|
KenDckey -> RE: Why pay union dues? (9/2/2015 5:51:59 AM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: epiphiny43
quote:
ORIGINAL: KenDckey
. . . I believe that governmental employees work at the will and whim of the people, not the union.
This isn't a Civics class where children are quoting from prepared material, we are taking about reality in the USA. Direct democracy stopped with the Town Meetings of the pioneer years, it's been a representative republic since the Revolution, at both state and federal levels. Thank whomever! No system is as subject to abuse and oppression as direct majority rule. Even the Greeks abandoned it.
Of course, our recent history well illustrates Churchill's observation that Democracy (as practiced in the 20th Century, not small d democracy) is the worst form of government, except for all others that have been tried.
As to unions controlling who works or doesn't, maybe get out of the house occasionally? Construction unions and some professions work like medieval guilds. Entry fees, apprenticeships, oligarchic entry favoritism, limited numbers, etc. Public employee unions neither hire nor fire. They do work to remarkable ends to keep any member FROM being fired, not at all what your point seems to be trying to get people to believe.
Where unions have historically organized to bring wages to a living standard, benefits that provide affordable health care, actual vacation time and a retirement rather than the poor house, at Considerable group expense, effort and sacrifice by many, they understandably dislike people collecting all the benefits and refusing to pay any organizing costs. Setting wages and benefits for non-union dues payers at pre-union levels seems a bit harsh, and could cause upset? Those not happy with the union could form their own?
Issues of people disliking their dues going to support political candidates who the union sees as friendly is a problem for people that can't see where their bread is buttered everywhere. Wage slaves that vote for puppets of Wall Street are all over Red states. Magnificent propaganda!
Not saying unions are any paragon of virtue, those seeking power everywhere lean to abusing it at most opportunities, left or right. My impression of adult life is summed up well by the graffiti, "Abuse of power comes as no surprise." Political life everywhere is little more than competition between abusers of power.
All bureaucracies suffer from the Peter Principle ("managers rise to the level of their incompetence.") but the emphasis on protecting members no matter what that permeates public worker unions raises it to a socially destructive level difficult to imagine urban civilization surviving. Our future challenges are too great to continue with incompetence being not just the norm, but expected and encouraged.
Our State is in eminent danger of losing several hundreds of millions of dollars in approved Federal grants because no one in the relevant agencies has the competence to do the qualifying studies and presentations before the time limit for such has past. Folks are upset! As usual, nobody fired yet I've heard of.
Not a civis lesson. It is a quote by my father (don't know where he got it), a fine Democrat that was a government worker that spent 27 years on probation out of his 35 years service. He, as far as I know, never voted for a Republican. He was an organizer, and whenever the City started something new they would put him back on probation to organize it, at least until they hired an expert in the field. He hated the fact that his 2 children were both Republicans. Before my sister got ill and we had to move to town, he was a cowboy who rode the range doing his job. Used to say that if our neighbor had a little bacon and we had some beans, we would have beans for supper. That sir is reality.
|
|
|
|
