Hjalmar

A wake-up call for Canada In 1991, after they had already largely abandoned the classic Swedish model of the postwar years, the social democrats were voted out of office... The new conservative government appointed a commission of seven non-socialist economists "to analyze the economic crisis in Sweden and to suggest ways to solve it. "Turning Sweden Around" documents the revenge of the iron law of wages... It finds an unemployment rate of 14%, public sector spending running at an unsustainable rate of 70% of Gross Domestic Product, a fall from arguably first among industrialized nations in GDP per capita to 14th, a strong inflation bias, recurrent budget deficits, and severe financial and building crises. In its six sophisticated, well-written, and mathematically accurate chapters "Turning Sweden Around" repeats again and again one central and pervasive theme:... Swedish wages are too high... To compete in international markets, Sweden must produce goods at competitive prices, which means paying less to workers (either directly or indirectly, through taxes). The main theme of "Turning Sweden Around" is not a surprise. it is common sense...it is the teaching of plain old fashioned classical micro-economics...it is a conclusion mandated by the constitutive rules of modern society. That historical experience revealed the limitations of the Swedish model is not a surprise.... What is surprising is that in the 1950's and 1960's so many people believed that the Swedish model was sustainable and generalizable to the rest of the world.... What needs to be explained is the specious credibility of the illusions it engendered. Common sense says that as a general rule, with limited exceptions, high wages cannot be sustained in an open economy because global competition will require producers to cut costs, and therefore wages

The demise of labour unions in Canada, USA and Western Europe An old Chinese folk wisdom holds, "Of all the thirty-six ways to get out of trouble, the best way is -- leave." In the Information Age, that Oriental wisdom will be easily applied... If operations become uncomfortable due to excessive demands by labour unions in one location, it will be far easier to move.... Indeed, it will be possible in the Information Age to create virtual corporations whose domicile in any jurisdiction will be entirely contingent on the spot market.... An overnight increase in the degree of attempted extortion, either by labour unions or governments, could lead to the activities and assets of the virtual corporation fleeing the jurisdiction at the speed of light. The growing integration of microtechnology into industrial processes means that even those firms that still deal in manufactured products with great economies of scale are no longer as vulnerable to the leverage of violence as they once were... An example illustrating this point is the collapse of the United Auto Workers union's lengthy strike against Caterpillar, which was called off in the waning days of 1995 after almost two years... Unlike the assembly lines of the 1930's, today's Caterpillar plant employs far more skilled workers.... Pressed by foreign competition, Caterpillar farmed out much of the low-skill work, closed inefficient plants, and spent almost $2 billion computerizing machine tools and installing assembly robots.... Even the strike itself helped spur labor-saving efficiencies.... The company now claims to need two thousand fewer employees than when the walkout began.

Why is it that you never see employers withdraw their offer if it is rejected by the union? Unions view it this way.. Look, we have this much, let's hold out for some more... I have often wondered why employers don't start withdrawing their proposals if rejected.. If unions reject a proposal they should run the risk of losing what has already been offered... I don't see that as bargaining in poor faith at all... Work it the same way as selling your home perhaps... You get an offer .. the offer is binding on the purchaser if you accept it as is.. If you tamper with it in any form the potential purchaser is off the hook.. Sellers are motivated to accept an offer as is rather than tampering with it in an effort to get a bit more and then run the risk of losing what has been offered.

Yesterday's Man Back in the 50's and 60's Sweden, one of the most socialistic countries in the world, saw no end in sight and felt their "welfare state" would be sustainable forever. As of about 12 to 15 years ago they started to realize that the welfare state was just not sustainable in a global economy where everyone is forced to compete worldwide. They have now reversed course, cut back on many of their giveaways and turned many former government functions over to the private sector. Here in Canada we have a lame-brain like Jack Layton who actually thinks that we can continue to function as a welfare state. Take a look at what happened in both Ontario and BC under NDP governments. They even managed to turn BC [one of the 3 "have" provinces] into a have - not province. What progress do you see in Man and Sask under NDP governments? None!!! I believe they are the only 2 provinces in Canada today with out -migration. Is this what Canada really wants? Get lost Jack Layton -- we want our country to prosper.

