Whenever there is a loss of jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector, the cries begin from union leaders and pro-union politicians that we need to protect “our” jobs. What they really mean is we Americans need to keep the status-quo, not deal with the progress of technology, the global economy, and reality.
Cars are made by robots and machines with an assist from humans, automated attendants help callers navigate through phone systems at companies large and small, but there are still jobs here at home – just maybe not the same job your grandfather held decades ago. It is called progress.
Because of the perceived loss of jobs, the word “import” has negative connotations in some areas, but we have to realize it is a balance and that American-made exports are nothing to sneeze at.
Exporting American Intellectual Property
Hollywood movies are played around the world to audiences in hundreds of countries, and Justin Timberlake doesn’t just sell CDs and iTunes downloads in Ohio. Yes, many software development and tennis shoe manufacturing jobs are now in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, but Boeing still builds jets in Washington, not in Bulgaria. In fact, Boeing’s revenue in 2008 included $23.8 billion from outside the United States.
But looking closer to home, Toyota has built trucks in Texas since 2006, Mercedes builds SUVs in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Hyundai’s factory is in Montgomery, Alabama.
Hyundai Factory in Montgomery, Alabama
Nebraska Exported $5 Billion of Products in 2008
Soybeans are exported around the world to the tune of 15 million metric tons, and the state of Nebraska – yes Nebraska, exported over $5 billion in goods in 2008.
Workers become more specialized as technology advances, and this is the reason why horses are no longer used to plow fields, and why toll takers on bridges are being replaced with electronic devices such as FasTrak which sticks to your windshield and is read by a scanning device.
One sector shrinks and another expands – always has and always will.
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Omni Berkshire Hotel in New York, Unions and the Mafia
Friday, April 16th, 2010Is organized crime involved with union affairs in New York City? Is the mob involved with their daily operations, work stoppages and protests?
I was in Manhattan last week, and while on my way to a meeting there was a big commotion with banging drums and a group chanting, “union…union…” across the street from the Omni Berkshire Hotel on 52nd and Madison. There was a 10-foot tall inflatable rat placed in the street directly in front of the hotel’s main entrance to imply the hotel’s management is rodent-like in their dealings with their particular union.
Omni Berkshire Hotel New York Union Protests and The Mafia
It was a small gathering, maybe 20 guys who looked like rugged dudes from Hollywood Central Casting, if there indeed was a call for longshoreman and construction workers. The guys were mostly standing around looking like rugged union members tend to look, while a couple of loud-mouths did the screaming into a distorted bullhorn.
And then I saw him, in the sea of ruggedness, there he was. We made eye contact, and I made him. He wasn’t rugged, and he wasn’t a loudmouth. He was standing behind the barricade next to the HVAC guys, looking like a leftover from a Soprano’s episode. He didn’t wear a well-worn paint-stained t-shirt like the rest of the guys, calloused hands or a weathered leathery skin from decades of working in the elements. No, he had perfectly combed, slicked-back hair, a designer sweater and gold chain around his neck. It wasn’t a Sir Mix-A-Lot rope chain, but it wasn’t purchased at Zale’s for $99.00 either.
He looked how “muscle” is supposed to look, or at least how it’s portrayed in the movies.
Could he have been there to protect the “interests” of someone or some group, or protect the union workers from being harassed by hotel security or a local beat cop? Maybe.
Could he have simply been the well-dressed son of one of the protesters hanging out in the middle of the afternoon showing solidarity and support for his dad’s union? Maybe.
Tags: 52nd madison, mafia, manhattan, mob, New York City, omni berkshire hotel, organized crime, protest, sir mix a lot, strike, the sopranos, unions
Posted in Business, Political Satire, Politics, The Economy | No Comments »