Yukon Jack

While I - reluctantly - admit that there may still be a place for unions representing workers in thre PRIVATE sector, there is absolutely no reason or viable cause for unions in the PUBLIC sector. The article and the comments following it are worth viewing by all on either side of this debate: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/end_public_sector_unionsperiod.html

Your post proves that you are envious about my residence. And everything else I have that I earned without Union assistance. And just for the record, my parents ARE proud of me. They always taught me the worth of SELF-RELIANCE, something incompetent union lackeys can't ever know. BTW, if your parents had been responsible, they would have chosen the unionist/liberal/Democratic/Communist view, and they would have aborted you.

just take look at the mugs of the top dogs (no offense meant to our canine friends) of all the major unions, and tell me just one who does not scare the bejeesus out of any decent person. Richard Trumka and Leo Girard are scary enough to frighthen more than just kids. A thug is a thug. And a picture is worth a thousand words.

Since are there laws, federal, state/provincial, local, etc., to protect the working class, (admittedly a result of previous union activity) unions today are totally OBSOLETE. Unions have demanded themselves out of job. They are directly responsible for the exportation of jobs to China and India. They are also responsible for NON-UNION, American/Canadian built Toyotas, Nissans, Mercedes's, Volkswagens and Hondas. When I was young and impressionable I kept on buying GM, Ford and Chrysler products which inevitably crapped at maximum 150,000 KMs. My Present Toyota Sienna at 355,000 KMs still purrs and likely to go for a million. For that - being fair-minded - I thank the unions. Or lack thereof.

pinko, you either have not read my post #45 or you choose to ignore it. Then I struggled as an immigrant when I got that job I describe there, I was still in a process of what you probably have no idea about: learning a new language in order to survive. I had no relatives at the Company. I had no friends or anyone to speak for me. I simply wanted to do what my parents always taught me do and be the best you can. Once I was out of the slaves chains put on me and every poor sucker by the union and left the reservation, I applied for a course for computer programming, which the company provided free of charge for everyone interested. The rest, as they say is history, absolutely WITHOUT any help or even more correctly, in spite of the union. I spent almost 30 years as a successful computer programmer, and if I could do it, with little knowledge of the mother tongue of most union members, completely on my own merit, go ahead and call me a scab, a company slave, put the imprint of a Louisville Slugger on my forehead, I don't care. You and any and all of your ilk only will indict yourselves. Yes, I DO HAVE a personal dislike for unions. But I never called them anything like I've been called by you and your ilk. And I never threatened them with physical harm as you and your ilk threatened me. Think about it, and I will accept your apology.

pinko, your quoting my post without a reply confirms that you finally developed a brain and agree with me. THANK YOU!!!

There is a basic difference between those of us who believe in individual effort, diligence, right to work and support our families, and achieve success on our own merit and those who, due to whatever reason have to rely on someone else to get for them what they obviously unable or unwilling to EARN is that WE don't resort to name-calling, we don't rely on violence - actual or implied or threatened - and we look at the union boasters the same way as one would look at a buggy whip. There was a time when a buggy whip helped one move, by cracking it over the horses in front of one's buggy. What unions are doing today is nothing more than cracking a buggy whip over a union-built car that doesn't start. (Union built? Doesn't start? No surprise here!) Perfect definition of OBSOLETE.

"And Pomerania no longer exists!!!!" Just watched the Westminster Dog Show. I saw a Pomeranian who probably had a higher IQ than the originator of the quote above.

pinko, is having your tires slashed an attitude adjustment? Is having your car damaged an attitude adjustment? Is calling you at all hours of the night with threatening call, heavy breathing or just plain silence an attitude adjustment? Yeah, I know what you mean! You probably decry the fact that I was not actually, bodily harmed by your union "brothers". And it probably doubly pisses you off that my slashed tires were replaced free of charge by my employer and so was the body repair on my car, inflicted by your ever-loving union "brothers". And here is a bonus for you: I always enjoyed being a "SCAB" and would still be and do it, alas, my age and deteriorating physical condition prevents me to do so.

Yours is THE simplistic twaddle. If you were such an excellent employee, why did you work at "any number of places"? Unable hold unto a job? Were you "screwed over" when you did not deserve to be screwed over? Did you always work at your "top rate" or did you slow down after a few years (or perhaps months or weeks)? Did you ever give your employer cause that you consider yourself nothing but an 'obedient little robot' and rebelled against it? My 37 years of service at the same company proves that respect earns respect without unions.

Scotty, Scotty you naive little boy (girl?) The very election and presence of Ronald Reagan scared the Iranian thugs out of their skirts. There has been none such since 1988. Hence the Taliban, AlQaida, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, Ahmedinejad and of course, 9/11/. A United States President should have enough presence to scare potential agressors. It is safe to say that Obama only scared the Hell out of ant hill on the White House lawn. To the rest of them he apologized.

