UNITE! Tag in Made in USA suits

[esquire.]

The concept of unions is a noble one, however, in reality they are inefficient and merely drive up labor costs for corporations.  I was involved in import/export for quite some time, and the practices of dockworkers especially in the long beach area are ridiculous.  Their average wages exceed $100k and most of them spend alot of time lounging around.  This is not what was intended when unions were founded.  At this point I think unionization in the US has become a liability to our corporations, and if we want to compete in a global market, we need to move ahead.  The trend away from unionization began in the 80s and 90s and IMO will continue.

Dz,

If the Long Beach docks were giving you so much trobule, why didn't you ship your stuff over to the San Diego docks.

Besides, in a global economy, there are other disadvantages than just blaming unions. In some countries, the costs of health insurance are covered by the gov, instead of the companies. Look at Canada. Some American car companies shifted resources into this country for this reason and the exchange rate.

 

[Horace]

Quote:

(Horace @ 01 Dec. 2004, 02:58) I believe there is a justification for the consumer to subsidize workers. Â It's called socialism. Â And I daresay it's an appealing alternative to the excess and injustice of the freemarket.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but I will take the excess and injustice of the free market over the moderation and justice of socialism any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Â There's nothing like the redistribution of wealth to promote mediocrity. dan
No, sarcasm. Meritocracy and Democracy, two practices that (usually) exist in societies that have free-market systems, allow for mediocrity more than any other system I can think of. And I am using the term mediocrity in it's strict sense. While I think the free-market system is the best available, it has its own set of problems, as does any human system. I'd like to see it tempered with state socialism. For I certainly don't see the free-market as an all-explaining moral system. It's simply a tool. This gets us (or at least me) into a discussion that deserves nuance and qualification. And I'm afraid I'll have to return to it later. Hey ho, H.