Arbitrator imposes contract at Canadian Wal-Mart

[rmsharpe]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


Lot of reasons. The biggest being:

Government protections have been eroding. Reagan himself broke the Patco strike. Management violations of labor laws are seldom prosecuted. Pro-Big-Business Republicans have been in control of the White House for most of the period from '80 to now and control of the Congress since 92 until 2004.

Outsourcing. The union's strength used to be in manfacturing. But most of our manufacturing base has been shipped off the China. Canada now manufactures more cars than Detroit does. As was pointed out above, organizing non-skilled workers in much harder than organizing skilled workers.

Workers have become apathtic. Unless layoffs or paycuts are imminent, it's very hard to even get workers to show up at meetings.

And then, because corporations have such a resevoir of cash assets, they can withstand a long strike, whereas the workers lose their savings, cars and homes.

Sounds like most workers don't find it in their interest to have their work collectively judged alongside those that consistently underperform but are protected by the union...

[CrONoS]

One of the main reason is the transformation of the economy during the XXth century; from an manufacturing based economy to an knowledge/service economy. It's a lot more difficult to unionize these new "kind of workers".

And this for various reason, which doesn't have anything to do with the reasons that "unions are bad or/and management are evil".

[rmsharpe]

If it's because manufacturing work is declining, why have public unions increased in size so much since the 40s?

[SlowwHand]

Oh, it's declining.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by rmsharpe
If it's because manufacturing work is declining, why have public unions increased in size so much since the 40s?

(a) because it's now legal for us to unionize.
(b) because management is so bad, they drive their workers into the arms of the union.

[SlowwHand]

I'm over Production Planning and Control.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Lancer


Very true.

Keep yer cottin' pickin' hands off!

For every US passport issued to an Albertan, we'll feed 10 Texans to the bears!

:grrrr:

[Lancer]

Hmm, Texas is about outa oil, hmm. Ok, I'll take it.

-Sorry sloww.

[SlowwHand]

What bastards.

[Lancer]

[Ben Kenobi]

What about BCers?

Do they count too?

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Lancer
Hmm, Texas is about outa oil, hmm.

Wrong!! With the price of petroleum climbing, abandoned oil fields are being brought back online because they can now be worked profitably. East Texas is having a economic miniboom.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
What about BCers?

Do they count too?

If they take off their shoes, they can count up to twenty.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Lancer
Hmm, Texas is about outa oil, hmm. Ok, I'll take it.

-Sorry sloww.

We may not be too discriminating. All them Yankee accents start to sound alike after a while.

Perhaps if you can't say a convincing aboot, or you don't end every 2 out of 3 sentences with 'eh?', it may be off to the bears with you... unless you sound like a reasonable facsimile of David Niven.

[Verto]

Am I the only one who read arbitrator as Arbiter?