Posted on 06/19/2011 2:29:43 PM PDT by Libloather
The Absurdity of Unions
Raki Shah, Atma Business
Jun. 17, 2011, 7:25 PM
I generally avoid politically-charged topics that don’t directly relate to business, but a recent Business Week article about the US Postal Service reminded me of a controversial topic that impacts all of us: organized unions. Although once essential to protect worker rights, modern day unions have become irrelevant, destructive, and a microcosm of all that’s wrong in the current debt laden climate.
The article talked about the imminent demise of the postal service system and how little can be done to stop the train wreck in large part because of the labor contracts with the union. It’s unusual for anything from Washington to done on time, but the report was released 18 months early because the situation had gotten so bad. As the walls of the post office are crumbling down, the unions have extracted more and more for themselves. They point to a “win-win” by their recent negotiation which yielded guaranteed raises for the next seven years and forbids any layoffs. Win win ?
The main reason the postal system is in shambles is precisely because it can’t right-size to current market conditions. For years, unions have negotiated to the point of an unsustainable cost structure which does not allow them to shed locations or any of its 500,000 FTEs. Meanwhile, the demand for their services continues to decline. The unions are well aware of the imminent demise and are angling for a taxpayer bailout. Given the government’s recent track record, I see this as an almost guaranteed outcome. It seems this may happen as early as 2012.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I read that in other piece that I can't find right now. Response on the website above (oh, boy...) -
Wingnut on Jun 18, 8:21 AM said:
Hi
Author, you DO see the pyramid scheme symbol on the back of the USA one dollar bill, right? You DO see the servitude infestation in capitalism, right? And do you see the "pay up or lose your wellbeing" Chicago mob-like felony extortion widespread within capitalism? Do you see the "join or starve" felony extortion done to the 18 year olds... by this ugly competer's church called capitalism? See how forcing competer's religions onto 18 year olds... kills membership in the cooperator's church (Christianity/socialism)?? Do you understand that AmWay (American Way) (New World Order) got "the exclusive" (legal tender) on the TYPE of survival coupons (money) accepted in supply depots (stores) and leverages 18 years olds into the organization via that felony activity as well? (It puts AmWay-coupon slaving requirements called price tags... on all the survival goods). Do you understand how farmyard pyramids work... from your childhood?? Remember?? Upper 1/3 are "heads in the clouds" while the kids on the bottom ALWAYS GET HURT from the weight of the world's knees in their backs? Still with me? Do you see anything illegal, immoral, or just plain sick... in any of this pyramid scheme's activities?
Us American Christian socialists are still patiently awaiting the natural fall of the pyramid-o-servitude, or the busting of the free marketeers felony... by the USA Dept of Justice. Us Christians are VERY CLOSE to issuing a cease and desist order until the servitude and inequality goes away... which means it turns into a commune. Commune is a word we LOVE when used in the word "community"... but its one the caps HATE when used in the term "commune-ism". Go fig. PROGRAMMED!!
Do a Google IMAGE SEARCH for 'pyramid of capitalist' to see a full color picture made way back in 1911, when capitalism was first discovered to be a con/sham instigated by the Free Masons/Illuminati. Folks sure bought into the thing... hook, line, and sinker just the same. The caps didn't even check if a string was attached! Now THAT'S easy fishing, eh?
Time to level the felony pyramid scheme called capitalism. Abolish economies and ownershipism worldwide, and hurry. Economies just cause rat-racing, and rat-racing causes felony pyramiding. BUST IT, America! Look to the USA military supply/survival system... (and the USA public library system) for socialism and morals done right. Equal, owner-less, money-less, bill-less, timecard-less, and concerned with growth of value-criteria OTHER THAN money-value. Quit doing monetary discrimination immediately, and make it illegal. There are MANY measurement criteria of "value"... not just dollars. Try morals, efficiency, discrimination-levels, repairability, etc etc. Economies are cancerous tumors, and to cheer for their growth... is just insane. Profiting causes inflation, so if caps LIKE inflation, and if they LIKE a terrible time in afterlife when they meet the planet's ORIGINAL OWNER before caps tried to squat it all with ownershipism, then keep it up with the felony pyramiding. I dare you. While us Christians are finally bulldozing that pyramid scheme back to level, lets make servitude and "join or starve" (get a job or die) illegal in the USA, and lets level the architecture seen in USA courtrooms, too. Right now, USA courtrooms are church simulators or "fear chambers", by special design. Sick.
Isn't that back-of-the-dollar pyramid... a Columbian freemason symbol? And WHERE is the USA gov located? District of Columbia? (Not even part of the USA!). How much more blatant can ya get? Wake up, bud. The "Fed" runs a pyramid scheme called the free marketeers. If you're using the "federal reserve note" certificates, or using no-other-living-thing-on-the-planet entitles of ownership, you're bought into a servitude/slavery con/sham... called capitalism. Pyramiding 101.
Larry "Wingnut" Wendlandt
MaStars - Mothers Against Stuff That Ain't Right
(anti-capitalism-ists)
Bessemer MI USA
The newspaper just published a Letter to the Editor which -- seriously! -- makes the claim that Lincoln was definitely a supporter of organized labor because ... (wait for it) ... he created the Union army!
This is the sort of intellect we face.
Shut it down and let the employees go immediately. Let UPS and FEDEX and E-Mail do the job. Where there is a will, there is a way. If we believe we are right, we should go ahead and JUST DO IT.
“If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool.”
“All that harms labor is treason to America.”
“The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people people of all nations and tongues and kindreds.”
[Theories say] “it is assumed that labor and education are incompatible; and any practical combination of them impossible. According to that theory, a blind horse upon a tread-mill, is a perfect illustration of what a laborer should be - all the better for being blind, that he could not tread out of place, or kick understandingly....[therefore] labor insists on universal education.”
Abraham Lincoln
I do not care where Lincoln stood on the question of organized labor.
But if you show me someone who believes they understand Lincoln's stance on labor BECAUSE Lincoln created the UNION army, then I know that this person is an idiot.
Lincoln didn’t have our unions to deal with.
Unions are a problem once they got past the old days of improving health in the work place. After that they started acting like mafia and causing industry where they were to become unstable, especially in government.
I agree.
Your suggestion of snail mail to support our troops has a USPS-level of inefficiency to it!
Talking about the USPS and unions brings to mind how much business the post office gained because of the UPS/Teamsters strike of several years back. I remember all the extra mail we had to handle and I remember people saying they were sticking with the USPS because they found our service to be better.
It needed to be said more than once! :)
“Let UPS and FEDEX and E-Mail do the job.”
Ya know? I actually can’t remember the last time I used the USPS! Oh! Wait! It was to mail in my check to the IRS. Another useless g’ment entity! End payroll tax deductions from paychecks! Make everyone write, and mail in, quarterly checks to the IRS!
I meant the idea itself—to funnel support for our troops through sending more mail!
Even Mr. Green Jeans would have smacked the Captain if he made such a dumb statement.
Sheesh!
The way to kill the Post Office is obvious. That is, to open them up to competition, by deregulating the package delivery system so that it is free to deliver “envelope mail” as well.
The only consumer protection legislation that might be kept is that all “envelope mail” must be electronically tracked, like packages are today. That would be no problem, as the other package delivery services have long done this.
Once the package delivery services are fully online, the Post Office can be reduced to just a “treaty obligation” for the handling of international mail. Perhaps 1/20th of its current size. While the package delivery services could do this as well, lots of treaties require us to have at least a nominal Post Office.
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