Posted on 11/26/2008 6:10:35 AM PST by SumProVita
"Consider this episode from Strasburg, Illinois. Like many other municipalities across the country, Strasburg has been hit hard by the recent economic turmoil. So when the Stewardson-Strasburg school district needed a new electric sign, it seemed like good old American ingenuity–not to mention good old American volunteerism and generosity–when members of a local booster club raised some dough, bought a sign, and rounded up some folks to put up the sign free and for nothing. Good going, right? Wrong. At least, wrong if you are a meddlesome state bureaucrat with the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) and are charged with enforcing the state’s Prevailing Wage Act."
(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...
I remember when school districts survived without electric signs.
Call me obsolete.
” Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) “
They don’t really use that acronym, do they??
If they did, it would be a refreshing (nay, shocking) display of honesty on the part of State Government...)
Excellent point! Lol...
A manager cannot reward better smarter workers with overtime or bonus's... because union rules forbid it.
I was forced to offer overtime and bonus benefits to the laziest most inneficient workers also.
So I stopped all overtime, and thus lost contracts which would have allowed me to hire even MORE workers.
Unions are suicidal, and they dont even care.
A fond memory...
Too many people have forgotten that the founding principal of our nation is liberty.
Not unity. Not diversity. Not wealth. Not even equality.
LIBERTY
This sort of thing is rampant on the West Coast also. But the problem of the unions is that they mostly guard the jobs of people who are not educated to today’s labor market economy. The easier it is to qualify for a job, the easier someone else can take it away. Unions are hit hard by exporting jobs because their jobs often do not require education degrees to do them and they are therefore easily filled by third world workers. So I can understand them fiercely protecting anything that smacks of “unqualified”, aka non-union workers.
On the West Coast, the issue is more closely tied to licensing but the unions are also pretty powerful here. The main argument by the unions is that unlicensed contractors may do a shoddy or dangerous job, which might be true in highly-skilled fields such as electrical wiring or plumbing.
A homeowner, though, can hire a non-licensed contractor to do a job but there are risks, in addition to a possibly shoddy product. For example, if a homeowner hires an unlicensed contractor to, say, trim the trees or replace a roof and the contractor is injured on the job (or even going to and from the job), the homeowner is considered the employer for workers’ compensation purposes. The system is stacked against the person who wants to be frugal and take some degree of risk in return. I know this licensed/unlicensed issue is a little different from union jobs in general but the same mentality lies behind each: protect the job for the favored workers. (We also have prevailing wage legislation on state jobs except in emergencies when something has to be completed within ten years.)
There used to be a time in our earlier history when unions were important and even necessary. Those conditions which made them so no longer exist. Most unions have now become VERY counter-productive.
I refused to join the NEA as an educator because my dues money would be used to support candidates that I did NOT support (no matter what they *say*) and because many positions take by the leadership are counter-productive to good teaching and really did not support the STUDENTS.
Kind of fitting that it happens in Baraq’s adopted home.
I totally understand. As a union member I have been out of work because I didn’t support the Dems with yard signs.
Unwritten anarchy.
Unions make a lot of promises. for many they fail to deliver. Might as well work for less and expect nothing but a check. At least then promised perks are not expected. And the employer knows what he can expect.
The solution is quite simple.
Civil Disobedience - Plain and simple. I mean really, what’re they gonna do?? Charge these people and have them arrested for volunteering? The rights we have only have value if we give them teeth. Tell lawyers, politicians, bureaucrats and other petty officials to go stick it in their keisters.
Stand Up America!!! Or get ready to wear shackles.
The choice is ours.
What's wrong with America?
Too many people have forgotten that the founding principal of our nation is liberty.
Not unity. Not diversity. Not wealth. Not even equality.
LIBERTY
In our local areas, we need to organize support and get some of these outdated laws changed. It CAN be done.
The Prevailing Wage Act should only apply if state or federal money is funding the project.
You speak some common sense. That won’t fly...
;-(
Amen.
Unions are THUGS! Period.
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