Happy Labor Day

[Baron Von Esslingen]

If you have the day off, thank the labor union movement for that holiday. In fact, the labor union, for all it's problems, is responsible for a number of commonly accepted practices that are now standard in today's corporate favorable work environment.

If you work an eight hour day, thank the labor union movement.

If you work a 40 hour week, thank the labor union movement.

If you ever worked a minimum wage job (instead of whatever the employer felt like paying you), thank the labor union movement.

If you got your weekends off, thank the labor union movement.

If you got overtime pay for working more than a 40 hour week, thank the labor union movement.

If you have health insurance through your employer, thank the labor union movement.

If you work for a company that still believes in providing a pension plan, thank the labor union movement.

If you can join a union at your workplace, thank the labor union movement.

If you have collective bargaining to achieve better wages for your work, thank the labor union movement.

All too much is taken for granted and the fights that labor unions went through to accomplish these goals are easily forgotten or dismissed out of hand.

[Americano]

And thank labor unions, with the help of The Reagan administration and senior management, for putting most US major manufacturing industries out of business.

[Lily]

And thank labor unions, with the help of The Reagan administration and senior management, for putting most US major manufacturing industries out of business.

Don't you think manufacturing jobs would have moved overseas with or without unions? It's the natural evolution of industrialized nations that at some point the economy moves beyond manufacturing as a means to support itself (and I might argue that workers uniting is part of the evolution). The simple fact is labor is cheaper elsewhere.

[Michael]

Don't you think manufacturing jobs would have moved overseas with or without unions? It's the natural evolution of industrialized nations that at some point the economy moves beyond manufacturing as a means to support itself (and I might argue that workers uniting is part of the evolution). The simple fact is labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Labor has always been cheaper elsewhere. What's different now?

We've always had ships & trains to move products around cheaply. So why all of a sudden, the US economy is uniquely vulnerable to 3rd world cheap labor?

Why aren't other western countries facing the same problem? Why is this such an oddly unique American problem?

(hint the answer is in the US tax code - US corporations receive favorable tax treatments when they off-shore jobs)

[Michael]

And thank labor unions, with the help of The Reagan administration and senior management, for putting most US major manufacturing industries out of business.
US tax laws did that. It was government policy (whether they admit it or not).

[wphelan]

Don't you think manufacturing jobs would have moved overseas with or without unions? It's the natural evolution of industrialized nations that at some point the economy moves beyond manufacturing as a means to support itself (and I might argue that workers uniting is part of the evolution). The simple fact is labor is cheaper elsewhere.

But why is it cheaper? To call it a natural evolution doesn't take in to account, among other things, all the things we were supposed to be celebrating yesterday.

[Michael]

But why is it cheaper?
Of course labor is cheaper in the 3rd world.

It is cheaper because it is worth so much less.

And as I noted above, 3rd world labor rates have always been cheaper than 1st world countries.

Why is this a problem NOW for the US so much more than for other nations? I rarely ever hear a word up here about the difficulty of competing with 3rd world labor. :ummm:

This is an issue I've asked about before. How come the USA, with the lowest tax rates in the western world and the lowest environmental protections and the lowest labor safety standards in the western world, can't compete in world markets when places like Germany (with some of the highest wages, highest taxes, highest labor standards and highest environmental safeguards) has been increasing their share of world trade over the last ten years (for example).

This just makes it seem like we are seeing a propaganda line here.

[andrew45611]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p198/noreene64/HappyLaborDay.gif



happy Labour Day to you too.