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unions only represent 9.6% of the workforce <broken link removed> it's laughable to credit them with our working conditions. we have enough work place protection from the local and federal labor laws we don't need to pay protection money to the mob to keep our workplace safe. paychecks are subject to supply and demand just like every thing else.
I don't think we have to bust unions at all. but make WA a right to work state.
 
This just proves the tea party is a violent movement. Oh, wait, the union bosses are in bed with the democrats. Never mind. Did you see how the tea party is taking over the transit system in Nancy Pelosi's district? What, more anti-capitalist liberals? How could that be?

Just pass the jobs bill right away and everything will be fine. :s0155:
 
unions only represent 9.6% of the workforce <broken link removed> it's laughable to credit them with our working conditions. we have enough work place protection from the local and federal labor laws we don't need to pay protection money to the mob to keep our workplace safe. paychecks are subject to supply and demand just like every thing else.
I don't think we have to bust unions at all. but make WA a right to work state.

First,this is between the Operating Engineers and the Longshoremen unions.Companies have agreements with unions for certain jobs and when another union is doing that job,then there is problems.
Has nothing to do with the "union" just thinking they have the right to work there.They unions are already there,the longshoremen think it's the wrong union

But I can't complain too much about unions as I have 30 years in and a very nice retirement going right now...at 53

As for the "right to work state" ? Do you even know what you are saying?

If you really want that,start saving money now,because your pay check will be cut in half.I,or any other shmuck can come and under bid you for your job,and there is nothing you can do about it.

And unions did ,in fact,make working conditions better for most of America in the beginning.

Yes they do have their faults.Maybe they do need some revision
And I have seen them loose a lot of power over the years.But not all unions have driven jobs over seas.

But,lets look at it this way.
You are a pipe layer,working in a 20' deep ditch.It's kind of sloped,a little.You have a small box to work in,but you know it's illegal.
What do you do? Well you call L&I.And they come out at their convenience.
You tell the boss you won't work in there any more
You get fired and wait a year for your hearing and maybe never get your money

So you are a union Laborer in the same predicament.
You call the hall,they send out a rep,they tell the employer he needs to pay you and give your job back or they fine him.

And union employers generally pay on time.With good checks

But that's just my 30+ years of construction.What do I know?
 
My wife hates unions, she works at a grain elevator in Kalama so naturally they're watching the Longview union stuff really close.

When I went to work for the WA State DOT in 1968 we had no coffee breaks, had to drive our own cars to the job site and they moved depending on what was going on, got no pay for the travel to the site, got no lunch breaks unless we ate at our desks.

After we unionized we got coffee breaks, transportation, travel time paid, true lunch breaks etc. So the unions did us good. Now all that is just accepted as part of the job.
 
Social Unrest? Nah, this is perpetuating an extortion racket. Making an example of the guy who dared refuse "protection." Letting others see what happens when you don't take friendly advice and employ those who have traditionally worked those jobs. Like any "family" organization, they can not afford non-conformance in the neighborhood. Independence encourages insolence in others, and folks stop paying for their insurance, or hire another company. Like any other concentration of power, unions attract those who would control and exploit it. Unions just attract folks who are a bit more mechanical in their application of force, than those people who exploit Wall Street or politics.
 
Just a minor correction in the story.

<broken link removed>

Ah, but here is the money quote
"The guards absolutely could not get out," Duscha said. "They feared for their lives because of the size of the crowd and the hostility of the crowd."
The Chief can walk back his initial (and correct) assessment of the situation for political considerations if he wants. The facts are clear.

Want to lay odds on how many of the thugs will be charged for their crimes?
 
"There have been numerous incidents provoked by EGT's union-vs.-union arrangement. Most recently, a contractor drove right through the ILWU picket line on Aug. 29 and struck two ILWU members who, fortunately, were not seriously injured. Although the contractor was not cited or arrested for the vehicular assault, an angry ILWU picketer was arrested for allegedly damaging the next vehicle that attempted to cross the picket line, a charge based on video surveillance provided by an EGT security guard."

So, and I may be wrong here but, reading through the rhetoric, I got this:

EGT hired a different union because it didn't like the issues with the local union. the Portland based union worker drives to work. He gets stopped by the ILWU union. Now I'm sure they had a very pleasant and peaceful chat that was probably something like a bunch of guys pounding on his truck telling him to get the **** off their job site. So he floored the gas because he was scared they were going to pull him out and beat him. Then the next guy's truck got hit by a baseball bat or sign. The union workers aren't going to give the guy up, so they arrested the dude off ID from the surveillance system that, according to this article's suggestive reasoning, was probably doctored and video edited by the High School grad who works the camera system.

"Some 400 ILWU members stood on the railroad tracks to block a train from delivering grain to the terminal for about four hours, but the train passed through after protesters were confronted by 50 police officers in riot gear. ILWU President Robert McEllrath, who attended the protest, was detained by police, escalating tensions between protesters and officers. In the confrontation that ensued, police beat protesters away with clubs and pepper spray."

About a week and a half they attempt to block a train, in the process violating a court order. The first cop pulls up and tells them to move when he gets told he will get beaten with baseball bats and axe heads if he wants to try and make them. He calls for backup. After several hours of trying to even have enough officers to face the crowd, they try to use a show of force, which isn't enough and with a scuffle they use non-lethal force techniques.

