Chrysler, declared bankruptcy, placing “significant pressure” on the city, according to Moody’s. Detroit relies on the auto industry for its tax base, and the industry’s contraction has hurt the city immensely. The city became a “habitual note borrower,” relying on investors to close budget gaps.
4. Harrison, NJ
> Credit rating: Ba3
> 2009 revenues: $32,763,000
> 2009 debt: $92,613,000
> Median household income: $49,596
Harrison “issued a significant amount of debt to foster redevelopment, and continues to collect substantially less revenue from those developments than projected,” Moody’s explains. One of the largest projects is the $200 million Red Bull Arena, which was opened in March 2010 and cost the city $39 million in debt but has yet failed to have the expected returns. To help solve its debt problem, the city, which has a population of 13,620, plans to fire some police officers and firefighters.
Also Read: Poor Judgement By Ralcorp’s Board
3. Jefferson County, AL
> Credit rating: Caa1
> 2009 revenues: $309,440,000
> 2009 debt: $1,337,233,000
> Median household income: $44,718
Jefferson County’s debt, which is the second largest on this list, comes from a $3.2 billion overhaul of the county’s sewer system as well as a series of risky, controversial bond deals meant to help the county pay for the sewer work. A number of city officials have been sent to jail on corruption charges linked to the project. “The county defaulted on almost $3.5 million in 2008 — the biggest default in municipal history,” according to Moody’s. Worse still, this year, the Alabama Supreme Court invalidated the county’s occupational tax, which accounted for one quarter of the county’s total revenues.
2. Pontiac, MI
> Credit rating: Caa1
> 2009 revenues: $46,183,000
> 2009 debt: $99,115,000
> Median household income: $32,199
The source of Pontiac’s troubles is similar to that of Detroit’s. General Motors, which went bankrupt during the recession, is the city’s largest employer and taxpayer. The city has been in receivership since 2009. Also in 2009, the city sold its Silverdome stadium, which cost over $55 million to build, for $583,000. Such concessions have not been enough to raise the city’s rating.
1. Central Falls, RI
> Credit rating: Caa1
> 2009 revenues: $17,601,000
> 2009 debt: $18,753,000
> Median household income: $33,520
In August 2011, Central Falls declared bankruptcy largely because of the city’s pension plan, which promised $80 million in retirement benefits. According to the New York Times, the “pension fund will probably run out of money in October, giving Central Falls the distinction of becoming the second municipality in the United States to exhaust its pension fund, after Prichard, Ala.” This $80 million is approximately five times the city’s general fund budget.
I could have posted this link: http://247wallst.com/2011/09/27/nine-american-cities-going-broke/
But since you spent so much time writing your tome, I felt it would service you better to see it in print. Especially since you apparently do not do much research.
Rebel,
Unions are no equalizer anymore, they just exist to make the union leaders rich.
The true equalizer in today's society are your feet. If you do not feel you are being paid enough for your work, quit and go somewhere else. If you are good at what you do, someone else will pay you more, give you better benefits, and you will be happier working there.
Or you can stop working for someone else and work for yourself. That's what I did, I was tired of splitting my actual worth with someone else, so I went out on my own. Now I charge what I feel is an honest days pay for an honest day's work.
Labor unions are on the way out. Indiana just became the 23rd state to become a "right-to-work" state.
Unions rose to power as a way to defend the rights of workers from management. Decades of union abuses have led to more and more states becoming "right-to-work" states to defend the rights of those same workers from Unions!
If union leaders refuse to attend conventions in right-to-work states, the Dems are going to soon run out of places to hold conventions!
Rebel,
I'm a northern transplant who had a brother-in-law who worked for many years for Whirlpool in a union shop.
I watched him have to skip vacations because he was out on strikes that he didn't want.
Strike votes were held in a stadium by a "stand-up" vote and there were union thugs in the aisles to make sure nobody stood when the union didn't want them to and that everybody stood when they wanted them to! Never trust any organization that is afraid of the secret ballot... you only oppose it when you want to be able to intimidate people to vote the way you want.
