Replies

Last night, a union leader and a management negotiator were on Kudlow & Kramer. The union leader (last name Ponce de Leon) said that money is not the issue. Technology is the issue.

Can you believe these guys are fighting the replacement of clipboards with bar code scanners, even after they have been assured that there will be no loss of current jobs? In fact, the mgmt rep said that they expect volume at the west coast ports to increase substantially, resulting in more jobs.

I've noticed an interesting trend here. When people go to criticize the $100 million mansions of crooked CEO's and CFO's then the routine response is "you're just jealous". When people go to criticize the incomes of the union dockworkers then people refer to the dockworkers in ways that imply that they are worthless greedy pigs, such as "$120k isn't enough, whine whine whine". It's not just you, there are many who have made similar comments.

What I'm confused about is why the argument "you're just jealous" applies to the incomes of crooked CEO's and CFO's, yet it doesn't apply to the incomes of dockworkers. If the argument about CEO incomes is commonly accepted on FreeRepublic, then why can't I reply to your comment "Oh, you're just jealous"?

I've seen some comment about how doctors in California only make $40-$50k a year, yet these dockworkers make $120k a year. Maybe the problem is that the doctors are underpaid? I know that I wouldn't go to college for eight years, then have to spend more years as an intern, working twenty hours days week after week, all for 40 or 50k a year in a state where a starter home costs $300k or more. Forget that.

Might I offer one thought? The historical fact is that these dockworkers FOUGHT for their union, they had actual battles with strikebreakers and thugs where real people died. After the dust settled they worked out something that gave them some real wealth in return for their labor. In other words, they staked out a claim, fought for it, and have reaped the rewards. Isn't that a large part of what being an American is all about?

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.