Dockworkers Strike

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I hate greedy people. And hate is a strong word. But i hope a lot of those people face hard times ahead.

Fascinating stuff.

 

[mrmcgrail]

McDonald's sales fell this year for this first time in 3 years but that was due to them raising prices incredibly high. They kept pushing and pushing the limit and people finally said why would I spend 15 dollars on a big mac meal you can go to a restaurant and get that. There have been a million studies that show the price adjustments for the raise in cost of labor and it is minimal

 

[mrmcgrail]

But I'm also a union guy so I'm sure there are many here that don't view things the same as I do

 

[Irish#1]

As with all of these negotiations, there's a middle ground and both parties already know that. It's just a matter of each tweaking their expectations until both come to that middle ground. It will be interesting to see how much automation is included in the new contract.

 

[Terry Jillery]

Ask yourself a simple question: who do you trust with the economy more over the next 4 years.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

Ask yourself a simple question: who do you trust with the economy more over the next 4 years.

Whoever is running Tennessee's NIL

 

[GowerND11]

Ask yourself a simple question: who do you trust with the economy more over the next 4 years.

I trust an economy where union workers getting a proper slice of the pie while corporations rake in record profits year in and year out.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I thought it was who would you rather have a beer with.

It is my understanding that one of the candidates doesn't drink alcohol and the VP on that ticket looks like a wine cooler type of guy.

Sent my mail in ballot Monday.

 

[Free Manera]

Just finished season two of The Wire so you can consider me the resident expert in longshoremen related activities. AMA.

The docks season was my least favorite. And it is still like a top 10 season of any show ever. The Wire was so good.

 

[Black Irish]

I think unions are largely a corrosive influence. They had a place once upon a time but now they are just largely a protection racket. So many of them operate with this toxic combination of half-assed Marxist economic ideology combined with Mafia intimidation tactics. It's laughable to be expected to knee-jerk side with striking workers because they are "the working man." That doesn't mean they are automatically noble and right. Working class people can be just as selfish and greedy as the corner office class. But the blue-collar hero mystique is as strong in this country as the "corporations are bad" rhetoric so we get this mindless "side with the little guy!" take. Let's see how noble you think these people are when the shelves in the stores start going bare.

 

[GowerND11]

I think unions are largely a corrosive influence. They had a place once upon a time but now they are just largely a protection racket. So many of them operate with this toxic combination of half-assed Marxist economic ideology combined with Mafia intimidation tactics. It's laughable to be expected to knee-jerk side with striking workers because they are "the working man." That doesn't mean they are automatically noble and right. Working class people can be just as selfish and greedy as the corner office class. But the blue-collar hero mystique is as strong in this country as the "corporations are bad" rhetoric so we get this mindless "side with the little guy!" take. Let's see how noble you think these people are when the shelves in the stores start going bare.

Yeah.... I'm still with them. Cool story though.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

Yeah.... I'm still with them. Cool story though.

Youre the problem!

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Just wondering how many of you with opinions work a labor dependent job like the dockworkers?

I did in the past while I was in high school and working myself through college. My first “real” job was at a grocery store and I had to join the retail clerks union in order to work there. Then I worked at a mill up in NW Indiana where I had to join the steelworkers union. They went on strike as I was about half way through my allotted assignment which was a setback for me with college. My other labor dependent jobs were not affiliated with a union. After college I only worked labor jobs as a second income stream but after 5 years I was able to move into a single full time job.

 

[Irish2155]

Double edge sword in my business. I don’t like unions as they tend to treat contractors like shit. On the other hand, labor contractors usually want to be in the union, so it helps with attracting talent.

 

[Irish2155]

I did in the past while I was in high school and working myself through college. My first “real” job was at a grocery store and I had to join the retail clerks union in order to work there. Then I worked at a mill up in NW Indiana where I had to join the steelworkers union. They went on strike as I was about half way through my allotted assignment which was a setback for me with college. My other labor dependent jobs were not affiliated with a union. After college I only worked labor jobs as a second income stream but after 5 years I was able to move into a single full time job.

As an fyi - you may have to join the union as part of a job buts illegal for them to force any member to pay their union dues, and they still must provide the same union benefits as those who do pay their dues.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

As an fyi - you may have to join the union as part of a job buts illegal for them to force any member to pay their union dues, and they still must provide the same union benefits as those who do pay their dues.

That may be true but I can say that I didn’t receive any benefits from the two unions I was told I had to join……this was in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and I didn’t have a clue 🤣. I was just glad to be able to get steady paychecks when job options were pretty slim in the region.

 

[RDU Irish]

This is pretty much like saying I refuse to use a computer at work, now pay me more to do less. WTF moronic stance is it to insist on the most inefficient methods to protect your jobs? Buggy whip energy that isn't going to get much public support when you make more than most doctors running the least efficient ports in the world.

 

[SDIrishFan]

Why is it always the bottom of the totem pole (hourly employees) that has to take the brunt/blame of "rising costs"? Why should they work a little harder for a little less. Like the minimum wage argument for McDonalds.

