Census Bureau: All rich US counties in VA

[Al B. Sure!]

HC, I will say this though that corporate America is ****ed up. Every job I have had has had (that's a weird sentence fragment) borderline criminal or downright criminal activities perpetuated by management; everything from refusing to pay employees for time worked and editing of time clocks to complete disregard for department of health orders to cease operations to intimidating injured workers to avoid workman's comp claims. I've been personally involved in most of these activities and specifically directed by my superiors to engage in this behavior.

Also, managers themselves tend to be criminally self-serving. I've even seen a general manager and a human resources manager (of a ~500 employee, ~$50 million in annual sales operation) at two different companies use the information of terminated employees to embezzle the company of significant amounts of money (having a dozen employees being paid for 40 hour weeks and having that money direct deposited into your accounts can add up over the several months and possibly even years).

However, I've seen unions do similarly terrible stuff and union leadership be under suspicion of embezzling union funds.

[a.kitman]

HC doesn't understand that unions exist to help protect the rights of the working class.

In the unlikely event that he ever actually gets a real job, that might change, but don't hold your breath.

your irrelevant personal attacks dont further the debate. unions is clearly not only a right but a necessity of a democratic and capitalist society.

[Elok]

"Pinup" does a little better, but not much; I couldn't find anything that was clearly a "free-market pinup."

[Al B. Sure!]

Ehh... not really funny.

[Riesstiu IV]

your irrelevant personal attacks dont further the debate.

Are you new? That is pretty standard around here.

[Hauldren Collider]

Horse****. You would have had a higher wage, better benifits and some protection when some douchemoron management wanker decided to cut costs.

Nonsense, if they had to pay employees more, they very likely wouldn't have the money to hire additional people, such as myself.

It isn't a "free market" when one side holds all of the bargaining chips.

Sure it is. The exchange doesn't need to be evenly matched for it to be a free exchange.

[Hauldren Collider]

I bet Thoth believes we should starve people in third world countries rather than "exploit" them.

[Elok]

I bet Thoth believes we should starve people in third world countries rather than "exploit" them.

Yeah, exclude that middle! Give it the pimp hand, show it who its daddy is!

[Riesstiu IV]

I bet Thoth believes we should starve people in third world countries rather than "exploit" them.

This is rich, coming from the guy who wants to starve and blockade the "goat-****ers" in Gaza strip. Where is your love for the free market?

[Al B. Sure!]

Yeah, exclude that middle! Give it the pimp hand, show it who its daddy is!

Okay here we go for HC and any other pimp slapping extremists...

A union is a banding together of employees to increase their bargaining power. When entering into a union, an employee agrees to defer to a collective bargaining agreement with the presumption that he will be able to fetch greater compensation through association with other employees than by himself (this presumption may favor below average workers). Assuming that union membership is voluntary and that laws do not prohibit non-union employees in the specific industry, there is nothing un-capitalistic about unions (consider, a corporation is a 'banding together' of share-holders).

Like any other organization, unions have been prone to corruption. However, that doesn't mean unions themselves are institutions with a negative effect on the economy nor that they are inherently anti-capitalist.

[Hauldren Collider]

Alby, employees banding together to increase their bargaining power is the same principal as companies banding together to increase their bargaining power. This is called a monopoly. But everyone knows that Corporations Are Evil , so of course we only care about it when companies do it, right?

[Al B. Sure!]

With that said, it is often said that in Philadelphia, you can not lift a hammer without being a dues-paying member of the Carpenters union. The University of the Arts is currently having a huge spat with the carpenters' union about the use of non-union labor.

[giblets]

Way to go HC, standing up for the man

[Hauldren Collider]

With that said, it is often said that in Philadelphia, you can not lift a hammer without being a dues-paying member of the Carpenters union. The University of the Arts is currently having a huge spat with the carpenters' union about the use of non-union labor.

Yikes! At least I know that can't happen in Virginia!

[Al B. Sure!]

Alby, employees banding together to increase their bargaining power is the same principal as companies banding together to increase their bargaining power. This is called a monopoly. But everyone knows that Corporations Are Evil , so of course we only care about it when companies do it, right?

No, HC. I never said COMPANIES banding together. I said share-holders.

And like I said, assuming that union membership is voluntary and laws do not prohibit non-union employment, why is some workers banding together problematic? If they truly are demanding compensation that is beyond the market wage, let them price themselves out of work! There will always be people willing to work for less than what the unions demand.