The Left’s current pet target….well, one of them, as Sarah Palin and the TEA Party are still high on their Bitch Meter….., the Koch brothers, have some explaining to do for why they are so evil
A number of organizations are advocating a boycott of the products that come from companies owned by the Koch family. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it could potentially hurt the wrong people.
The Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific. It is an American consumer goods company that makes everyday products like facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, paper cups and the like. Their plants are great examples of American advanced manufacturing. Incidentally,
GP makes most of its products here in America. The company’s workforce is highly unionized. In fact, 80 percent of its mills are under contract with one or more labor union. It is not inaccurate to say that these are among the best-paid manufacturing jobs in America.
This presents a dilemma and a paradox. While the Koch brothers are credited with advocating an agenda and groups that are clearly hostile to labor and labor’s agenda, the brothers’ company in practice and in general has positive and productive collective bargaining relationships with its unions.
Alas, this is no April Fool’s Day joke. In fact, the article, which goes on much further, is written by Jon Geenen, International President of the United Steelworkers, and published on the USW website. Mr. Geenen goes on to say that boycotting the Koch brothers’ products would not hurt them, but hurt the unionized members who make the products.
Really, the Koch brothers do not have a problem with unions: they have a problem with public sector unions. I’ve always wondered why we need unions for government employees. Unions were started to protect blue collar workers in typically dangerous and hard working conditions, like steel mills, from poor working conditions and harsh bosses/companies. Unions gave the workers in these conditions a chance to collectively bargain for better and safer working conditions, better pay, and better protection. Yet, here we have unions run by far left people who say that government is great and awesome, and is only there to benefit people, but they need a union to protect themselves from the evil government?
As stated many times, public unions serve: 1. get their employees absurd levels of benefits and pay that go far beyond the public sector, all at the expense of the American taxpayer, and b. get Democrats elected so that the members can get absurd levels of benefits and pay that go far beyond the public sector at the expense of the American taxpayer. And that needs to stop. It wasn’t that long ago when people said “you don’t go into government/teaching to make money.” We need to get back to that time, and stop fleecing the American public.
Funny how it’s the Koch brothers who are evil, not public sector teachers who send death threats.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
My only problem with unions is that they have run amuck.
That they get cadillac health care products for pennies. While the rest of us have to pay 15k dollars per year for such health care….they pay a 1.90 per week.
They get 5 weeks vacation….the rest of us get 3 perhaps 4. They get 60 days sick leave…we get perhaps 10-15.
They get 32. dollars per hour to put a bolt in a bumper….their private, non union counter parts…….WHO have NOT bankrupted their companies….get 15.00 per hour.
Other then that nothing wrong with unions…they just need to be reasonable and their demands have exceeded reasonable decades ago.
What doomed said.
And I would add, they ought not ever have the right to strike. Can you imagine, if everyone in the private workforce, were able to go out on strike when you wanted your demands met? Well, we’d all be fired first of all, but secondly, it is a form of extortion! Most especially when it involves public service disruption with schools, police, firemen and trash pickup. Was a time when civil servants gave a shit about the services they provided. Now it seems all they care about is their own bottom line.
If we don’t need government worker unions….then how would any workers stand a fair chance of defending their basic worker rights Vs Uncle Sam and Vs the states. That’s like saying an ant can defend itself all alone Vs an ant eater.
Try this on for size: No elected government official OR political appointee should have any (zero) pension plan or a retirement plan benefits. Elected officials are elected to serve the public….and not to retire on the backs of government workers and the backs of private sector workers.
any workers stand a fair chance of defending their basic worker rights Vs Uncle Sam and Vs the states….
I hope you are being facetious.
Elected officials are elected to serve the public….and not to retire on the backs of government workers and the backs of private sector workers.
Elected officials should be given salaries and benefits commensurate with private sector employees.
It is incredibly unfair and shortsighted to say that public officials should suspend their income earning potential just to be a public official.
Washington himself noted that serving as President nearly bankrupted him.
If we say to those who get elected, “work for less than your counterpart in the private sector,” no one in their right minds would apply to public service.
Quite simply, “a servant is worthy of his hire.”
But liberals just love to cut their nose off to spite their face.
Thety’re not capable of seeing The Big Picture.
…so they’d never comprehend the problem with targeting Georgia Pacific or any other business the Koch brothers own.
