Teamsters?

If that happens, then I'll know to blame the unions that encouraged companies to hire green card drivers by artificially increasing wages through collective bargaining (blackmail) agreements.

You have absolutely zero possibility of changing my mind on this.

 

This happens in EVERY industry as technology advances. Except politics and executive level management.

 

Yeah that’s why guys are working cheaper every year, technology. Technology doesn’t sit at the dock for free or wait for a load for free or dozens of other stuff you don’t get paid for.

 

Farmerbob sounds like he has the mindset of..........the fringe element of society and that's a good thing. Question authority.

 

Sarcasm sometimes doesn't translate well

 

There really should be a sarcasm font

 

Which is why non union wages rose faster than union wages 1980-2000?

You miss my point. Imagine your employer says "I can give you a 5% raise, or a 1% raise but provide housing". The majority of the union thinks the housing is a good deal as what the company is offering is better then what they could get on the open market, giving the employee a 6% real rise in income. The company can afford it because of tax incentives and write offs, so the total cost to the company is equivalent to a 3% raise. Those who already own their home already get screwed a little, but the greater good and all that.

Fast forward a few years and you'll find that choice in the housing market has decreased, while cost has gone up. The employer can obliquely threaten employees because if the employee leaves - for whatever reason- they immediately lose their housing.

Or use vacations - the employee offers two weeks all inclusive at a Sandals resort of your choosing. For me a Sandals resort would be akin to purgatory. It's part of my compensation, but is of little value to me.

If the employer pays straight wages and let's the employee choose how to spend it then the "free market" will come into play. As it stands I, and almost no one, can afford to forgo employer provided health care. Small business creation is at its lowest level in 70 years, due in no small part to the need for employer provided healthcare.

There are about 30 Transport drivers left. So "alive" yes, kicking not so much. Their benifits are slightly better than a "normal driver", but their pay rates are basically the same. Transport drivers productivity is on par with our 0-90 day group, with the exception of accidents. Looking at the two pay packages (assuming all other things - miles, days worked, length of haul etc - equal) over 20 years the Schneider National driver will have earned more than the Transport driver, and if National maxed out the 401k match the retirement package would be on par. Plus the National driver has the freedom to leave at any time without consequence to his pension.

 

All the anti-union activists want to blame the union for GM's and the american auto manufacture's problems. The fact is, due to bad business decisions of management, they got their lunch ate by foreign competition. Imports hardly made a dent on US auto sales in the 1970s today Toyota is the number 2 seller right behind GM, AMC doesn't sell to the public, and Chysler is foreign owned.

Then don't forget the fuel shortage, emissions, and the declining american income. Not even close to fair to blame the working man and unions for that. But people do have a political bent.

You have to look at the historical perspective on pensions and health care.

Pensions were taken by workers and unions in lieu of increased wage. The thought was the company could make use of pension money, much like a loan, rather then paying out increased wages. The company got low interest finances and the worker got security.

Likewise, heath care at the time was a low cost benefit that kept away law suits and government regulation from injured workers. But that was at a time when health care was cheap because if you got sick the chances are there was little a doctor could do that help you. Health care has changed and so have the costs.

The 401K was just a bait and switch scheme: Teamster pension funds were making big money in casino loans. Wall street and investment bankers wanted a piece of the pension fund money. Big business wanted to get out from pension commitments. So a sales pitch was given to the american people; We were told, 'we would be better off if we managed our own pension funds.' It was the 80s, Regan was in fashion, and the unions were on the way out. At the time it sounded good, but only one thing; We forgot to collect the pension money in our wages. Pensions went away and at the same time wages decreased. That wasn't supposed to happen, but it did.

Are you implying non-union wages rose faster then union wages during that time period? Please sight your source, because the department of labor says exactly the opposite:https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/04/art2full.pdf

 

Last thing first - my source. BLS is great for data, lousy for specific analysis. The union wage premium: Difficult to calculate, likely overblown

I understand that many factors led to the decline of GM, some constable, others less so. I brought up NUMMI because another gentleman said that deregulation caused the decline in Teamsters membership. Yes, it did, but the Teamsters didn't respond well to the new economic climate. They were no longer looking out for drivers nor thinking about the long term interests of drivers or the company. At least from what I've read. Companies need to be able to respond to changes in economic climate. If their labor force tries to combat those changes instead of looking for mutually beneficial solutions, the company is doomed.

I also understand how and why healthcare and pensions came into being. I understand why they seemed like a good idea at the time. But they no longer fit our economic paradigm.

I like the theory of Unions. In the Politics section they consider me a bleeding heart liberal with socialistic tendencies. It's the actual practice of unions, and their seemingly never ending practice of shortsighted decisions, corruption, and obsession with seniority that bug me.