I didn't accuse...only asked..
Yes; the big shots are more greedy than the union members in general...but they can get away with it.
When the product is too expensive to sell, Mr. big shot just moves onto another job...again at pretty good pay....or he takes his stock options etc. and retires.....that's just how things go !
Some of the assembly workers will find decent jobs ...many won't !
So...who wins in the long run..
Having worked both union and non...I realize that union bosses do their best at fostering an Us-vs-Them mentality ( it provides them a sort of "job security". After all, if the workers and management cooperated, got along and did the best they could for each other....who would need the union ?
When you think it over though...ideas that the average assembly worker should make as much as members of the board of a company, is a bit presumptive, is it not ?
Joe blue collar generally doesn't have the education, business acumen or the connections ( fraternities etc.) that board members do..and probably is not as willing to "kiss-up" to management...
Just the facts of life !
A neighboring county to me is near going broke. The County exec the mayors etc for the most part are a bunch of double-dealing politicians...
but "the people" elected those same clowns.
It is pretty much a "one party" county....DUH !
The biggest employer in that county is government...federal, state and local..
There used to be steel, autos, milling etc...but that's history...( I can recall some of those "steel workers" boasting how they used to spend most of their shift... reading books and whatnot)
A couple years ago the teachers for the one major city "negotiated" a contract...replete with generous vacations, many "sick" days and unbelieveable pensions...and that is just ONE of the unions municipalities are dealing with....
Negotiated is only a term...the teachers union had the schools over a barrel and knew it....and the "one parety" county was run by a political party that the unions have in their back pocket.
Looks like the county may go into insolvency. If it does all those various lucrative contracts are off the table.
With the arrogant attitudes that the various union leaders have shown the public....I almost hope it does.
Thusfar, the politicians and the unions have been sucking it up at the trough....the one that has been really suffering is poor old John Q. taxpayer...
THe school teachers demand ridiculous contracts....they may be justified if they were "producing"....but they are turning out a product that generally, is far inferior to what the Catholic/Christian schools are producing for a fraction of the cost.
Perhaps if they spent more time teaching reading by phonics and less time putting condoms on cucumbers...they may do better.
I am only suggesting that if a person collects X number of dollars per hour for their work, it behooves them that they make sure they really earn it...
No goofing off or refusing to do any work ...."because it's not my job description"...
Surely, if we don't want to give 8 honest hours of productive work for 8 hours pay, someone in Taiwan, Mexico, Argentina or Maylaysia will be willing to.
The malaise produced by socialist countries such as France & Germany comes directly from such featherbedding.
I am not defending the big shot bosses...they are the greediest ones,
but they are not the ones that hurt the most by another industry moving out.
As I said previously I have worked both union and non-union. By far, the best work situation was when I worked for firms that were not union but treated their employees as if they were...
Some of my most distressing times were when I was prevented from working by some silly rule:
For instance; one time I was working in a refinery in the South. I went to hook into "company (compressed)air" so I could sandblast and spray.
I was informed..."you can't do that !"..
I ask why; "I run compressors all the time...here's my hose, there's the connection"...why not ?
OH...I must have a "stationary engineer" connect the hose...
"Well, where do I find him ?"...
" Oh; he may be at the snack bar ..or maybe in the smoking area or in the guard shack yakking."
After 45 minutes fruitless search...I went ahead and hooked myself up.
Oh, I know the union "storm troopers" could have hasseled me but I believe that if I'm getting honest pay for an hour's work...I owe the boss an hour's honest work...otherwise I'm STEALING..
No telling how much thievery the "stationary engineer" got away with each day...but my conscience is clear...
Frankly I always had trouble generating enough HATE to maintain an Us-vs-Them attitude...
I would rather be congenial and get along...
Just my two cents...may not be worth a penny to you...!