Workers who show respect get respect. And of course, workers who get respect, show respect. Which, by definition, rules out unions.

Obviously you are unfamiliar with the meaning of the word: "MERIT". If you were not, you would know that those who deserve what they earn, deserve what they earn. And those who don't, only GET, not earn what they get, thanks(?) to free-loader-supporting unions.

The REAL low life is the thug who demands dues from those who are unwilling to pay it. The REAL low life is the thug who then uses that extorted money to support the sworn enemy of the unwilling donor. The REAL low life is the thug who is ready to force an innocent hard worker to walk on a picket line in support of a strike which will not in a hundred years make up for the lost wages during that strike. The REAL low life is the thug who would deny the right for anyone to work and earn a living. The REAL low life is the thug who demands that a slug gets the same pay as a diligent hard worker. The REAL low life is the thug who thinks that everyone is equal, but some (i.e. unionists) are more equal than others. The REAL low life is the thug who is convinced that the union is always right. The REAL low life is the thug who calls any honourable person despicable names, but refuses to look in the mirror and see what he/she sees.

My own experience with unions is short but rather conclusive. I was hired at a major manufacturer as a labourer. I was on a four-month probationary period during which I was not supposed to be sick, complain about the itch the compounds I worked with caused, the noise, the dirt and the smell of the working place. I was one three-men crew. There was one operator and two alternating between "heavy end" and "light end", the heavy end being the person who brought the skids of raw rubber to the mixing machine and the light end being the person who weighed all the ingredients added to the raw rubber in the mixing macine. We were all on piece work as a crew, and the more we mixed, the more pay we made. Now, the raw rubber skids were piled there with power trucks, while the heavy end person was supposed to use a manually operated truck to bring the skid to the mixer. One day, when I was on the heavy end I had trouble to extricate the required skid of rubber and yelled over to my crew-mates to come and give me a hand to get the skid free. They answered: "F--k you it's not my job". So the mixer ran idle and the crew made no money while I sweat bullets to free the skid of rubber from the mess, so I could bring it to the mixer. That day I made up my mind that unions are not for me. As soon as my four month probationary period ended I applied for a managerial training program, to which - gratefully - I was accepted and I was - even more gratefully - able to say goodbye to the Union. In the following years I gladly and happily worked through strikes, work slow-downs and took pride walking/driving through picket lines and wore the shouts of "SCAB" as a badge of honour. I retired after 37 years of service, and after earning my company's World Wide Spirit Award. All without the help of union. Those of us with courage and guts and even more importantly those of us who realize our own strengths and weaknesses and happy with what we achieve ourselves don't need thugs to speak for us.

Unionists call each other "brothers". Probably because they have no idea who their fathers are.

Seems that the unionists are not respectful of the majority. It is to be hoped that all the bleeding heart whiners who were too sick to report to work, but loud enough to spew vulgar obscenities on picket lines, carrying Hitler-moustached images of Scott Walker will be docked the appropriate days of pay. Along with the State Senators who chose to refuse to do their duty as elected representatives of the people of Wisconsin. Fire the unionists now and the duty-shirking Senators at the next election. Unions became obsolete about the same time as the buggy whip.

Thank you!

Provide link, to prove your contention, please!

Kind of like the 6-10% minority of gays getting in the way of the majority regarding just about every existing social value? Or for that matter the 12-18% of all workers who are unionized?

To have meaningful discussion mutual respect is required. Respect for unionists is strictly a one-way street. They say: Respect me or I break your leg. Or slash your tires. Or picket your private residence. Or harass your family. Or: If you don't give me ten times my worth, I'll do all of the above.

And like all those who voted Scott Walker in and Russ Feingold out.

And I hear that 14 Wisconsin State Democratic Senators (perhaps in a sudden attack of decency) decided that fleeing the state was easier than voting honestly.

Firing the greedy air traffic controllers did not hurt Reagan's chances for re-election. Scott Walker should do the same. After all, how can a parent trust his/her child in the care of a liar, who calls in sick, but walk the picket line and yells inane slogans? Teaching is not a "JOB". It is a calling, a devotion, a dedication to the future of children and the country. If a 'teacher' can not make it on merit, if he/she needs a union thug bargaining on his/her behalf, he/she should not be a teacher. Furthermore, there should be no tenure for teachers on any level of education. Unless the country wants a generation of appropriately named Generation-X who sign their name with the twenty-forth letter of the alphabet because the so-called teachers failed to teach them anything else.

One of the first things that Ronald Reagan did after being elected President was busting the air traffic controllers' union. After bringing home the 52 hostages held for 444 days, due to Jimmy Carter's incredibly incompetency. Congratulations, Governor Scott Walker! You are a real American hero!