How about we look at the thousands of corporate execs that are making well into the 6 and seven figure salaries and decide if those salaries are too much and contributing to the shrinking bottom line? McDonald's CEO alone makes almost $20million a year. But no one wants to have that convo.

How about the corporate stock buybacks and prioritizing stockholder gains over all else?

 

[RDU Irish]

Why is it always the bottom of the totem pole (hourly employees) that has to take the brunt of "rising costs"? Why should they work a little harder for a little less. Like the minimum wage argument for McDonalds.

How about we look at the thousands of corporate execs that are making well into the 6 and seven figure salaries and decide if those salaries are too much and contributing to the shrinking bottom line. McDonald's CEO alone makes almost $20million a year. But no one wants to have that convo.

How about the corporate stock buybacks and prioritizing stockholder gains over all else?

They are fighting the tools of efficiency. A lumberjack insisting on hand saws is a fucking moron who will be out of work.

 

[SDIrishFan]

They are fighting the tools of efficiency. A lumberjack insisting on hand saws is a fucking moron who will be out of work.

Completely get that. I don't understand that part of it at all. I work in marketing and there are many of the same sentiments towards AI. It's going to replace some jobs, sure. But, learn how to use it and it might be the greatest advancement in our field since the internet.

My point was broader, really. Everyone wants to focus on minimum wage and hourly employees and that if we pay them more, costs will go up. To me, it's the opposite problem with most big corporations. You have a handful of individuals making the same amount as thousands of hourly employees.

 

[Irish2155]

From an employer perspective I think one of the most frustrating things with union workers is not paying them more, but rather it’s damn near impossible to fire someone for underperforming. A smart negotiator will stay away from auto-increases every year and negotiate a pay for performance plan.

 

[RDU Irish]

Learn to code guy on the beach should be able to get this sorted out quickly. Might want to get your Christmas shopping done early this year.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

From an employer perspective I think one of the most frustrating things with union workers is not paying them more, but rather it’s damn near impossible to fire someone for underperforming. A smart negotiator will stay away from auto-increases every year and negotiate a pay for performance plan.

Fortunately for us we never had to hire union workers but knowing how difficult it was to terminate even severely underperforming workers (due to possible legal reprisals), I have to imagine it is significantly worse with a union employee.

 

[FU BK]

From an employer perspective I think one of the most frustrating things with union workers is not paying them more, but rather it’s damn near impossible to fire someone for underperforming. A smart negotiator will stay away from auto-increases every year and negotiate a pay for performance plan.

You must not deal with construction trades. I'm a union sheetmetal worker and we shit can turds all the time.

 

[FU BK]

As an fyi - you may have to join the union as part of a job buts illegal for them to force any member to pay their union dues, and they still must provide the same union benefits as those who do pay their dues.

And that is what is complete bullshit about right to work. I chose to go union knowing I would have to pay 0 for insurance, have a damn good pension, and make more money than non union. I chose to pay dues to get all of that. Anyone that wants to come in and not pay dues and get the same can fuck right off.

 

[Irish2155]

And that is what is complete bullshit about right to work. I chose to go union knowing I would have to pay 0 for insurance, have a damn good pension, and make more money than non union. I chose to pay dues to get all of that. Anyone that wants to come in and not pay dues and get the same can fuck right off.

Agree 100%

 

[Irish2155]

You must not deal with construction trades. I'm a union sheetmetal worker and we shit can turds all the time.

No, I don’t work with construction trades. I have hired 1,000s of union workers for Cummins and Schneider Electric though through a contract-to-hire process. Never quite understood why the union hates our contractors so much when that is their pipeline to membership. 🤷‍♂️

In addition to the union, I also work very closely with Labor Relations and HR, so I get to hear both sides of the story.

6 one/half dozen the other for me as once the client converts to FTE, it’s theirs to deal with. And I always negotiate with the client to maintain a $1 delta from the union entry wage, so pay increases are a good thing for us as we just follow.

 

[FU BK]

Ask yourself a simple question: who do you trust with the economy more over the next 4 years.

Can we elect a blind special needs circus monkey? I'd take that over the clown show

 

[IrishLax]

I, for one, would rather my job not be replaced by a robot. I don't think that's greed.

Sure, if what they were asking for is a jobs guarantee to go with increased technology + automation, that'd be reasonable. That's not what they're asking for.

What they're asking for is like if the candle makers union tried to get electricity banned because it threatened their jobs. And worse if they somehow had a monopoly on all lighting and said "everyone has to live in the dark until we get a 80% pay raise."

Btw the union president is mob connected, makes insane money, has a yacht and drives a Bentley. This isn't fighting for hard working Americans, it is extortion.

 

[mrmcgrail]

Yeah I'm a lineman and guys who can't keep up get fired and sent back to the hall. People love talking how unions are bad guess what my package that the contractor pays for includes my insurance and my pension. You always have higher rates in the union as well because who would have thought that if all employees are banded together and the company you work for can't just run rough shot over people things would be better