I watched my hometown go from FOUR plants running 7x24 to just ONE plant with a skeleton crew because the unions would strike at the drop of the hat, included to defend workers fired for showing up at the assembly line DRUNK!
Many top union leaders (remember Jimmy Hoffa) have been linked to organized crime.
Your comments are the ones that come across as uninformed and bigoted. Do us all a favor and move back North. You are an embarrasment to the rest of us.
The closest you come to accurate was in the beginning of your final paragraph... yes, Unions USED to serve the purpose of checks and balances... but that was ONLY until organized crime and the very same greed of industry took over the leadership of th unions. Now, THEY commit the same abuses they were created to defend against.
You're blinded by your politics and too much time drinking the kool-aid. There are now 23 states that have passed right-to-work legistlation... unions have failed and they are on the way out.
So why don't you take your racist, bigoted opinions back North where you came from?
John, bravo. And thank you.
Dispute it all you want, you dumb southerners. Just continue to bend over and take it in the a$$ from your employers. Employers today have all the power and can fire you for anything they wish...and your rednecks think that is just fine with you. No wonder the southern states still sit in the Bottom 10 states in Public Education. You people are idiots!
Sorry, but working is a two-way street and you don't get to treat me any way you wish. That is why Unions were created. Yet, you dumb confederates never figured that out. Did you ever wonder why Northern Companies are moving south? Because Northern workers wouldn't put up with the $h!t southern workers were...and the fact you're too stupid to know any better.
Hey John, you're one of those uneducated "Yes sirs." You fit in great down here. You're a terrific blue collar worker that could have worked the cotton fields down here without complaint.
I've been down here for 20 years and have dealt with so much racism, hatred and stupidity down here, it's a joke. I can't stand cold weather and I'm not going anywhere, A-hole. You move back up there. I'm glad you buy into the Plantation Owner mentality; you'll make someone a great slave, John.
I will admit things are better since folks came here and showed us how to pave Tryon Street a couple of years ago.
Unions are like governments, they usually start out very well intentioned and small, but over time they grow so big and make everything so inefficient that they bankrupt the very people they are representing.
Lot of open minded people here, that have never worked for a union and talk so bad about it because mom and pop was a repub. You may not know this but wages are going down not up.
Rebels Hate Me, you are a shining example of what a Union Thug strives to be. Your comments go further at making the non-union sides arguement than anything anyone else could say. By all means, keep going. You keep letting some Union rep tell you when you can and can't work for your family. Can't stand a little cold weather? I guess unions make you soft. Now if you want to respond, do it the union way. Get someone to start your computer, then get someone else to log you on, and then get someone else to hit the shift key (oops, the shift key guys are on strike, better use all lowercase, if your bylaws will allow it) and then get the person who thinks for you to come up with something real pithy to say. Make sure they throw in a little of that Northern trash Mouth, it makes you look stoopid,yo.
Funny how Rebel is calling everyone else racist, but his/her comments are just as racist. Just because I am a southerner and white, Rebel thinks I am a dumb, uneducated, stupid, redneck. Lets see. The definition of racism is hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. Yep. Rebel is a racist because he/she has a severe intolerance and hatred of white people from the south. Rebel - This white redneck southerner will put my three college degrees against your education any day and time. In the south, we takes things a little slower rather than rushing around at frantic paces so we can do things correctly the first time. If you are in the neighborhood, we invite people over to hang out on the front porch to sit a while and talk. It is called having a good quality of life. You are the one who moved here. Therefore, you either accept the way we do things or you will not fit into society. I am not going to go to New York and tell the city they have to slow down because it is the way things are done in the south. In regards to other racists, those people are not exclusive to the south. There are a minority of people in most of the states who are just plain hateful. I would include you in this group based on your comments alone.
Anon 9:04, I'll put my College Degrees against your southern college degrees any day of the week...boy. What are you, a Union worker? Yeah, like you would ever be a Union Employee. You sound more like a boss who wants to make sure that Unions don't start up here in the south. You want to preserve your control over the uneducated, so you can run roughshod over them. Yeah, I can see your angle from a mile away, Plantation Owner.
