This past week, there have been several large companies announcing layoffs because of drooping stock prices, lower than expected sales, or simple job overlap. That’s business in the real world, where if the company needs to meet the bottom line or appease shareholders, the appropriate cuts are made. Companies do what is best for the company – end of discussion.
When a city government lays off workers, union workers, all hell breaks loose. Let’s see, cities are broke and many in deficit mode due to over-bloated benefits and pension packages, they support illegal immigrants’ health care and social services all while crimes go unsolved and potholes unfilled, and there is griping over layoffs?
Yes, Mr. Shareholder, we donated $7 million to the Guatemalan orphan relief fund and upped our warehouse manager’s benefit package to include his grandparents in Burma, and lost $27 million last quarter, and no, we cannot lay anyone off because that would be unfair. Can you imagine?!
Sprint, Electronic Arts and Microsoft Cut Jobs
Sprint lays off 2000 workers and Electronic Arts cuts 1500 from their force, and since there is no union involved, Nancy Pelosi is not butting in asking for better severance or government assistance. Heck, even Microsoft eliminated 800 jobs, but that didn’t even ring a bell or get a mention in the paper or evening news. These are technology jobs, the theory goes, so these people will just go to another tech company or start a company, right?
Actually, that is right. That is correct because that is the way technology jobs go…one company goes up another slips and so goes the workforce. It’s not the end of the world when Oracle buys PeopleSoft or Siebel System and lays off 10,000 because they bounce back or decide to start a company themselves.
But heaven forbid, the City of San Francisco decides to lay off 500 workers to help close a $438 million budget deficit and the world stops. Yes, you read correctly, San Francisco has a $438 million budget deficit! How is that even possible? They tax the hell out of businesses, San Franciscans pay the highest sales tax rates in the country, then there are hotel, airport, gas, payroll, parking and other assorted taxes, and they are still $538.00 short per resident.
Apparently Union Workers Lack Drive and Ambition
Apparently city and union workers are helpless, lack drive and ambition, and have no visible levels of talent, and a layoff will cause them to wilt away and die. Good for Gavin Newsom for not protecting these coddled workers from the chopping block as the some members on the Board of Supervisors wanted.
Losing a job sucks, we all know that, but (bleep) happens, and you deal with it. The trans-gendered union boss, Robert Haaland of the Local 1021, stated¸”This is about fairness and equity,” since most of the affected workers are women and minorities. OK, so make it more fair and equitable – lay off more workers and make them straight, male and majority.
Transgendered Union Boss Robert Haaland
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Tags: city of san francisco, electronic arts, gavin newsom, helpless, job cuts, layoffs, lazy, local 1021, nancy pelosi, peoplesoft, robert haaland, sprint, union jobs
Unions have outlived their usefulness. OSHA laws have made unions obsolete, yet the unions still exist, seemingly for the sole purpose of destroying capitalism.
Here in Arizona there was almost a strike in 2 major supermarkets because of the greedy unions. The reason for the strike? The Union didn’t want employees to pay $5 per week for health care! That’s right. The supermarkets have been paying 100% of employee health care costs, and can no longer afford to foot the entire bill. So they’re asking employees to pay a mere $5 per week for individual health care coverage, or $15 per week for family coverage. That’s still a lot less than employees of most companies pay for health care, but what do you expect from a union? Neither do the unions want to provide health care for the employees. And you wonder why the unemployment is 10.2%? It would probably be half of that if it weren’t for unions. And the auto industry would still be competetive in this country if it weren’t for unions.
I agree with you, James. UAW has killed the auto industry, and can you imagine what government-led healthcare will do to our country with $400,000 union doctors who work for 20 years and then collect 90% pensions while in private practice?
We often shop at this Chinese market that is non-union and just about everything is half-price of the Safeway. Granted, the meat is a step up from road kill, so we draw the line there!