Why Unions Are Ruining America – Part 1

Rich — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:00:45 +0000

Unions had a place in America, once upon a time. Workers were used and abused and tossed aside by unscrupulous employers who had more people to choose from than there were jobs, so the ball was in his court.

Labor laws were enacted so overtime wages must be paid if more than 40-hours in a given week were exceeded, and children were no longer eligible to contract black lung disease next to their fathers in a coal mine.

Then the United Auto Workers took hold of the car industry and killed the golden goose, and other unions drove manual labor overseas by demanding ridiculous wages, benefits and threatening companies with the S-WORD – Strike. Essentially saying, “If we don’t get our way, we will go on strike and do our best to strangle you, the company that feeds our family.”

This is why Nike makes their shoes in Vietnam and my Polo shirt was stitched in Guatemala – they don’t have to deal with your union crap.

Bay Area Nurses Will Go On Strike October 30, 2009

But some things cannot be outsourced. I can’t call Bulgaria for a plumber. Nurses are another perfect example. Hospitals cannot operate without a stable of nurses, and people will die if a hospital has no nurses. But that doesn’t matter to the California Nurse’s Association who has called for a one-day strike on October 30^th at two-dozen Bay Area hospitals, including O’Connor in San Jose and Seton Medical Center in Daly City, just outside San Francisco. It appears they are upset their contract negotiations are not going as planned.

According to Catholic Healthcare West, the hospital group that is being held for ransom, the average nurse earns $100-large, plus has health benefits for the nurse AND their family fully paid for. They are striking over a change in their health care package from a PPO to an HMO.

Welcome to the real world, Miss or Mister RN. I have to pay for my family’s coverage. Yes, it’s pre-tax, but it’s still $800 per month, and most people who are not in a hostage-taking union have to deal with this reality. Companies grow and fold; times are good and we have recessions; we have hiring booms and layoffs. Markets change and maybe if nurses didn’t make idle threats, just maybe the hospitals wouldn’t need to find less expensive health care for their nurses. Just a thought.

Oh, and don’t get sick or hurt or have a life-threatening ailment on October 30^th if you are in the Bay Area…you might die because a nurse is pissed she has to settle for an HMO.

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Why Unions Are Ruining America – Part 1

Bay Area Nurses Will Go On Strike October 30, 2009