If you thought John Kerry is a liberal

[yellowwing]

The Prime Minister of Canada is Paul Martin, leader of the Liberal Party.
http://www.ywg-web.com/images/liberal.gif

Also there is a big politcal flap about an expansion project of the flood control system around Winnipeg:

Winnipeg Sun - April 1, 2004 (http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2004/04/01/403837.html)
...The NDP government is working on a project labour agreement that would require, among other things, that floodway workers be union members or pay union dues...

I agree and support Unions, but to force someone into unionization is a bit too much!

[namgrunt]

You find the same things here, south of the border too, yellowwing. "Right to Work" states are becoming fewer and fewer. It forces a worker to join an organization which demands dues. It installs another heirarchy of hoops to jump through to achieve satisfaction. It also presumes to speak for the entire "membership" in political matters. And God help you if you rock the boat, or your steward takes a personal disliking to you. You end up screwed on both sides.

Unions are good to a point, but anathema beyond that same point. I've still not belonged to a union which inspired selfless contribution. In other words, they ain't the Corps.

[ivalis]

namgrunt, would like to see some stats on "right to work states".

I think there's getting to be more & more of em, less & less of the workforce is unionized.

[greensideout]

"Force someone into unionization".

Hum, higher wages, better and safer working conditions---it don't sound bad if you bust your butt to earn a living!

[ivalis]

better watch yourself GSO, you'll get thrown out of the Hitler Youth for talk like that. LOL

[greensideout]

LOL---I can be right on both sides of the fence once in a while.

Did I have you agreeing with me?
That could get you kicked out of "left" field!---LOL

BTW, I don't like the Hitler referance---I know it was a joke, that's ok---but no more friend.

Remember, if you go far enough left you'll end up on the right where you belong. :)

[ivalis]

Just a reference to how despots tend to be such friends of labor.

[jdfairman]

Better working conditions and wages? I don't know folks. Since I grew up in a right-to-work state, I never had to be a member of one to find good work. However, I've talked to many people who moved down here from up north where they did require union membership, and very few of them had good things to say about unions. Almost everyone of them had a story about a worker who was of no account whatsoever to his company or his coworkers but still got to keep his job just because (1) He/She had seniority and (2) The union be a thorn in the side of the management that let him go. These people went on to say that they were required to pay the dues out of their paycheck and support the union, but it never supported them. I guess it was because they didn't have enough seniority. Well, from what I could gather, for the average worker being in a union is more of a liability than an asset. Seniority doesn't necassarily make you a better worker. Hell, you can see that principle in the Marine Corps on a daily basis. It would seem that unions are nothing more than a way for the lazy to have job security.

[CPLRapoza]

I'm pretty sure Kerry used the same policy, in Massachusetts for the "BIG DIG". But I like it was that, only Union members would get contracts. If you were not part of the union, there was no way you would be getting a piece of that lot.

[btrogu]

I'm in the union with the Board of Education. The one thing I hate is it dosen't matter how good you are. The lazy guy next to will get the same raise for doing less. Wish they could do something for job performance.

[namgrunt]

I can't imagine a unionized Marine Corps. It would be the end of our initiative and will to overcome all odds. Like police calling in sick with "Blue Flu", if you remember past strikes of law enforcement. It wouldn't be the Corps anymore.

You can't have "wildcat strikes" in the middle of an invasion beachhead landing. Nor can stewards affect how the enemy fights, unless the enemy is part of the same union. Man, it gets weirder all the time if we go that route.

Think of what happened when the Air Traffic Controllers called a strike during the Reagan administration. The President promptly fired all strikers, and used military controllers as fill-ins until new personnel were trained. The only time government and unions are copasthetic is when elections are in the works, and/or when constituent pork is added to federal bills.

[kentmitchell]

Mediocrity is as high as it goes in a union. They suck the creativity and life out of workers more than they help them.
Once upon a time they were a force for good. Now, they're there as life support systems for a few highly paid leaders who have to keep stirring things up to look like they're doing something. Anything.