Time and time again its proven that we cannot trust "for" profit companies to make the right choices for their customers and most of all their workforces. These companies have gone unchecked for so long they become so greedy that they drive the company into bankruptcy only to see the CEO move onto another company with a major multimillion dollar bonus.
The above comment is the exception, not the rule. For every poor company you talk of, there are dozens of good companies. A few Enrons, AIGs, etc, and you act as if ALL companies act this way. WRONG!
This country has been using independent contractors far more for the sole purpose of getting cheap labor while having even more control over those workers
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I really do, but the act of using contractors will only increase if the number of unions increases. I use contractors with my business for many reasons, including ridiculous labor laws for full time employees. And with our new president elect stumping with threats of fining businesses for not offering health care, you can bet I won't be using new full time employees anytime soon. I'll have you know that until I was married in 2005, being self employed, I went about three years with no health insurance. The cheapest insurance I could find was almost $700 a month for myself and my son. I couldn't afford that, and even if I could, the co-pays and deductibles were so high, it would have made it not worth having unless I had a disease that would have otherwise cost more to treat without insurance. If I couldn't afford insurance for myself, what makes one think that I could afford it for employees? The threat of requiring health insurance for full time employees is going to result in higher unemployment rates, mark my words on that one. Many businesses have very thin profit margins. It has nothing to do with greed at all. Is offering no job at all better than offering a job without health insurance?
The fact is that unions wouldn't exist if companies time and time again completely abuse their workers and face it they never stop until we the workers stop them. The most common way to stop abuses is to form and union and strike. Last I checked that is the only way to fight back "and" protect your job with the law on your side.
I wasn't aware that you were a business owner. You speak from a one-sided perspective, that of the employee, not the employer. I have been on BOTH sides of the employer-employee relationship, and not to be insulting toward you, but you are wrong. You act as if all businesses are EVIL. Personally, I pay my people better than my competitors. The harder they work and the better they do, the more they are rewarded. I don't understand why that is so hard for you to understand. Not all companies are greedy and evil. Again, that is the exception to the rule.
The company I'm talking about is the major newspaper in the Tampa Bay Area who is also a top 10 newspaper in the country. Lets just look at the few abuses they do and why the workers need to fight back.
It is funny you bring them up. Oh, the irony. They write about the other newspaper doing layoffs but don't mention their own EVIL tactics. They preach about employee's rights and the evil business practices (like you do). They back every democrat, every election. Yet, they poop on their employees like you say. Funny story. I have a well-to-do retired customer. He owns a mansion here in St. Petersburg, a farm with several acres in Europe, and massive amounts of acreage in the state of Georgia. This man has money coming out his ears. He told me the story of his daughter-in-law who was employed by the newspaper you speak of for 20+ years. Years ago, they did a rotten story about his industry, not specific to his business, but about his industry as a whole locally. Ever since, he hasn't subscribed to that newspaper. He thinks they are garbage. Well, his daughter-in-law for years fought with him over how great of a company that newspaper was. She fought tooth and nail, defending them. Well, she was literally six months out of retirement and her pension and all that when they laid her and others off. They just threw her away like she was trash. Well holy cow, this coming from the company that speaks so highly of the Democrats and worker's rights. They did their own shatting on their workers. Well, I think that was just rotten, but on the other hand you need to consider that particular paper is fighting for survival (as is the other one across the bay). I wouldn't be surprised if the other one folds or they merge, but something has to give. Do you think unions are the fix? Yeah, that really worked for GM and Ford up in Michigan. The auto industry is in serious trouble in this country, and has been since the 70's, much in part due to the unions and their artificially inflated salaries they strongarmed the companies into. Now, with the economy and the price of gas and the fact that nobody is buying cars (the icing on the cake) they are asking the government for handouts to stay afloat. This is going to mean eventual additional job losses. Way to go unions!
This is why the government must change the laws to protect workers from these types of actions because it isn't right. If anyone thinks near slave wage pay is the right of the business and they can do anything they want why don't we just end our suffering and become a third world country with the very very rich "and" very very poor. I would make a bet you here reading this "WOULD NOT" be part of the rich group.
You have got to be kidding. Slave wage pay? We are nowhere near a third world country. Most of the rest of the world would LOVE to work in the United States! You clearly don't know how good you have it in this country with the above comment. Come on now.
Yes maybe the Dems won't do anything better (I doubt this to be true) but its clear we cannot trust the existing party in the White House to do what is right. Its funny but those of you who stand by the companies or have your own company could care less about what is going on "until" it starts hurting you when you are in our shoes. You also tend to be the worst whiners and complainers of the bunch as well.
Government doesn't need to run everything but they sure as heck need to put and enforce rules to prevent companies from abusing their workers in the name of profit. Hey I'm not against profit at all but at least get that profit the right and moral way.
You are delusional about the EVIL companies and the EVIL Republicans. We couldn't care less about what is going on until it starts hurting us? In your shoes? I do believe most business owners started out as an employee for another company at some point in their life. The fact is, most business owners were once employees. But you cannot say that most employees were once business owners. Why don't you try standing in the shoes of a business owner? You can you know. Rather than complaining about needing more job protection, you could go out and start your own business. Nobody is stopping you. That is the beauty of this country. ANYBODY can start their own business. The last thing we need in this economic crisis are more unions and regulations on employers. Mark my words, if the new president elect gets in there and starts doing half of what he said he would do during his stumping, we are going to see a lot more jobs lost over the next four years.
As far as the companies and the bail-out. I am totally against the bail-out. We should let them fail.
You just need to open your eyes and stop viewing every company as EVIL GREEDY organizations. They are not all that way. Again, those companies are the exception to the rule.