Originally Posted by LTRS
Where in the heck do you get this information??? Major companies spend hundreds of thousands if not millions EVERY year on lobbyists to induce congress to reduce safety standards for employees and their rights to compensation if they are injured on the job. For you to say safety issues are no longer a problem just SCREAMS ignorance on this issue. But that of course doesn't stop anyone from having an opinion. I'm sorry if that sounds rude, but there is nothing more rude, in my book, than a person boldly speaking to an issue as if they actually knew what they were talking about when it's perfectly clear they haven't a single fact in hand about the topic.
No, it would not be on CNN for gawd's sake. They are much too busy ignoring the deaths in Iraq and focusing on stories like the runaway bride. But hey, that's a new one -- "if it's not on CNN, it's not happening." Ho boy, unbelievable.
As for wages, again you act as the voice of authority, but in reality are without a clue. There wouldn't be a decent living wage in this country for skilled labor without unions. To be against unions you have to be against a decent living wage. To be against unions you have to believe that one side (management) is entitled to a team of people to advance their side, but the other side is not.
And the comment about "growing your skills" is just pure baloney. They aren't scabbing with people with more skills. They are scabbing with people who don't care that they are driving down wages for others. You can grow your skills all you want but if companies continue to race to the bottom you will find YOURSELF at the bottom eventually as well. You're not immune, much as you might wish to believe you are. And when your boss comes in and says, hey, we're going to pay you 25% and take away that 401K you thought you'd have for retirement, don't be surprised when there is no one left to say that's not right.
The solution is simple -- stop paying management huge salaries for making incompetent decisions, ask employees how to cut waste and be more efficient, then charge what it costs to fly the passenger.
I am, quite frankly, irreplaceable. Because I do a hands-on job that about 200 other people in the country do. In addition, I voluntarily work at a lower wage than I could get. If I were to decide to leave (or for some insane reason my company was put in a position to let me go) it would literally take me about 3 hours to find another job (likely at higher pay...though my quality of life with my present company is so high it's virtually insane).
I was not always in this position. For 7 years out of college I worked a gig where my pay was minimal, where my bosses felt nothing of asking my to take concessions or skip increases in pay/benefits. In that time I learned first-hand that growing your skillset and finding a position that was mission-critical was the key to keeping your job and getting paid what you want.
LTRS, it's already been demonstrated earlier in this thread that you're a liar. Why don't you just go away to whatever little socialist utopia will have you? I'll bet they're waiting for you down on the picket lines at the airport...though I wouldn't want your putting your money where your mouth is to interfere with more productive things, like planning your next trip to the WTO meetings for a protest. Though with you eliminating your transportation options left and right due to moral concerns you'll probably have to get there by oxcart.