Break the Union!

Conservative Thoughts ^ | July 7, 2005 | John Kuethe

[Wrangler22]

About 1,200 pharmacists at 400 Walgreen’s stores in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, a market where the $37.51 billion Deerfield-based company has an estimated 54 percent market share, went on strike at 10 p.m. Wednesday.

"There has regrettably been no movement by Walgreen’s on the critical issues raised by the union," Charles Sauer, executive director of the National Pharmacists Association, said in a statement Wednesday as the strike deadline neared. "As a result, the strike will begin as scheduled tonight at 10 p.m."

How can college educated workers earning six figure incomes be unionized? Isn't the purpose of union labor to protect the blue collar laborer from being exploited at low wages? Perhaps the role of unions is to drive jobs out of the country by making it impossible for companies to employ American labor. The time of the union has passed. The competitive marketplace has created an environment where the union is a detriment to the American worker. Jobs are lost over seas, the costs of goods goes through the roof, and corruption is rampant in organized labor as the news tells us regularly.

I applaud Walgreens for sticking to their guns. I hope that the other pharmacies in the area take note and follow their lead. Rumors are that Osco is going to jump in to steal the business with strike ads. How long until the unions bite them in the . . . too? White collar professional unions striking in the health care industry where the sick and elderly rely on them for their medication is unconscionable. It is time to break the pharmacist union.

[cripplecreek]

"How can college educated workers earning six figure incomes be unionized? Isn't the purpose of union labor to protect the blue collar laborer from being exploited at low wages?"



That and union political power are my biggest problems with the Unions.

[fatnotlazy]

How can college educated workers earning six figure incomes be unionized? Isn't the purpose of union labor to protect the blue collar laborer from being exploited at low wages?

***

In my heavily unionized state, the purpose of unions is to protect the slackers and goof-offs from being fired.

[Woman on Caroline Street]

Thank you! Someone had to say it! Unions had a time and a place, and now they NEED TO GO!

Personal anecdote time by a Woman on Caroline Street...
A few years ago, I was out of work and took any temp employment I could find. The agency sent me to a publishing warehouse to do some cost accounting. I finished the job super early and the office manager felt badly so she gave me a copying job so I could get a few more hours on my time card. She needed 300 copies of some addendums to be added to the employees' handbooks.

This place used a ton of pallette forklifts run by unionized workers. The company spent nearly a quarter million (I had just done the cost accounting, so I KNOW what they spent) in upkeep and maintenance on these things.

So as I'm copying these sheets and reading them. It all had to do with "horseplay" and "near miss accidents" with the forklifts. It went on and on about fourth and fifth occurrences of what would happen if you screw around on the forklifts. NOT ONCE did I see the word TERMINATED mentioned. Golly gee, I'd like to F&*! up four and five times for the same thing and keep MY job!

I think I'm gonna go to Walgreen's more often. Way to go!

[fatnotlazy]

We have a similar situation here involving the local public transit authority. Except for management, the employees (bus drivers, maintenance people, etc.) are unionized. The drivers I know make upwards of $80,000 a year with overtime. Yet, they can show up late, show up early or not show up at all -- and there is no way they can be fired. I know this because, where I live, we had one "steady" driver who was either late or wouldn't show up. People, including yours truly, complained. After months of letter writing and phone calls, I was told flat out this driver could not be fired. Amazing!

Most recently, there was an article in the paper that said these transit employees will now have to contribute to their health care premiums..and they were most unhappy. $80,000 a year and they can't afford health insurance. Where's my crying towel?

There was a time when unions did some good. Some better wages, shorter work hours, pensions and the like came about, at least in part, through the efforts of unions. But like a lot of things in this country which start out with good intentions, unions too have gone all to hell. They have a lot to do with why many companies have taken the jobs overseas.

I never worked for a union...never had to. I did my job, my employer paid me, and I got to keep on working. If I would not have done my job, my employer would have fired me. Rather simple and a very fair relationship. No need to complicate things with unions.