Idealist That's no comparison -- The employer owns the company and employees abide by those decisions... Why should a labour union be dictating rules and regulations in someone elses premises? Corporations are not cheerleading for strong labour unions where they are producing the product. However these same corporations benefit immensely from strong labour union presence in the countries where they market these products as their higher costs set the benchmark for pricing. Doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure that one out.

idealist You're living in yesterdays world.. time to get up to speed. Labour unions served a useful purpose at one time but in this day and age they have become redundant. Why? Do you believe they should have a monopoly on labour? Would you like to see our monopoly laws [where labour unions were exempted many years ago] dropped? What is undemocratic about it? What about the rights of all the non-union workers? In fact, allowing labour unions the monopoly over labour that they presently have does in fact remove rights from non-union workers by denying them employment at unionized sites if they do not wish to be represented by a labour union. The world has changed drastically and the "strike" has become an outdated weapon. Corporations have matured and workers have matured... Time to use more mature tools. Of course everything is relevant.. you live in a low wage jurisdiction and costs are lower. Speaking of farming out production to lower wage countries -- who do you think are the biggest cheerleaders for strong labour unions in the country where these products are marketed? You guessed it.. these same corporations. When you have a product manufactured in Canada for example with union labour they market the product in this country at a modest profit. This then becomes the benchmark for pricing. Take this locally produced product of the market and you would see these same prices tumble. So, in effect, labour unions throughout Canada is what is enabling these corporations, that you condemn, to make these massive profits for the products they manufacture in other lower cost jurisdictions... Give this some deep thought before responding!!!!

I'm waiting for your response maplesyrup. Socialists are Communists only less mature.

What kind of a leader are you looking for maplesyrup? .. one that's constantly in the media eye showing off like Jack Layton? I take substance over charisma any day, but Layton doesn't even have charisma. What past are you referring to? he's a newby. When it comes to a good grasp in economics, keen business smarts and good money sense I believe both Stephen Harper and Paul Martin have it. And I can tell you that anyone with these qualifications certainly wouldn't be running as leader of a rump party such as the NDP. Doesn't that tell you something? Jack Layton has no money sense whatsoever. Trudeau had no sense of economics nor business smarts either and he kept winning elections on charisma alone but Layton doesn't even have that going for him.

This happens every time an NDP government gains power for one or two terms. It happened in Ontario and it cost Ontario taxpayers $12 billion to educate Bob Rae - he recognized his massive errors and veered course during the last year of his term. Mike Harris takes over and is saddled with the task of cleaning up the mess and, you guessed it, he becomes the "bad guy". Similar story in BC with an NDP government in power for 10 years and BC becomes a have - not province for the first time in history. Again, Gordon Campbell becomes the "bad guy". Go figure!!!! We need to rid ourselves of the NDP in Canada forever!!!!

A number of years ago Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, advocated a voting system whereby every voter would undergo an intelligence test before voting and the votes would be tallied based on the intelligence of the voter... votes would count anywhere from 1 to 5 points based on intelligence. I think such a system would be great for Canada -- would wipe out the NDP forever.

In 1995 Roger Warren, a member of the miners union, confessed to setting a bomb at the Royal Oak Mines in Yellowknife.. The murder of 9 miners occured during a violent 18 month strike that saw daily confrontations and 2 other explosions at the mine as well as skirmishes with the RCMP. The 9 dead miners had crossed the picket line to work. The families of the 9 deceased miners have launched a lawsuit and are claiming millions in damages. Roger Warren is serving a life sentence at Stony Mountain Penitentiary for his part in the incident. Does anyone believe that Roger Warren acted alone in this incident?

Here's my prediction maplesyrup; Liberals ----------- 162 seats Conservatives --- 90 seats Bloc ---------------- 45 seats NDP ---------------- 11 seats

Doesn't really matter what candidates they field -- all voters have to do is take note of the party platform. How in the world could any country succeed in a global economy of today with such outdated socialistic policies? The "welfare state" is all but dead throughout the world. If Canada would like to be relegated to "Third World" status, then I say by all means vote NDP. As a matter of fact, I suggest that Canada is likely doomed unless the NDP is totally destroyed for good. As long as they pose any threat of a voice in government affairs, Canada's prosperity and advancement will be hampered.