Government unions are a hypocrisy. They need to be disbanded.
When I worked for the FEDS as a biologist, I had to sign a pledge to not form a union. But, what is the US Postal Service. A union.
Who does the US Government work with on contract basis for certain projects…. unions.
People should not be allowed to TELL their cities or government how much they should be paid. If you don’t like it… go find another job.
And amen to the thought that public employees should only be given a benefit package similar to private sector. I say we need to disband the notion of life-long benefits for US Congressmen as well!!
Once you leave the job, you should stop getting any bennies just like in private sector.
In this day and age of instant litigation, there’s no way a government worker wouldn’t be able to find a lawyer to defend their rights, if need be. But then again, if I thought my state were treating teachers unfairly ie, I would readily stand up for them and make my vote count on their behalf. As long as they weren’t threatening to strike, or bullying tax payers for more than a private sector worker gets, most people in this country would see to their fair and equitable pay and benefits.
You see it is simple and you have to think like corporationalists do, to get rid of union wages for the workers in your business you cannot go strait after them. They would strike and you would loose money. However, if you go after the workers in less powerful unions and of no consequence to your business, and destroy them, that weakens the overall labor unions and then it makes it easier to combat your own workers. They pick the battles easily won in order to win the war. This is not about unions, it is about making us work as serfs. Workers fought for our working conditions in the past and now we are throwing it all back to the corporationalists. I think it would behoove many to go and read what has been done in the past to workers by the corporationalists and the government bought by them. Lots of murders and such. Especially in the mining industries.
[…] Those Evil Koch Brothers Have An Awesome Highly Unionized Workforce..Wait, What? Alas, this is no April Fool’s Day joke. In fact, the article, which goes on much further, is written by Jon Geenen, International President of the United Steelworkers, and published on the USW website. Mr. Geenen goes on to say that boycotting the Koch brothers’ products would not hurt them, but hurt the unionized members who make the products. […]
Hi Joe,
I don’t think many of us are bemoaning the need for unions in the past. I am not. They did play a part in our past when people were viciously taken advantage of and ignored by the labor rules. Many of our current labor rules that protect workers are in place BECAUSE of unions. We all thank them for that.
But, when the unions, now, turn around and start dictating and demanding and start impacting our daily lives, our economy, our politics, our cultural well-being, our economic well-being,… then things have to change.
We have too many rules, regulations, laws on the books now for any worker to be taken advantage of. Like Trish said. Lawyers are a dime a dozen these days.
I am laughing at this lawsuit against Wal-Mart for supposedly\allegedly being anti-woman or not woman friendly there. HAHAHA. have you seen the people working there? Aren’t they mostly women? And old people?
I tried to get a job several times at WallyWorld back in my 20’s and was turned down. Same time, my dad at 55 got a job there with no retail experience. Wally bends over backwards to hire a “diverse” workforce so that it can be seen as “a good player” in the eyes of the liberals and PC crowd.
Unions nowadays are nothing but bad news, increase prices of products, drive jobs out of country, and illegally impact elections. They have turned in to their original enemy.
Steve,
Unions in the public sector are a redundancy. The fact is that almost all public workers are covered on the state and fed level under various protections against he arbitray rule of politicians. Unions do little other that jack up their salaries.
As to the pay and benefits for elected officials, that is not part of the original job. It was explained to me in grade school that politicians should come from the business community. Senators would represent the upper echelon as they would serve 6 years and thus take care of most of their own expenses. Representatives were to serve 2 years to reduce there time away from their businesses. It wasn’t until we started paying them and giving big benefits that they really became corrupt.
Joe, that’s true and there was a valid need for unions in the past. Not so today.
I worked for a grocery store that was non-union. We made approximately the same wages and had the same bennies as the Acme (union shop) down the street. Except we had no union dues. Our employers were fair and they received for their fairness, happy employees!
Unions have bankrupted every corporation they have taken over.
GM.
Chrysler…..TWICE.
Every trucking company.
Every Airline…multiple times.
Right now….the post office…union…would be bankrupt if not for bail outs from the government.
UPS…United Parcel Service…is hoovering near bankruptcy due in large to salaries that exceed over 100k per year for people that simply carry boxes around.
I could go on and on….Unions have benefited America greatly but they have long exceeded their usefulness and NOW…..
In order to remain relevant their demands have grown ridiculous.
Thats the problem.