are strikes always this nasty?

[irishcowboy]

I just drove by our church, and there are two guys there with picket signs about the carpenters union or something or other about working conditions......

why they are at the church is beyond me. it is a concrete and metal building, not wood......

if they are upset cause they didnt get the contract, i wonder if they even bid on it...

there have been cases like that, where some one got upset cause they didnt get the contract and feel they are not being treated fairly, only to find out they never bid on it.....

also if the working conditions are unsafe, then the shop steward is the one to contact, not just go and picket....

oh well....

mike

[Guest LadyC]

there is talk that this strike may go national. on the other hand, our mayor is not happy that the city is losing revenue and demanded that the bigwigs of GES and freeman get back to the negotiating table and resolve this quickly.

hey kitty, we've been here three years... long enough to see the CAT bus drivers strike and the last culinary union strike.... but i didn't know anyone in those industries, and as you know, the local news gives very sketchy coverage of what goes on. i didn't pay much attention to those.

[Guest LadyC]

breaking news.... GES and freeman have reached a tentative agreement, and teamsters is to call a vote among members no later than sunday. it's about time!!

[JesusisGod2]

Hi LadyC,

Tell your husband to stay strong! It is unfortunate that we have to have unions at all but especially today they are of a necessity.

I was a Teamster for many years and I worked for Consolodated Freightways who was one of the largest and oldest freight companies around.

It was 2 years ago labor day that they closed their doors suddenly and with no warning. All people of America are asking is a chance to make a decent wage and medical benefits and also a chance to recieve a retirement benefit when the time comes.

I am not saying that I agree with the violence, however, I hate to say it but I do understand why sometimes it happens. Thay are picketing to make a decent wage to support their families, they definately aint getting rich. I was making approx 40,000 a year without OT, which really isnt enough to support a family without the wife working or me working the OT at least in Illinois anyway.

We need people to stand up, without the unions they are shipping our jobs out of the country or dont want to pay us enough to live on. I worked the docks and was a loader which is pretty back breaking work. A non union job wants to pay you $9-$10 hr (now remember this is Illinois, where a two bedroom apt runs $800.+ monthly in a decent neighborhood, and unless you already own a house, forget even dreaming of buying one).

They can be violent but as someone else has mentioned I have seen very peaceful demonstrations. It is usually management who starts the action and the union's retaliate.

Well that is my two cents and some wont agree, but we need the unions and we need to stand united.

Kevin

[irishcowboy]

there was a company here in Kansas, that started out as a one man organization...... he built it up from the ground up, paid good wages for good work, and had some benies to go along with it.... maybe not the greatest, but people could live on it......

some one thought they could get more for less so they got union people in for a conferance with the workers..... this man showed up and the union people told him he didnt have anything to say that was pertenant to the union, and he said you are right.... but i will say this, and he told them that if they want a union shop, then they can go somewhere else, for this was a non-union shop and it was going to stay a non-union shop..... they said he couldnt stop them if they voted on it.... he said yes he could..... he said he owned it, he paid for it, he built it, and he would shut the doors and start a new company if they wanted to press the issue, and all the employees would be with out work with him permanently.....

he then told them to do what they wanted, but if they voted union, that day would be the last day the doors would be open for them....

well, needless to say, the shop is still open and still non-union....and last i knew, the employees were still content.....

mike

[Guest shiloh357]

Do NOT mess with the Teamsters!!! That is the word around where I live. To cross one of their lines is just stupid and suicidal.

If the Teamsters are on strike, just stay away!! Those folks get downright nasty. They do here in Springfield, MO.

There was a teamster's strike here at the local Associated Grocers, and a couple of guys actually had the nerve to be scabs. Big mistake!! I won't go into details but neither guy had a car that would run when they got off work and both of them got beat up. One guy's back got messed up pretty bad too.

Any Teamsters' strike can get really nasty, really quick!! I never cross any picket lines. Especially a Teamsters' line.

[Guest LadyC]

no need to stay away now i guess, a local judge put a restraining order against teamster members, forbidding them from picketing anymore. that seems wrong to me. it was done because "teamsters were getting violent". excuse me? two picketers are run down by drivers, putting them both in the hospital, and teamsters is getting all the blame? that makes me mad.

but, they're scheduled to vote tomorrow, and hopefully it will be favorable. from my understanding, it's a decent compromise...

We need people to stand up, without the unions they are shipping our jobs out of the country or dont want to pay us enough to live on. I worked the docks and was a loader which is pretty back breaking work. A non union job wants to pay you $9-$10 hr (now remember this is Illinois, where a two bedroom apt runs $800.+ monthly in a decent neighborhood, and unless you already own a house, forget even dreaming of buying one).