Poll results almost the same as the Alliance Party before the last election. Final result on election day -- Alliance win all but 6 seats [ 3 Lib and 3 NDP].

Case Laws Around The World The evidence from around the world suggests that freedom of association should be construed to include the freedom not to join a union; courts of law from many countries have issued decisions to this effect. United States ------------------ As early as 1947, the Congress of the United States adopted the Taft-Hartley Act. Section 14 B of this Act reads: Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the execution or application of agreements requiring membership in labor organization as a condition of employment in any State or Territory in which such execution or application is prohibited by state or territorial Law. The Supreme Court of the United States declared the Taft-Hartley Act constitutional in 1949, when it heard Lincoln Federated Union v. Northwestern I and M; and in AFL v. American Sash Door Company... Since the 1940s, 22 states have adopted right-to-work laws and these are still in force today.... These states are now among the most prosperous in the United States and have some of the lowest rates of unemployment in the country.... Since 1949, hundreds of court decisions under the Taft-Hartley Act have confirmed that the freedom of association includes freedom from coercion to join a union and the freedom to pay or not to pay union dues, even in states that have not enacted right-to-work laws. Great Britain ----------------- The British Parliament, when it adopted the Trade Disputes Act of 1906, included a provision for closed-shop unions... Seventy years later the closed-shop union was challenged in the famous case of Young, James, and Webster v. British Rail. In 1976, Young, James, and Webster, employees of British Rail, cancelled their membership in the Trades Union Congress and refused to pay union dues... They were promptly dismissed by British Rail and a court battle ensued... Five years later, in August 1981, the European Court in Strasbourg issued a judgment in which it ordered British Rail to reinstate the three claimants in their jobs and to pay them £145,000 in compensation for the damage they had suffered. This decision was a first step towards eliminating closed-shop union provisions in Great Britain... Employment Acts adopted by the British Parliament in 1982, 1988 and 1990 gradually outlawed the provision of closed-shop and mandatory union dues in Great Britain. Section 1 (1) of the Employment Act of 1990 states: 1 (1) It is unlawful to refuse a person employment: (a-- because he is or is not a member of a trade union or (b-- because he is unwilling to accept a requirement (i) to take steps to become or to remain or not to become a member of a trade union; (ii) to make payments or suffer deductions in the event of his not being a member of a trade union. Switzerland ------------------ Section 356(1)(a) of the Code of Obligations adopted in 1911 and further amended in 1956 reads: The provisions of a collective agreement or of a private agreement that coerce employers or laborers to join an association are null and void. Belgium ------------ The closed-shop was outlawed in Belgium by a law adopted on May 24, 1921 and still in force. It reads: Sec. 1: The freedom of association is guaranteed. No employee will be forced to join a union nor hindered from joining a union. France ---------- Statute No. 56-416 enacted on April 27, 1956 reads: 1. No employer shall consider the fact that a candidate is a member or is not a member of a union nor that the candidate takes part or takes no part in the union in decisions pertaining to hiring, assignment of work, social benefits, disciplinary action nor dismissal. 2. Closed-shop provisions to coerce an employer to hire or maintain in employment only union members are null and void. Japan --------- Neither the Labor Relations Act of Japan of 1946 nor any labour law adopted since by the Diete has authorized the closed-shop (International Labor Office 1980). The freedom to join a union is guaranteed by section 28 of the Constitution of Japan-1946 (Blaustein and Franz 1993: 15-22). Since 1946, the Japanese courts have consistently ruled that the freedom of association under section 28 includes the freedom from coercion to join a trade union. New Zealand ------------------ Section 99.1 of the Industrial Relations Act of New Zealand reads: 99.1 Nothing in any award or any collective agreement or in any other agreement between one or more workers and an employer or employers or a union of employers or an organization of employers shall require a person: (a) to become or remain a member of any union . . . Eire --------- The sections of the Constitution adopted by Ireland in 1937 that deal with freedom of association read: Sec. 40.3 The State guarantees in its laws to respect and, as far as practicable, by the laws to defend and vindicate the personal right of the citizens. Sec. 40.6 1o The State guarantees liberty for the exercise of the following rights subject to public order and morality: iii) the right of citizens to form associations and unions. International charters South American Convention on Human Rights ---------------------------------------------------------- This convention (also called the Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica) was signed by Mexico, the countries of Central America, South America and states in the Caribbean-30 countries overall. Section 8.3 reads: 8.3 No one may be compelled to belong to a trade union. African Charter on Human and People Rights ---------------------------------------------------------- The African Charter on Human and People Rights was signed by 49 African countries in Liberia on July 20, 1979. Sec. 10(1): Every individual shall have the right to free association provided that he abides by the law. Sec. 10(2): No one may be compelled to join an association

