Heh. Try it. As a local cop, if union picket walkers tried to physically attack someone that crossed the picket line at the plant up the road, well, I've got 43 .40 rounds, 6 rounds of 000, and 60 rounds of .223 at the ready to prove ya wrong. Bitch all you want. Strike all you want. But, the moment you lay an unfriendly hand on anyone and you've entered a world where I am God and we don't give a shit about the UAW or your demands.
I really resent that attitude when it comes from anyone in a position of power, especially someone who is a public servent and makes his living off of taxes.
I dion't. It is indeed a matter of fact, in certian scenerios, "who's ya daddy" carries the name on the badge, like it or not.
Taking charge of the situation is one thing. Being The Man is one thing. But saying "I am God" because a cop has a badge is quite another. There's a reason many people don't trust the police any longer.
The people of this great nation have elected to allow some of us to enforce the laws of the land. Their laws. We can be cowed by a judge or our supervisors after the fact, but when it all boils down to the bare bones, when it's just me and a criminal on the street, I am God and the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Alabama, and Title 13a of the Code of Alabama: 1975 are my Bibles.
You are not God. You're a public servent. You might have the authority to arrest a citizen, physically harm a citizen under certain circumstances, and maybe even get away with it if your bosses look the other way. But you are not a god striding the Earth among mere mortals, no matter how often you go in harm's way.
The only way to find out is to look me in the eye. I can be Barney Fife if the criminal will let me. If he won't, I can bring forth a personality that'd make the Archangel Gabriel say, "Fuck...I didn't know you could do that." In certain instances it is better to be feared than respected and I can give testament to that. I had the lowest instance of altercation on the street amongst my peers. Part of it was because the regulars knew I'd play the game. As long as they played along, we were cool. But, they also knew that if they tasked me their world would turn to shit and they didn't want to spend the night in the ER before they went off to the County Jail.
Jesus man, it's fucking Elwood! Wasup, some cop beat you down or something? Are you Rodney King in disguise? Puh-leeze. Spare us, we've known this man for years.
Yeah well if you had to go mow your foreman's lawn and paint his house after work (for free of course) to keep your job, you'd probably understand. As for this strike, GM is basically trying to back out on agreements that it has made. Guess what, a corporation, just like a person, is liable for contracts that it enters.
And that's all well and good, but gods are beholden to none. Showing up and telling people you'll crack heads because you're a god with a tin star on your chest sends the message that you're beholden to none also. Do you get that point? You tell people you're the law in that town and you answer to no one like you're Wyatt Earp and people don't respect you, they fear you, and not just the criminals whose heads you have to crack once in a while, but the law abiding citizens who are supposed to be your masters.
Thats an interesting retort that got right to the heart of my argument. I see things in an completely different light now. Thanks for your valuable input.
Well you pay union dues but you make more money and get better benefits. It's a net gain for the worker. As for the company, they didn't have to enter the contract.
Which doesn't change the fact that you're showing up with an attitude that you're somehow better or mightier than the people you supposedly work for.
When did GM make an agreement to give ~50 BILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS to a fund created and run by the UAW?
No they agreed to provide pensions and health care. However, they can't deal with it so they want to back out and hand over their current pension/healthcare fund to the UAW and let them management. Basically they are fucked with their obligations so they want to push it off on the UAW. So the UAW is saying if this is going to happen, they need to provide enough money for it to actually work.
Agreed. Well, almost. Unless it's a union state, then they don't have an option if they want to operate wherever that place is. At any rate, they provide a service for their funds so in that reguard they are Ok. Sure can be a crapshoot when the company compares the time out with shutdown production to hiring new help and training them to do the job and sending said emplyee kicking rocks.
You don't understand the labor laws. "Right to work" states do nothing more than outlaw a CONTRACT between the employer and employee that states that the employer must hire union members. You seem to think that the employer can't hire outside of the union unless it is a "right to work" state. They can. Unless they have ENTERED A CONTRACT stating otherwise. I guess you think we need the government babysitting and telling corporations and individuals what agreements they can and cannot enter.
That's definitely true. However, the MUCH simpler and cheaper option is to do things to appease your workers so they never get pissed enough to form a union. If GM hadn't originally been legendary for its mistreatment of workers, they wouldn't be in this boat.
No, not particularly. That's the job of the Justice Department and IRS if it gets too out of hand. Ah well, they had to take on sombody so at least it was a company that can take the hit. We'll just pay for it all in next years lineup.
