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Unions' Approval at Lowest Point Since 1981, Poll Finds
CNS News ^ | September 1, 2006 | Randy Hall

Posted on 09/03/2006 4:56:53 PM PDT by takeemout

Unions' Approval at Lowest Point Since 1981, Poll Finds By Randy Hall CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor September 01, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A new Zogby poll has some unwelcome Labor Day news for union officials: Approval of unions is at its lowest point since 1981, and almost three-quarters of workers in the U.S. say they don't want to belong to a labor union.

"These results help explain the continued decline of union membership and do not bode well for the future of unions," said David Denholm, president of the conservative Public Service Research Foundation (PSRF), which studies labor unions and union influence on public policy.

"Working Americans realize that unionism isn't in their best interests," Denholm told Cybercast News Service.

In conducting the poll for the PSRF, Zogby International interviewed 803 employed persons selected to accurately represent the demographics of the general American population, Denholm said.

When asked, "In general, do you approve of labor unions?" only 55 percent replied affirmatively. When asked, "Would you personally like to be a member of a labor union?" 74 percent said "No."

(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: electionyear; polls; unions
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To: Republican Wildcat

I don't have a clue what you're talking about. The sign is illegible. Why is the girl crying?


21 posted on 09/03/2006 5:14:05 PM PDT by Cobra64 (All we get are lame ideas from Republicans and lame criticism from dems about those lame ideas.)
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To: anthropos

50K ain't bad for 1500 hrs a year


22 posted on 09/03/2006 5:14:54 PM PDT by digger48
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To: Cobra64

Teachers' unions serve to even out the natural pay and benefits differences that would occur between pay, middleclass and upscale districts.

Since many/most have post-grad degrees they are fairly well compensated.

That said, they are pretty much doomed since many districts can no longer afford public education.


23 posted on 09/03/2006 5:15:59 PM PDT by durasell (!)
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To: cinives

My wife has been a HS teacher for 14 years and she has gone from a starting salary $16,000 to $32,000. On average she spends 2 - 3 hours working each night on lesson prep, grades, answering emails from her students.


24 posted on 09/03/2006 5:16:30 PM PDT by stm (Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence)
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To: anthropos

Teachers in my area are paid pretty well.


25 posted on 09/03/2006 5:19:23 PM PDT by jospehm20
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To: Cobra64

Yes, I'm one of the few people in my family not to be a teacher. And teachers are measured on performance...they get regular reviews, and can lose their jobs quite easily. One of my friends lost his job as a teacher for having 2 marks on his record...one mark from a student who complained that he didn't wear a wedding band even though he was married (a personal choice he and his wife of 20-some odd years had made) and the second mark from a student who whined about him having the American flag up in the room (which I always thought was standard in every classroom in the country...least it was in my day, probably yours too).

As for the amount of time they work, you realize that in most districts, teachers have one of two options...they can get their full paychecks during the school year, or they can have it cut down and continue to recieve pay during the summer. It still doesn't change the fact that a great number of teachers must find a second job during the summer, and sometimes even during the school year, especially those who are just begining and are single.

As for the purpose of the teachers unions, admittedly, they are now just becoming lobbying organizations on a national level that are doing very little to improve anything for their members, but at the local level, they do fight for better wages, but more importantly, increased resources for the classroom so the teachers don't have to pay out of pocket for things like books.


26 posted on 09/03/2006 5:19:33 PM PDT by anthropos
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To: stm

Wow, the husband of a high paid teacher. May I interest you in one of these:

http://www.hsyacht.com/

or

http://www.netjets.com/Fleet/Gulfstream_450.asp


27 posted on 09/03/2006 5:20:58 PM PDT by durasell (!)
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To: Cobra64
They've destroyed the steel industry in America and are on their way to destroying the automobile industry (along with the help of management).

Now, how can you say that.

28 posted on 09/03/2006 5:23:27 PM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: Cobra64
Here's a link to a brief explanation of the incident with the sign:

Click Here

29 posted on 09/03/2006 5:27:46 PM PDT by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway~~John Wayne)
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To: anthropos
Why do they need a union to get a salary increase? In the real world, salary and bonuses are PERFORMANCE based. It's a real old fashioned concept. The word is incentive.
30 posted on 09/03/2006 5:29:01 PM PDT by Cobra64 (All we get are lame ideas from Republicans and lame criticism from dems about those lame ideas.)
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To: takeemout
Approval of unions is at its lowest poit since 1981, and almost three quarters of workers in the U. S. say they don't want to belong to a labor union.

Bad news for the Democrats and bad news for the Mafia.

31 posted on 09/03/2006 5:29:29 PM PDT by justiceseeker93
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To: nwrep

Good point! Between the unions and some of the amazingly ridiculous environmental regulations, more and more businesses are simply finding it impossible to operate at a profit.


32 posted on 09/03/2006 5:33:29 PM PDT by takeemout (God Bless Jesse Helms!)
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To: Cobra64

Do you really want schools to be part of the "get what you pay for" world? Every teacher with an advanced degree who is worth their salt will flock to the rich school districts and every imbecile who can't put a sentence together will be dumped in middleclass and poor districts.

They'll become like lawyers. You can hire a lawyer for a hundred bucks an hour or six hundred bucks an hour.


33 posted on 09/03/2006 5:35:51 PM PDT by durasell (!)
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To: cinives

I have a relative who needs a job - where is your district located?


34 posted on 09/03/2006 5:38:41 PM PDT by hardworking (Sneak up on a Muslim - pray for their conversion to Christianity)
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To: justiceseeker93

Look for the union label and buy another product, at least I try to.


35 posted on 09/03/2006 5:38:57 PM PDT by bfree (Liberalism-the yellow meat,)
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To: martin_fierro
I know. It's pathetic. GM has a winner here, but three years too late. Mustang is eating their lunch.


36 posted on 09/03/2006 5:39:15 PM PDT by Cobra64 (All we get are lame ideas from Republicans and lame criticism from dems about those lame ideas.)
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To: anthropos

OK, I am going to 'weigh in' regarding teachers, pay, unions etc.

1. Teaching is a PROFESSION. It involves CHILDREN. If you don't like what it involves, chose another profession.

2. Teachers are workers. Yes, they have precious CHILDREN in their care, but so do bus drivers, crossin guards, nurses, doctors, parents, babysitters, Sunday school teachers.... It is part of the PROFESSION.

3. Pay: If you don't like the pay, don't take the job.

4. If a 'business' doesn't have workers they can't open the doors. You don't have to strike. You don't have to march. You don't have to have a half-drunk union thug to represent you. JUST DON'T TAKE THE FR***EN JOB!

5. To sum up: stop trying to be martyrs selling yourselves as 'special'. It's a marketplace reality of supply and demand. If the supply goes down, the demand, and the pay goes up.

OK, hit me over the head.


37 posted on 09/03/2006 5:44:16 PM PDT by hardworking (Sneak up on a Muslim - pray for their conversion to Christianity)
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To: digger48

I don't know about that. I was a substute teacher for about 2 , and a 100K wouldn't be enough to watch those monsters.


38 posted on 09/03/2006 5:45:35 PM PDT by escapefromboston (manny ortez: mvp)
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To: escapefromboston

My son even got kicked out of a Catholic School in kindergarten.

Seems they didn't approve of fighting in line while waiting to see the Priest.


Guess we weren't paying the nuns enough.


39 posted on 09/03/2006 5:54:23 PM PDT by digger48
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To: Cobra64

What's they do? Hire the designers from Chrylser?


40 posted on 09/03/2006 5:56:17 PM PDT by digger48
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