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Suck it some more, unions!!!

TheMontashu

Pourly Tatteued Jeu
Mar 15, 2004
5,549
0
I'm homeless
I guess you've had some rough summer jobs "in the trenches"? Champion of the common man, with the tats to prove it?
ACTUALLY, I spent an entire summer at an overnight camp as a counselor. Got paid 100$ a week to bust my ass watching kids. That being said, I would have done it for free. It was the camp I grew up going to as a kid, and I loved every minute of working there.

My dad how ever did work in a high end union cabinet shop for a while, he made something like 12$ an hour busting his ass, while the owner would only show up 2 days a week in his Mercedes to check in on things.
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,683
4,912
North Van
ACTUALLY, I spent an entire summer at an overnight camp as a counselor. Got paid 100$ a week to bust my ass watching kids. That being said, I would have done it for free. It was the camp I grew up going to as a kid, and I loved every minute of working there.

My dad how ever did work in a high end union cabinet shop for a while, he made something like 12$ an hour busting his ass, while the owner would only show up 2 days a week in his Mercedes to check in on things.
I must apologize for doubting you. Preach brother!
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
24
SF, CA
FWIW in executives vs unions, my opinion is that I'd like to shove them both into a pit and pave over it. I honestly don't know how you can pick either "side" without needing a rape shower afterward.

Unions were critical before there was decent government regulation and oversight in place. They have served their purpose in the US, and remain only through inertia. Now, with few exceptions, they are counterproductive parasites that slowly kill their hosts.

There are decent, truly talented executives out there. Tony Hsieh comes immediately to mind. But most are ruthless, repugnant, vicious insiders that achieved their position through nepotism and politics, not any real skill or value. For someone like Tony, he is worth every penny. There is no one on the planet that could replace him in his position. Ditto for Steve Jobs. Worth 1,000 skilled workers any day of the week. For most of the others, they are dime a dozen - circle jerking their board member buddies into siphoning the value out once-great companies.
 

MMike

A fowl peckerwood.
Sep 5, 2001
18,207
105
just sittin' here drinkin' scotch
I will never forget sitting on the loading dock at lunch, (in one of my summer jobs as a mechanic/machinist/welder's assistant). One of the welders says, "52 more days!"

"Until what?", says I
"until I can quit!"

See this was before the unemployment laws were changed. Back then you only had to work something like 6 months continuously to be eligible for unemployment. it didn't matter if you quit. So people would work their six months and then sit on their ass for another 6. (The gov't finally got wise to this and changed the laws).

But that left a bad taste in my mouth.


And Da Peach has some good stories about the union brothers filing a grievance against him for working too hard at a mine.

Of course none of this compares to being a camp counselor. He's seen some stuff man...
 

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,618
9,620
And Da Peach has some good stories about the union brothers filing a grievance against him for working too hard at a mine.
my younger brother had the same problem when he worked at UPS.....
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,659
7,330
Colorado
I understand that entirely. I chose to ignore that fact, higher paid people, especially one who "think" for a living, tend to over value their work, and have no concept of a hard days work with their hands
Clearly getting an engineering degree is the best usage of your time. The last time I checked, most engineers think for a living. It sounds like you should be spending your time getting an apprenticeship in a skilled labor position..

I know you're going to make some comment about intentionally playing the devil's advocate, but you are being hypocritical to many of your prior positions. You tout the need for free education, but don't seem to realize that skilled labor is what some are good at. Why would you train everyone who works with metal to be an engineer or materials scientist? Some roles need and don't need that knowledge, and education should be distributed accordingly.

Also, you are only looking at the extreme examples of business owner/ceo vs. Union worker. The owner of your dad's company only showed up twice per week. What did he do before he became the boss? How much did he put at risk to get his business started and stable enough to hire people like your dad?

With risk comes reward. I'm not sure what you risk in union cabinet making to make it more valuable than the capital risk involved in starting a cabinet making business. If you think that the profits of a business need to be more evenly distributed amongst the employees vs. the owner, you have some serious learning to do.

To start and run a business, you take risks with your money. That money often comes in the form of a bank loan that you are liable for, even if you business goes under. How can you justify the owner of a company spreading his profits more evenly, if his employees aren't taking the same type of risks? And don't try to pull he CEO's are paid millions argument, because they are the exception not the rule.
 

TheMontashu

Pourly Tatteued Jeu
Mar 15, 2004
5,549
0
I'm homeless
Clearly getting an engineering degree is the best usage of your time. The last time I checked, most engineers think for a living. It sounds like you should be spending your time getting an apprenticeship in a skilled labor position..
No it doesn't, I just think welders make a fair living.

I know you're going to make some comment about intentionally playing the devil's advocate, but you are being hypocritical to many of your prior positions. You tout the need for free education, but don't seem to realize that skilled labor is what some are good at. Why would you train everyone who works with metal to be an engineer or materials scientist? Some roles need and don't need that knowledge, and education should be distributed accordingly.
Umm, isn't an apprenticeship an education?


Also, you are only looking at the extreme examples of business owner/ceo vs. Union worker. The owner of your dad's company only showed up twice per week. What did he do before he became the boss? How much did he put at risk to get his business started and stable enough to hire people like your dad?
I was 12....