"Early this morning, hundreds of ILWU members and their supporters reportedly stormed the EGT terminal at the Port of Longview, broke down the gates, overpowered security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain, according to Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha. Initial reports indicated no one was hurt and nobody has been arrested. After a few hours, the protesters returned to their union hall."

So the NEXT day they decide to raid the port facility. They take 6 guards hostage, including dragging one man out of his car when he tried to leave. And they sit for hours until the police threaten to use any means necessary to end the situation. Of course no one is willing to say who actually decided it was right to hold the guard members hostage. Obviously the guards aren't unionized. So therefore it's cool to be a terrorist, as long as it's to people who aren't in your union.

Do I see a point for unions, totally. THIS union however is taking things too far. No where in the constitution does it give you the right to threaten others in to making them do what you want through acts of violence. In fact, that's the definition of terrorism.
 
I worked alongside Operators 701 out of Gladstone for a year on a 22 story project on Portlands South Waterfront, good guys, no injuries on the site. I don't know much about ILWU 21 in Longview but based on their thuggery it's possible that the port had good reason for not employing them. I might have had sympathy with the local Local especially IF they had a written agreement for the work but not anymore.

There's a place for unions, for instance an ordinarily non-union construction worker who finds himself middle-aged with no medical or retirement, ahem. One of the problems with them is that they hate competition, tough.
 
Yes RVTECH we all have those problems.
But to rightfully answer the OP's question,I would say YES.

Everyone knows that as more are out of work,they buy less,less is shipped and less people are needed to unload the ships

Kind of a "trickle up- trickle down" effect. We don't buy as much,the business leaders don't ship as much and the workers don't work as much.

Everyone will be fighting harder for their piece of the pie.Everyone claiming it's their work.(again, a strength of the union.an individual can only claim his portion,where a union can try to claim the whole pie)

So,yes,this may be the start of civil unrest.
 
What I find funny about the Longview thing is that it is one union complaining that another union got a contract and not them.. What is a poor employer to do? Play "Union Roulette" to figure out which one is the "right" union?

Union crap is just like regular crap, it stinks.
 
Unions should be a thing of the past. When they first came to be, they were a good thing. NOW, they drive work out of the country, and just generally try to bully the employers. Its ridiculous in this day and age that unions are still around. All the things that unions got Americans, are now State and Federal mandates. Breaks, 40 hr work weeks etc etc etc. Thank you unions, now get off your high horse and be damn glad you have a job.

As much as I would like to agree with this, the simple fact is is that people never change. Neither Union (and non-Union) workers who sometimes resort to violence, nor the people that sit in the office and look at workers as units of production. As i see it, a too-strong union results in thuggery like this and damage to business, while an unempowered work force results in slave labor like China and India. We need both and neither can be too strong when compared to the other.

There are plenty of overworked, underpaid workers in the US who by law do not have to receive overtime pay or scheduled lunch breaks, and I'm not talking uneducated illegal laborers out in the fields. These folks sit in every data center, every cubicle, and every office in America...they are called 'exempt' and many work 60+ hours per week for 40 hours of pay. In reality, there is nothing to prevent companies from hiring everyone as 'salary' and all overtime and break mandates would go out the window. On my last project, I saw a Japanese company, operating under US labor law and employing people on US soil, work green-carded computer programmers from India and Pakistan 60+ hours per week for no extra compensation. These people were actually supposed to get overtime, but most didn't because they were subtly threatened with deportation if they refused to comply with the extra work, so they kept quiet.

Keith.
 
ILWU Local 21 run in with local media

NWS -language warning

Longshore Union Member Attacks Media - Mirror - YouTube
Can any of the union apologists here explain this?

Ha ha what a bubblegum(I actually typed in bubblegum this time). So that's ILWU 21 huh? Not only does he act like a thug he declines the opportunity to present his side to the media. To heck with public opinion. Almost like he believes that the national media won't report it like they would if he were a Tea Party member. Why, he's so bold you might think that he believes that people in very high political offices have his back.
 
As much as I would like to agree with this, the simple fact is is that people never change. Neither Union (and non-Union) workers who sometimes resort to violence, nor the people that sit in the office and look at workers as units of production. As i see it, a too-strong union results in thuggery like this and damage to business, while an unempowered work force results in slave labor like China and India. We need both and neither can be too strong when compared to the other.

There are plenty of overworked, underpaid workers in the US who by law do not have to receive overtime pay or scheduled lunch breaks, and I'm not talking uneducated illegal laborers out in the fields. These folks sit in every data center, every cubicle, and every office in America...they are called 'exempt' and many work 60+ hours per week for 40 hours of pay. In reality, there is nothing to prevent companies from hiring everyone as 'salary' and all overtime and break mandates would go out the window. On my last project, I saw a Japanese company, operating under US labor law and employing people on US soil, work green-carded computer programmers from India and Pakistan 60+ hours per week for no extra compensation. These people were actually supposed to get overtime, but most didn't because they were subtly threatened with deportation if they refused to comply with the extra work, so they kept quiet.

Keith.


Yet I remember that Bush was trying to make changes and had a proposal that salaried people would have to be paid at least straight time for any hours over 40 and the democrats squashed it. Granted, I believe the proposal also said that you do not have to pay time and a half for overtime, so that would have been a drawback for those who are currently getting it. However, I don't think that the government should be setting overtime pay rates.
 

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