Union at Maysteel poised to strike

Comments

• Kim P says:

  Isn’t that an Unfair Labor Practice (failure to bargain in good faith) — to threaten to move work to other plants?

  Posted on 03/09/12 at 8:14 am
• manifold says:

  Kim-

  Work moves to “other plants” all the time. A competitor could open a plant next door, in the neighboring state, or even overseas and take away the work altogether. The problem is when we take work as a “given”, then make demands of businesses to break open the piggy bank and “share the wealth”. Businesses know the work can be here today and gone tomorrow if they don’t manage things properly and stay efficient and competitive. The union equation works in a static environment with low volatility, high demand, and moderate competition. Unfortunately, that environment is gone. For the union to demand pay raises and more benefits in a stagnant, fragile economy is short-sighted. People in other states and other countries would love to have this work.

  Posted on 03/15/12 at 8:20 am
• Joe lunchbox says:

  So under your scenario — Just when would it be appropriate to ask for a raise — Maybe a better way would be to tie raises to management salary increases and bonuses and golden parachutes —- or we could keep it like its been going for the last 30 years — the guy on the line wages stagnate and living standers slowly erode why the top brass gets the keys to the one % club — and if things go south for the company we can just blame the greedy workers

  Posted on 03/15/12 at 10:27 pm
• manifold says:

  Joe-

  Under your scenario, labor always benefits. Whether the economy does up or down, labor can always demand more money. What if ownership/management deferred any raises or bonuses for themselves for years to keep labor employed and pay them some cost of living increases and keep the ship afloat, figuring that they could make it up later if the company prospered through their calculated decisions? Then the minute the company improved, labor came back with huge demands for “their share”? There are two sides to a story.

  I don’t disagree that there has been, and can be, greed in business management. But I believe the problem isn’t the management, it is the workers. Why are they still there, enabling management to take advantage of them? I worked for a man years ago who left big business to open his own company. He worked hard and succeeded. He could have stayed employed at the big company he was at, but he took a chance, rolled up his sleeves, and created a new company which provided for his family and many others. Why don’t we have more people willing to do this? We are becoming less and less a nation of dreamers and risk-takers, and more and more a nation that wants more and more of our lives “insured” and “guaranteed”. We want someone else to take and manage the risk, but then we want our share of the reward.

  If you want to ask for a raise, ask for one. If they say no, find out what you can do to increase your value to the company and earn a higher wage or salary. If management doesn’t want to budge and you believe they are taking advantage of you, do what many workers do and find a job at another company that will offer better wages or benefits, or start your own company. This is America.

  Posted on 03/19/12 at 9:18 am