WASH: Taft-Hartley Act. (ORDERED)

TBO ^ | 10/8/02

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Bush decided to order the Justice Department to seek the injunction after board of inquiry hand-picked by the White House reported that the two-week-old labor standoff has no chance of ending soon, said two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The board's brief report does not go into detail about the economic and national security impact of the shutdown, but it does hold out little hope for a resolution of the conflict, said one of the sources.

[billbears]

What other option did Bush have?

Hmmmmm, that's a tough one. Maybe not get involved at all as this is not covered under powers of the government by the Constitution? And please no 'interpretations' of said document and no Acts that have been passed in the past 140 years. Either it's in there or it's not. Forget the right and wrong of unions. I don't agree with them but they're there. The question is 'Does the national government have the right to force people to work when national security and/or defense is not involved'?

[rockinonritalin]

Also, the mgmt negotiator said that the reason mgmt locked the union out was because the union was intentionally slowing their work resulting in 60% reduction in productivity. In effect, the union was on strike while still collecting a pay check. The union guy smiled smugly when this was brought up and said that charge was only alleged.

There was a lot of bad blood between these two. Both think the other is negotiating in bad faith. The union guy even accused the mgmt negotiator of lying on the air.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

The lockout is a STRIKE. Newer technology (bar codes) have been developed and the unions fear the possibility of loss of jobs. The manual labor at the docks has been done by bar codes for years at the grocery... but they refuse to relent, at any price to America! Political?

[Naspino]

Someone isn't gonna be happy

Liberal Idiot 1: I hate Bush because he won't address the port stoppage and its destroying the economy.

Liberal Idiot 2: I hate Bush because he is focusing on the work stoppage problem and destroying our economy.

Eric Roberts: I hate Bush because he intervened in the port stoppage problem to appease to his oil buddies and Usama Bin Laden.

[Mo1]

Figures the Union would try to stop Santa from bringing presents to the kiddies

Thank Goodness our children of President Bush on their side

[Alberta's Child]

Surprisingly enough ... Feinstein supports this and has publicly said so.

She may be a leftist @ss, but she's no fool. She knows damned well that the last thing California needs is for North American shippers to move their trans-Pacific business to other ports. The last I heard, there is a port down on the west coast of Mexico that has been going like gangbusters since the lockout began.

[Green]

What other option did Bush have?

Funny you should say that. That is exactly what Feinstein is quoted as saying in an article I read in a San Franciso paper. Boxer, on the other hand, is saying Bush should have done more to get the businesses to end the lock out rather than this court order he is seeking.

The whole point I was trying to make is that with the dems split on this, they can't present a united front and cry "foul" about Bush being against union and organized labor. Actually, I see this as a being in favor of the unions since they were saying all they wanted to do is go back to work. Now they can.

I believe the dispute is more over them wanting the IT workers coming into the industry to be unionized but the companies are resisting that.

[Doctor Stochastic]

The companies locked out the unions; the government is forcing the companies to hire the locked out employees for 80 days (or whatever); US farmers can export the produce; big gains all around.

[rockinonritalin]

The lockout is a STRIKE. Newer technology (bar codes) have been developed and the unions fear the possibility of loss of jobs.

Mgmt has guaranteed that no jobs will be lost. Yet, as you say, the main issue here is the introduction of technology. What gives? Are the clipboard holders afraid that their jobs as they currently know them will become redundant and they will have to take a riskier job on the dock?

[imperator007]

I would prefer to keep the ports shut, and produce the goods that are imported from China in the USA instead.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

New jobs.

[Billy_bob_bob]

"I believe the dispute is more over them wanting the IT workers coming into the industry to be unionized but the companies are resisting that."

I do believe you are correct about that. The basic argument (as I understand it) is that management is trying to break the union by changing the nature of the work performed from manual labor to technologically skilled labor. That by itself isn't bad, and the union has no objection. The problem is that management wants the new jobs created to be non-union jobs.

[Green]

Also, the mgmt negotiator said that the reason mgmt locked the union out was because the union was intentionally slowing their work resulting in 60% reduction in productivity. In effect, the union was on strike while still collecting a pay check. The union guy smiled smugly when this was brought up and said that charge was only alleged.

I know for a fact this is not at all unusual for unions to pull this stunt and they usually get away with it. I have no problem with organized labor and collective bargaining...to a certain extent. However, when this sort of slow down starts in order for the unions to get their way, I have a real problem with them. Those of us that are not in a union wouldn't last very long at all at our job if we tried that tactic.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

How would so much of industry exist today without bar codes? This union wants to continue to do their work manually. Why?

[steveegg]

The key difference is that companies can struggle on with a new CEO when the old one decides he wants more money than the company is willing/able to pay. With the power of the union to prevent any replacement of them outside of an actual strike (and no permanent replacements in the event of a strike), and the strong-arm tactics you have just glorified (INCLUDING murder), most companies can't long survive when their union decides it wants more money than the company is willing/able to pay.

The fact that these union thugs decided that they would abuse their unique protection under the law and slow things down on the docks so much that the dock owners decided that nothing would be lost by shutting down the docks entirely demonstrates a union that is out of control.

[rockinonritalin]

Its an effective tactic since after forcing mgmt to lock them out, the union can take the high ground and claim to just want to get back to work.

[Green]

I don't believe they want to continue to do their work manually. They want the technology workers to be union.

[Eva]

The ILWA are domestic terrorists who are putting their own personal agenda above the national economy. Tom Daschle is nothing more than a paid lobbyist for the unions. Daschle has the power to end this slow down and lock out, but he hasn't chosen to do that because he wants to keep the union votes in his lock box.

[steveegg]

I'm sure glad the buggy makers weren't unionized then.