Pennsylvania has lost 130,000 factory jobs in 2 years

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Friday, July 04, 2003 | Jim McKay

[Willie Green]

The nation's unemployment rate shot up to 6.4 percent in June, the highest level in more than nine years, as businesses cut payrolls by a total of 30,000 jobs -- many of them on the factory floor.

Since July 2000, the nation's factories have cut 2.6 million jobs, and 130,000 of them in Pennsylvania. That works out to roughly one in seven factory jobs in the state.

[Willie Green]

It is never just lower wage rates. Most of the 130,000 jobs in Pennsylvania were union jobes. They are gone but my bet is that very few union officials missed a pay check, any expense account reimbursement, or lost any benefits.

The truth is that only 16~17% of Pennsylvania's wage and salary workers are represented by organized labor. (source) That's roughly the national average for workers 25 years of age and older.
And on a nationwide basis, only 14~15% of manufacturing workers are represented by unions.
The real bastion of organized labor has become government employees (including teachers unions) at levels exceeding 40% (source).

I've posted links to the source of my information, even though I'm well aware that facts don't mean squat to you. But thanks for providing me the opportunity to once again prove how maliciously ignorant and deceitful you blue collar bashers truely are.

[liberalnot]

you're telling me that general motors is not unionized?

[DraftAshcroft2004]

Lots of unemployed college graduates who got downsized too.

[Willie Green]

Tried to kill two birds with one stone and pinged you to the wrong thread.

[Consort]

You should know better. The Democrats are NEVER an alternative. History has shown that and they are getting worse.

[Ciexyz]

All work has dignity. No one should be bashing blue collar laborers on this board.

I know a gentleman who is approx. age 50 who is a skilled machinist in the Pittsburgh area. His company just cut a bunch of jobs and sent the work to China. This family man is eligible for retraining funds. I wish him well. But I personally wouldn't want to be retraining when I had a skill that was formerly valued.

I don't want anyone to view my comments as left of center or liberal Democrat comments. My comments concern the human suffering that workers in my area are suffering. And by the way, when workers suffer, management personnel also suffer, lose jobs, etc. No one should say in a cavalier to an unemployed person, Well just go retrain. It's not that easy, folks. These people will try their best of course, but it's never easy to start over. And remember, age discrimination is a vicious component of our workplaces.

[MaxPlus305]

Lots of people want to work in a factory. Some of them make very good money. So what if it's menial work? Some people would rather have good money over job excitement.

[Domestic Church]

"The problem is that many of the jobs lost were good paying jobs for unskilled people"

And many were for highly skilled/experienced middle aged middle management in manufacturing. Their already overloaded positions often merged so entire tiers of management are eliminated Also seen in the same facility after this was an increase of Asian and Mexican folks being hired at the bottom. Naturally, this leaves the rest of the employees at these plants very nervous.

[Domestic Church]

" And remember, age discrimination is a vicious component of our workplaces."

Worth repeating as it certainly was a component here.

[longtermmemmory]

That is because the modern union is not about workers its about PENSION FUNDS. There is no US merchant marines so why does the US Merchant marine union have an enormous pension fund? The previous UPS strike was over control of Union Pension funds.

Unions do not represent their individual workers.

[Princeliberty]

I'm not advocating the Democrats as the alternative.
I am advocating Republicans holding Bush
to account and not going along with everything
he does just because he is a Repubican President.

[Proud2BAmerican]

Oh don't worry about it. We're all going to be rich Web designers, so we don't need any of those silly manufacturing jobs.

[q_an_a]

"but is now "hiring like crazy." Willie, I am afraid you are going to get this one wrong...again. We will be making cool advanced products for the next 50 years. During this time we will be selling to third world countries equipment to build the products that build new economies. OLD steel cars are dead as disco, steel and aluminum are going to be a smaller part of lots of things as composits and plastic become the primary building blocks.

[Willie Green]

We will be making cool advanced products for the next 50 years.

Guess again.

US net debtor gap grew to record $2.387 Trillion in '02

[livius]

I didn't mean that there is anything wrong with factory work. But if it's vanishing, obviously factory workers have got to find something else to do. Sometimes life hands you something different, and you have to adapt.

Europe is stagnating because for years unions have insisted that the same old factory jobs be kept on because workers need "stability."

But sometimes being "instability" and being challenged to go out and do something different is the best thing that can happen to you. It's hard, but your life is going to be a lot better afterwards.

There's no guarantee in the US that anybody is going to keep their job, of any kind, blue-collar or white collar. And there's no guarantee that their business is going to succeed, if they're self-employed.

But we have the freedom to go out and try again, and we're not sitting around waiting for the state to start another five-year-plan to employ us.

I've been employed and I've been unemployed - on one occasion, very suddenly. Each time, I found something better, which I would never have done if I had been able to coast along in my old job. Was it fun and easy? NO! But if you take the challenge, you may end up a lot better off - and a lot happier - than before.

[livius]

I suspect that manufacturing is going to change. I lived in PA years ago when all of the old coal/steel operations were shutting down. Everybody screamed that it was the end of the world, but other businesses took over, or people moved away and followed work to other areas (which is what Americans have traditionally done when jobs have dried up in a particular location).

I agree that companies should invest more in production. It would be sounder all around. However, "should" is not a word that is understood in economics. Things work and they produce profits, or they don't. There is no point in waiting for an old system to come back again, because it can't and it won't.

I think we're simply going through another reorganization of the industrial world, which is something that seems to happen every couple of decades.

[Consort]

I am advocating Republicans holding Bush to account and not going along with everything he does just because he is a Repubican President.

Good. I thought you were going to get strange and enable the Liberals again by voting Dem or voting third party or not voting or demanding that someone has to "earn" your vote.

[Classicaliberalconservative]

That is because people are not assets and are not counted as assets. I actually had this come up in my accounting class. My professor asked us to give examples of assets i.e. cash, inventory, machine and equipment etc. I mentioned labor, and my professor responded yes that would count, IF SLAVERY WERE LEGAL. Labor is an expense and like all expenses people try either to minimize them or mazimize their utility. Anyway most job losses from manufacturing are a result of technological innovation and increases in productivity. Put frankly, less people are needed to produce more stuff.

[lelio]

I am advocating Republicans holding Bush to account and not going along with everything he does just because he is a Repubican President.

While I agree with you in spirit, a snowball has a better chance in hell that this happening. You don't cross the boss and expect to get GOP funds for reelection, or funding for your pet projects. Do you think Karl Rove will put up with anyone questioning Bush?
The only thing that will wake up these Pubs is if a major industry moves out of their district. At the rate we're going that might happen soon. That's a sad commentary that the republicans are just reactionary and can't see the writing on the wall.

[A. Pole]

So? Who wants to work in a factory? Go out and get another job, start your own business, retrain and do something entirely different, go back to school and finish that degree...that's what my family did.

There is much better way. Get rich quickly and retire. You can do it by becomeing a CEO, outsourcing jobs to another country, getting a bonus for it, then when company starts to go down and you get replaced, take your golden parachute.

Way to go man!