JIG2, i hear ya! non-union drivers here earn between 13-16/hour... after 17 years in the industry, mark started here at the bottom with $13/hr for north american. no retirement, crummy insurance (that got crummier about every 6 months like clockwork!), no sickpay, and only 1 week vacation no matter how many years you stay there... and in three years, mark was only granted time off for one vacation. they cut him a check for the other two and made him keep working.

and housing? oh, it's horrible here, and getting worse! we've got a decent 2 br apt for 750... but it jumps to over 800 at the end of our lease. we're in one of the least expensive but still-in-relatively-safe-neighborhood complexes in town. (i say relatively safe because there is no place exempt from crime!) we have a friend who just had his home appraised... it's a very small three bedroom house, no garage, but it does have a pool in the back... it appraised for $250,000!!! double what it was appraised at just a few years ago! and it really is small... not much bigger than our apartment!

[irishcowboy]

wow, two bedroom apt for 800......

I am getting ready to do an inspection on a three bedroom house that is renting for 350 a month....... big yard too..... the people that were in it, moved out and just need to inspect it so that it is ready to rent again.....

we have Yellow, CFI, TNT, CF, and several other trucking companies stationed in this area ( Baxter Springs, Joplin Mo, and Miami Ok )

mike

[JesusisGod2]

wow, two bedroom apt for 800......

I am getting ready to do an inspection on a three bedroom house that is renting for 350 a month....... big yard too..... the people that were in it, moved out and just need to inspect it so that it is ready to rent again.....

we have Yellow, CFI, TNT, CF, and several other trucking companies stationed in this area ( Baxter Springs, Joplin Mo, and Miami Ok )

mike

Yeah Missery has low rent and land to boot, my brother has a lot of land in Steelville, but what they have in land and low rent they lack in jobs from what I understand.

Hey Lady C,

Your situation is exactly what I am speaking of. Your home values and rental properties are a lot like they are in Illinois, where do live? I'LL be praying for your husband, it seems another hard working man is being passed over by corporate greed.

Consolodated Freightways paid this man $8,000,000 as a turn around specialist. Well we came to find out that his specialty was breaking union companies that really had no problems, CF certainly didnt.

So basically as a turnaround specialist it was was turn around, thers the door you are all fired!! All this in Two months after he started.

Whats interesting is that the "SCAB" company of which Consolidated Freight gave birt called Conway Freight or CCX is still allowed to do business. They claim that we split up but this is not entirely true. If you looked up CNF Companies, both CF and Conway were a CNF Company.

CF still has operations in Canada and Mexico, go figure. I'll never understand how you can close down 90% of a company and keep the rest open it seems that they need the Mexican and Canadian operations in order to keep Conway operational as a world wide carrier. I believe that our Air Freight is still in operation.

America needs to stand up and come together as a unionized work force, or we will see more of the same such as happened to CF. As Mike mentioned about a certain company, ther e are companies that are fair and have good benifits and treat their workers fairly, but ten to one they are few and in between. This is most definately a rare ocassion.

Keep the faith C, and still your husband to stand strong. Yeah sometimes the strikes get out of sorts, but its not because the ones picketing are being unfair, and its also well known that the companies during strikes hire "goons" or "Strike breakers" to go and get the violence started and they and the media point the fingers.

Its sort of like the Palastinians attacking Israel and blowing up innocent people and when Israel retaliates in defence, the media and the Palastinians point the fingers at Israel. And the sad thing about it is, the people are fooled by the lie and side with the false accusations.

America works best, when we say union yes!

[irishcowboy]

there are plenty of jobs here..... for those willing to work.....

it may not be the exact job a person wants... but it is work.....

people hear about the unemployment rate in this area, and assume that it is cause the job market is down, in all actuallity, it is the workers that are down....

most want to start at the exec level salary, when they are at the entry level experience and knowledge.....

we have high school drop outs that wont push a broom... sorry, that is where you start.....

i rant into this when I was looking for some one to assist me.... hired one and 2 months later, still did not know what channel locks were..... ask for a nr 2 phillips and he would come out with a straight blade....he liked the pay, but when we hit a digging job he would all of a sudden remember he had to do something that day, an appointment or something..... the third time he did this, i sent him home.....

people want the money, but dont want to work for it....

since then, i have been able to lower my customers cost, and actually increase my income cause i have no wages to pay out.... which means i do not have to work as hard to receive the same amount....

if a person wants to work, there is plenty of work..... it may not be what a person chooses to do for a living....

LADY, I am glad this ordeal is coming to a close..... happy for you all....

mike