AFP President Tim Phillips discusses unionization on the Glenn Beck Show

[dicklexic22]

yeah funny how germany's work force is highly unionized and they weathered the economic recession beautifully and their GDP has been and is going up

[ericmycue374]

Interesting how GB and Tim Phillips failed to mention that lower job growth in non-Right to Work is tied to the fact that these states are heavy in manufactoring and industry. Obviously THOSE states have been hit very hard by the recession; so of course, those states are going to have lower job growth numbers. Secondly, they fail to mention that the average worker in states with "right to work" laws make $5538 less than workers in other states.

[btall2000]

Yea,

Our UNION jobs went to China, Mexico, India, and other countries at $1.00 a DAY.

Thank you stupid unions.

[johngalt21204]

AFP's agenda: kill unions and in general weaken the bargaining power of labor.

Reich's point is, a solution to the recession is to strengthen wages, and one way to strengthen wages is to strengthen union.

AFP does not want to acknowledge the validity of Reich's commment because AFP represents industries like oil that are dependent on cheap labor and sell goods (like oil) that are practically immune to lower worker wages

[johngalt21204]

regarding these charts re: state by state comparison, what were the confidence intervals between the comparison groups? Is there a real difference? If there are, do they matter? If there is a real difference, could they reflect that the state has made an intentional and democratic trade off between efficiency and equity?

What criteria were used to match the comparison states (apparently, none)?

[longliveunion]

This is why the non-union states will eventually turn to unionism, ripped right from today's headline... "Whoa! Goldman Sachs posts a whopping $3B+ profit; plans to shell out $23B in bonuses". Corporate greed will drive this country back to a union revolution!

[whitehall9]

Tim Phillips's PR smear firm was behind the robo calls in the 2000 election claiming that McCain had fathered an illegitimate black child, as well as convincing people to not vote for workers' rights in the Marianas Islands because the workers' American handlers "were giving them bibles and teaching them Christianity."

No one should be listening to this slut on any topic, ever.

[kurtshore]

Kbandit's view is very jaded. There are many many, (if not most) companies, that live and breathe other values other than money. Yes, they exist to be profitable, but they are living breathing entities, like humans. But to the point of the Beck Show, most of America's businesses do not need unions, only a few do.

[kurtshore]

Corporations are not the bad guy. Unions in general, were necessary in the early 1900's when there were no workers' rights. But now, the better a company treats it's employees, the better the employee pool, the more that company can compete and be profitable. Unions tend to be incredibly corrupt, take workers' money in the form of dues, and then the workers have no say as to how their dues are being used. Unions have ruined the auto industry.

[killerbandit]

All institutions are capable of being incredibly corrupt, look at the church. Would you advocate the abolishment of the Catholic church because of some abusive priests?

The rights unions fought for are not the default position of a market. If you need any evidence take a look a Wall-Mart, they pay the majority of their workers poverty wages. Would I sacrifice the bottom line of Wall-Mart for the good of its workers? Yes. Would I advocate a cashier earning enough to buy a Mercedes? No.

[CruiserCT1]

If that trend kept existing and was not getting any better ( improvements to stop the action(s) )...Then Yes. without a doubt.

[numnunums]

Humanity is the bad guy. Corporations and Unions both can be horrible. The only difference is that unions benefit the poor which the right can't handle despite the majority of them being poor.

[killerbandit]

Unionization is the only way an individual can protect themselves from very well organized corporations. I don't need a union to brainwash me, I can see what corporations do to labour when it doesn't protect itself.

[ButterflyDragon9]

"Protect" you from what?

[killerbandit]

Organizations whose interests I do not share. Companies motives are profits and everything else is secondary to a corporation. The larger the company, the less your interests are kept in mind when business decisions are made.

[ButterflyDragon9]

They why would you choose to work for such an organization? Seems like a disconnect to me. You work for money, a corporation exists to make money. Ummm... if a company you work for shits on you, go somewhere else. How is a 3rd party going to make a corporation stop wanting to make money? All it does is increase the cost of the product and screw everyone else in the long run.

[killerbandit]

If it were only so simple, especially now. Have you tried looking for a job lately? I work for an entity that exists solely to make money, but I do not exist to solely make money.

A union is not a third party, a union is a part of a worker. It is simply labour organizing the way that corporations organize, in order to protect its interests.

Labour costs are a few percentage points in the total cost of a product.

[CruiserCT1]

Priobably from not being able to stand up for him or herself against the Companies

demands.

[numnunums]

Trickle Down Bullshit.

[0ReTarDeD]

Protect you from corporate greed, unfair treatment, provide you with dignity and respect for your self and for your trade.

[ButterflyDragon9]

Perhaps I'm one of the fortunate ones. I've never had to look outside of myself to gain dignity or respect for myself or my trade. I have no problems standing up for myself, expressing my views or working to gain what I feel is right for myself. I really, really don't need anyone else to assist me with those goals. Perhaps I'm one of the lucky few that can say that.

[0ReTarDeD]

I'm interested to know if you work in a trade that has been flooded with illegal workers who perform your job at half the normal going rate and are forced to pay no attention to safety to an already unsafe work enivoronment. The dignity and respect to a job is lost when you say that you are a Union Electrician but are always out of work because of non-union contractors being able to low ball the bids because they hire illegal workers. Dignity and Respect with unemployment or Food Stamps?