Unions ...... Good Or Bad??

Here, I linked it for ya!

Simpsons explain Unions

Here, I linked it for ya!

Simpsons explain Unions

Thanks, it's pretty much true.

Dave

Unions are great! I've found that most people who hate unions are people who are jealous they aren't making the kind of money that union employees make.

Unions are great! I've found that most people who hate unions are people who are jealous they aren't making the kind of money that union employees make.

Unions definitely have their place. But not all unions are great.

There are some great unions out there, that do an amazing job representing their workers. Then there are those that only have a political agenda, and strong arm their members, and then throw them under the bus in tough times.

From my observations, the good ones, have a lot of bottom up promotions, so the hierarchy is from the working ranks. The bad ones have a hierarchy full of libtarted idiots that never lifted anything heavier than their briefcase.

Either way, the Union topic is very passionately defended on both sides. But like Brett has voiced, let's talk about solutions, instead of how right or wrong we think the other side is. The coorporatret hacks win, when all we do is argue.

"Expenses and government taxation/regulations usually eat up 95% of a company's gross income. Any company, not just trucking."

This is over-generalizing it, as there are many businesses that have gross-margins of over 40% ... technology and pharmaceutical companies come to mind. Do you know how much Apple makes off an iPhone? In a commoditized business like trucking, yes the margins might be 5%, but this 5% is still enough to pay top-management millions of dollars a year. Some of these fat-cats make more in a single year than many of us will make in our entire lifetimes! And who are the ones risking their lives out there daily? Who are the hard workers? Many of today's CEO's do didly squat, they have others who do the hard work for them, yet they are the ones collecting obscene amounts of money.

"If you were the CEO of a major trucking company what would you do to grow your company and keep your workers happy with that leftover 5%?"

In a way, you answered your own question of why we need unions. Obviously most CEO's would rather award themselves and their fellow thieves in management a higher salary, and not their workers (just look up how Coca-Cola just recently distributed some $3 BILLION dollars in executive compensations) Since management will not pay or play fair, how do you suppose workers will ever have enough bargaining power? Unless they unite, the exploitation will continue.

Brett put up a real nice chart how over the last 20-25 years truck driver salaries have actually DECLINED! Forget about making as much today as in 1990, you are actually making less! So de-regulation and de-unionization has only worked for those at the top. Now some of you will say, yes, but look at what de-regulation has brought us, cheaper airfares and cheaper goods on store shelves, and to this I say yes, those things are cheaper, but you are also making less money, so as a percentage of your income, those items still cost the same. Also, how many times a year do you actually fly for it to matter so much? America is blessed with an awesome and efficient interstate system, you can always drive if airfare is too prohibitive. And who needs all these cheap quality Chinese made goods anyway? Most of it ends up in dumpsters a year or two after purchase. But it is making the Chinese rich ... and look how "rich" they are, the poor *******s can't even breath their own air for Pete's sake! The air quality index in Beijing is atrocious. We will be choking on our own garbage soon.

Apologies for the semi-long post, but we are facing real problems that we need to address head-on, if we do not do anything about it, we should stop complaining.

Aside from unionizing, I really don't have a solution.

That cheap Chinese **** is paying for the trucks on the road.

I love it when people bemoan corporate fat cats. Move up or move out. Folks on this board love to say 'pay your dues' and 'it's more of a lifestyle'. Well, do it. Don't want to? Then start your own company or change fields. And these corporate fat cats? How many trucking companies have fallen by the wayside over the years?

And you pick Apple? Really? The company that loves to gouge consumers with their overpriced products? Yup. they have a fat margin. But 5% is the going rate. One ******* Democrat congressman once whined that Microsoft's 20% margin was 'unamerican'. Leave it to a Communist to complain about a company doing well.

Don't worry. Soon you'll be able to flip burgers for $15 an hour and can quit trucking.

I forgot. One union thing I can get behind

IBEW

DSH69 ... you possess a really toxic and ill-informed view of the world

"I love it when people bemoan corporate fat cats. Move up or move out."

--- so what you are saying by this is that you enjoy seeing other people being taken advantage of ... you are one sick individual that perhaps no amount of reading and education can correct.

Just for the sake of simplicity, I will state that making a profit is not unamerican, taking advantage of your workers in pursuit of that goal is however very unamerican. And 5% margins are the going rate? Did you pull this out of you ash like you did all your other comments?

And what is your problem with people that 'flip burgers' for a living?

Just to quiet all of the cry babies who ***** about what ceos make, here is the secret to getting rich. Anybody can be rich! ANYBODY!!! All you have to do is want it bad enough and work had enough. I could be rich, I don't want to work that hard. I don't have the drive to do so. Those ceos that everyone *****es about busted there ass to get there. They studied hard and gave up a high school social life. Then they did the same thing in college. After that they refused to settle and went into the work force with only success on their mind and busted their ass til they got it.

DSH69 ... you possess a really toxic and ill-informed view of the world

I agree completely. Toxic is the perfect word. You can almost feel the disgust in everything he says about everything

And you pick Apple? Really? The company that loves to gouge consumers with their overpriced products? Yup. they have a fat margin. But 5% is the going rate. One ******* Democrat congressman once whined that Microsoft's 20% margin was 'unamerican'. Leave it to a Communist to complain about a company doing well.

5% is the going rate for what? And your profit numbers are quite a ways off. I mean, please take five minutes to Google something quick before you try to give any facts.

When Apple reported Q4 results, it guided for a gross profit margin in the range of 37.5 to 38.5 percent. But on Tuesday, Apple reported actual Q1 gross profit margin of 39.5% -- 150 basis points above Apple's high-end of its guidance window.

Apple, Inc.'s Huge Profit Margin -- Evidence of Sustainable Pricing Power? - Feb 4, 2015 -

Apple's Net Profit Margin has averaged about 25% since 2009 - Apple Earnings Chart

Microsoft Net Profit Margins have averaged nearly 30% since 2010 - Microsoft Earnings Chart

Leave it to a Communist to complain about a company doing well.

Honestly, it's statements like these that help nobody and it's tiresome to listen to. Please ask yourself if something is really helpful before you hit submit. We're trying to have an intelligent conversation and we really aren't interested in that kind of stuff dragging it down.

I've found a really interesting site that puts the numbers into perspective:

Corporate Paywatch: High Paid CEO's And The Low Wage Economy