You try to convince others you'll look out after their best interests, when you could care less about a Union Employee. You simply want the power and control to do what you wish to an employee. I'm here to see to it that your power in controlled, policed and regulated...that is what a Union does. A Manager or Boss simply can't treat employees any way they wish, and they are bound by checks and balances as much as the employees.
Your comments alone tell me you are a scared southerner who wants to bully uneducated southerners, so you can force them to do whatever you want them to do...or else you'll threaten to fire them. Unions take care of POS' like you, buttwipe. My degrees against yours, and your inferior education down here, any day of the week!
Unions are like eating an entire chocolate cake. At first it is good and makes you feel good. But as you continue eating, you become sick and no longer feel good. The same with a union. At first it is good and makes you feel good. But as time goes on, the union cares more about maintaining its power and the result is the economy becomes sick and nobody feels good.
Now unions are entrenched and they have those in charge or those who benefit from its corruption, like "Rebel" above, who bully everyone to keep the union alive despite the drain it becomes. Unions should be temporary. They have their place, but in no way should they allowed to become powerful. Ideally there should be a law that forces each union to disband after a short time and to not allow the workers to unionize for several years. Exception would be allowed for unions for professional athletes. It is no coincidence that pro-union states are heavy generally worse off financially.
I suggest the anonymous "Rebel" watch the brilliant Marlon Brando in the movie On the Waterfront. That movie shows what the unions become.
Unless they are willing to change their vote from democrat to republican, the all their complaining really doesn't matter.
Unions SUCK
"Some union leaders are still so peeved that the Democrats are holding their convention in right-to-work North Carolina that they want to hold their own political gathering a few weeks before the Dems' Charlotte convention."
Good maybe they will keep there sorry a*ses up there in whatever part of H*LL their from!
Rebels Hate Me is a stink bomb liar like a lib scum. This smells like some broke on welfare weedly weakling homosexual liberal white boy pos living with mommy and daddy in the boonies who never went to college to sorry to work or join the military where half of Obamas pro-athletes making millions each need to be serving their country but are nothing but egotistical narcistic cowardly chickenshit feces on the take especially their alltime hero crook scammer.
Rebels Hate Me couldnt buy a roll of toilet paper on his own to wipe his worthless stinking azz.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/chicago-bears-lovie-smith-calls-on-blacks-to-back-obama/
WTF?
http://news.yahoo.com/dharun-ravi-found-guilty-rutgers-trial-212458885--abc-news.html
jury exhibits racist hetrophobic bigotry against straight Asian-American who outs white homosexual
I'm waiting to see how much 'government investment' taxpayers will be forced to make to help fund this convention.
As Ramirez explains the entire city of Charlotte is infested with bedbugs and lice and the problem has been covered up for years to the highest level. The DNC is involved in the coverup.
Yo puedo atestiguar como trabajador y sabiendo que muchos cientos de trabajadores en moteles en la ciudad de Charlotte ths que todos ellos están infestados con chinches y piojos incluso y el problema es tan grave que está siendo cubierto por todos estos lugares y los jefes de la autoridad de la ciudad y aún el estado en el Capitolio. El problema no puede resolverse. La única forma de deshacerse de chinches y piojos en estos hoteles céntricos es derribar los edificios y reconstruir.
x Rameriz
this was one of the most interesting exchanges I have seen in a long time...
I can't for the life of me decide why Rebels Hate me would live here since she is obviously miserable... Florida is full of Northerners, why don't you move there? It's warmer too.
Unions have gone way way out in left field.. Perhaps Rebel's Hate me lives here because the non union job market and opportunities are better? I don't know..
Neither unions or non-union companies are perfect for sure, but I would rather have the option to NOT have one... Teacher Unions in particular are a huge waste of money and time.
Florida is a bonified southern state and one of the original southern states since America was founded and created in the south.
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