I predict Liberals with a majority, Conservatives as a strong official opposition, Bloc in #3 spot and the NDP with 11 seats and lacking official party status. Polls and the actual vote count are two different things. All socialist parties are on the wane throughout the world. This has already been recognized in countries such as Sweden and Germany. Great Britain's Labour party has veered strongly toward the centre. If you can't read the message there Maple Syrup then you need an IQ test.

This begs the question - "Why are labour unions exempt?" A law that was passed years ago when popular opinion was on their side. This is now grossly outdated. Labour unions today don't hold the same stature nor respect that they used to have. They have become the largest bane in our society today and this law needs to be repealed. Furthermore we can never compete in a global economy with outdated laws such as this.

BG Neither you, nor the party you support, are in a position to talk about greed or hate, a concept that spawns from the very party you support, namely the NDP/Labour union movement. I'll add another one "selfishness" and you have the NDP/Labour Unions in a nutshell.

Michael Hardner Are labour unions not a monopoly? Is there any difference between a cartel and a monopoly?

I don't know much about Jack Layton but if anyone would like to destroy our country I suggest they vote for the NDP who successfully destroyed Ontario [it cost Ontario taxpayers $12 billion to educate Bob Rae] and BC.where they increased the provincial debt from $13 billion to $35 billion over a 10 year period. It will take both these provinces a generation to overcome this setback. Why are you supporting the NDP maplesyrup? Would you like to see our children and grandchildren paying for the gross mismanagement of the NDP? The little I know about Jack Layton is all negative. First of all he is living in the past. You can't influence [he will never be leading] a country with policies from the 50's. He actually thinks he's going to ride to victory with the support of the labour union movement and the mafia. People like Tony Blair who is leading the left in Britain has recognized that aligning his party with labour unions is more of a liability than an asset in this day and age and he promptly severed all connections. But I doubt Jack Layton has the intelligence to recognize that. Do you know what this mans IQ is maplesyrup? If he had any say over affairs in our country the first thing to happen would be that our military would be decimated overnight leaving us with no defence and the USA would have no choice but to take over our country in order to protect the North American continent from terrorists.

-- The oil crisis in the early 70's triggered worldwide inflation. -- Labor unions were quick to follow suit with their inflationary wage demands. -- Today oil prices are fluctuating between a high of $36/barrel and a low of $12/barrel... Gasoline prices are impacted accordingly. -- We all know that market prices fluctuate based on supply and demand. -- Labor unions want to mimic the market-based system which they claim their wage demands are based on... But mysteriously, there is never an oversupply of labor... An imagined shortage is used as leverage to ratchet up wage rates. -- Even governments have learned the lessons of a market-based economy.. Today, governments are struggling to keep income tax rates competitive with other jurisdictions in order to prevent the brightest and most ambitious amongst us from making their exit to more favorable tax jurisdictions in a mobile, global economy. -- In the meantime, public sector unions are attempting to thwart these efforts with their outlandish demands and, in so doing, hold taxpayers to ransom. -- Why are labor unions allowed to lock in high long-term wage rates while the market based system is faced with fluctuating prices? -- How can labor unions continue to use the lame excuse that they must have a wage increase to keep up with inflation...a by-product of their own creation? -- If labor unions want to drive inflation they better be prepared to also eat it.

The Canadian dollar at par with US currency!!! We are all consumers and everyone in the country benefits from a strong Canadian currency... However, for exporters, it's a different story. Let's take a good look at this... Back in the early 70's our dollar was near par and actually went to $1.03 at one time.. Our exporters had no problems in those days and prices were competitive.. What has happened over the past 30 years? Why do our exporters today need a devalued currency to compete? Our dollar is now nearing 74 cents and is expected to go much higher. I'll tell you what has happened... Our labour unions have maxed out their leverage and capitalized on our anemic currency over the years and squeezed out every penny they could from their employers who now need to rely on this devalued currency to compete... Are our labour unions prepared to forego these unearned pay increases over the past 30 years? Most Canadians would welcome a Canadian dollar at par.. I fully expect our labour unions to allow a smooth transition for something that will benefit everybody in the country.. That means about a 35 to 40% cut in pay to salvage their jobs in the future... I'm sure they're prepared for that... what do you think? By the way that applies to CEO's and politicians as well.

The Way of the Future WestJet has fast become the most successful airline in Canada.. And I'll tell you why.. they are non-union. That's right, non-union... WestJet president and CEO Clive Beddoe has it right.. WestJet employs 3,900 people and had 50,000 job applications last year to fill 900 jobs. WestJet, which has been profitable every year since it started in 1996, operates 1,550 flights per week and had net earnings of $51.7 million last year. Clive Beddoe said that some pilots who started with WestJet from the beginning are earning an annual salary of $113,000 while working 85 hours/month while at Air Canada they fly 55 hours/month and earn $180,000... On top of that, WestJet sweetens the pot through profit sharing, employee stock purchase plans and stock options.. The result is that 85% of employees are shareholders in the company and the average cheque equals 20% of salary. "We want to turn all our employees into capitalists" Beddoe said. "We want them to think like owners... We push decision-making down as far as we can... We are a bottom-up organization.. My job is to make sure our people have the resources to do the job, where we are going, how to get there, and then we let them loose to get to that result".. Beddoe said he doesn't run WestJet, it runs itself. . "I guide it, I steer it and make sure it has the resources it needs... It's a powerful formula and it works well". Recent excerpts from Alan Daniels, Vancouver Sun -------------------------------------------------------- I predict that almost all operations will be run this way in the future.. Clive Beddoe has it right and that's the way I would do it as well... If governments don't have the guts to amend our labor laws, we amend the way we operate so as to exclude labor unions altogether... That's the way of the future.

James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg have made a number of predictions such as [1] 1987 - The fall of Communism. [2] 1987 - The falling standard of living of blue collar workers. [3] 1991 - The supplanting of Marxism by Islam as the main ideology of confrontation. [4] 1997 - The collapse of the welfare state and the death of nations worldwide. [5] 1997 - The overhaul of the US tax system which will in the future be based on consumption rather than on earnings. [6] 1997 - That the map of the world, including the United States and Canada will look dramatically different. [7] 1997 - That governments will lose their capacity to arbitrarily regulate economies. [8] 1997 - That individuals will gain more autonomy and financial capability than ever before as markets deepen around the world. [9] 1997 - That morality will make a comeback. Take note of how many of their earlier predictions have come true. Don't be surprised if many of their 1997 predictions will also happen.

How to survive and thrive during the collapse of the welfare state [by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg] Because information technology transcends the tyranny of place, it will automatically expose jurisdictions everywhere to 'de facto' global competition on the basis of quality and price. In other words, governments exercising local territorial monopolies, like most other entities, finally will be subject to real market competition on the basis of how well they serve their customers. This will soon make it unavoidably obvious that the old logic that favored high-cost regimes in the industrial era has reversed. Leading nations, with their predatory, redistributive tax regimes and heavy-handed regulations, will no longer be jurisdictions of choice. Seen dispassionately, they offer poor-quality protection and diminished economic opportunity at monopoly prices. In the years to come, they may prove to be more socially unreceptive and violent than regions of Asia and Latin America where incomes have traditionally been more unequal. The leading welfare states will lose their most talented citizens through desertion.