Union Protests are "Uprisings" Now.

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_re_us/us_wisconsin_budget_unions

In case you didnt know, Unions in Wisconsin are protesting a bill that would take away all bargaining rights for public workers.  The proposed bill would effect Firefighters, Policemen, Teachers and many others. Its been a standard protest so far as I can see, picket signs ect.

But according to Glenn beck...

http://mediamatters.org/research/201102170018

On the February 16 edition of his Fox News show, Beck stated that protests in Madison, WI, as well as in the Middle East and Mexico are part of "evil spreading around the globe."

"You are about to see this president start embracing the uprisings in this country. You are going to see him embrace the teachers unions and all of the unions that are marching on the streets." Beck later characterized the protests as "riots in the streets."

Michelle Malkin had some choice words as well:

In a February 16 post about protests in Wisconsin, Michelle Malkin wrote that the SEIU "and its allies stormed in for a sleepover protest" at the state Capitol building. She later wrote of teachers staging a protest: "Kiddie human shields become kiddie sacrificial lambs." In a later post, Malkin called the protesters "union thugs."

[AFK]

Yet all of the healthcare reform protests were noble and patriotic.  Even the ones where they brought loaded weapons. 

[The Good Reverend Roger]

You know, there's a way we can make this sort of thing even funnier.

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

You know, there's a way we can make this sort of thing even funnier.

Protest riot in clown suits?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

You know, there's a way we can make this sort of thing even funnier.

Protest riot in clown suits?

No, I think it's time someone a few dozen of us brought back Captain Swing....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Swing

Only replace the threats with complaints and mockery.

[LMNO]

What's really funny is that Wisconsin is totally broke.  The unions can bargain all they want, but the state literally doesn't have anything to bring to the table to offer them.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

What's really funny is that Wisconsin is totally broke.  The unions can bargain all they want, but the state literally doesn't have anything to bring to the table to offer them.

Still, outlawing bargaining, and then labeling anyone who complains "union thugs" is lulzworthy.

[Luna]

As soon as I saw "Beck" in the post...

Anyway...

Unions are an odd subject for me.  Yes, it's good to have a group acting to protect the individuals in the group from the big, bad companies who employ them.  In the past, they certainly served an important purpose, and, to some extent, I'm sure they do today.

However, working at a small university with not one, not two, but FIVE different unions, and being in a position where I'm asked to research the feasibility of some of the shit they try to demand in negotiations, I have NO patience with today's unions.

The ones I've dealt with are more concerned with proving to their members that they're worth the dues they charge.  We currently have a grievance filed which, after some research, if we just nod, say, "SURE, no problem," we'll actually be taking money OUT of more paychecks than we're adding to.  (Note that each one of them has access to their own time cards, but, apparently, lack the brains to do the math.)  Our teacher's union attempted to demand an individual, personal office for EVERY member of the part-time faculty.  (That is, for the record, over 250 professors per term.  WHERE do they expect us to build this office building which will set empty most of the time, since these guys, by contract, can teach no more than three classes a semester?)  We had one union threaten to strike because 13 vacation days, beginning to accrue per pay period on the date of hire, just aren't enough, and they were pissy that we were taking their "shopping day" (a half-day off between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a VERY busy time of year around here) away from them.

Unions drive me bugshit.

Yes, I can see them protesting a bill taking away all bargaining rights for public workers.  But...  "riots?"  Yeesh.

[LMNO]

What's really funny is that Wisconsin is totally broke.  The unions can bargain all they want, but the state literally doesn't have anything to bring to the table to offer them.

Still, outlawing bargaining, and then labeling anyone who complains "union thugs" is lulzworthy.

Oh, yeah.  I'm horrormirthing both sides of this.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Yes, I can see them protesting a bill taking away all bargaining rights for public workers.  But...  "riots?"  Yeesh.

So management can be organized, but labor can't?

[Luna]

Yes, I can see them protesting a bill taking away all bargaining rights for public workers.  But...  "riots?"  Yeesh.

So management can be organized, but labor can't?

Oh, sure they can.  However, my issue is the fact that those doing the organizing HERE seem more interested in their OWN pockets than those of the people they're trying to protect.  In our case, all but one of the unions are part of larger unions, not just people who work here.  (And, last I heard, one of the "big" outside unions is sniffing around the last.)  They go for big, grand gestures that, essentially, either cost us a shitload of money we can't afford to spend, or that wind up doing little or nothing, other than to give them a "we made the big, bad school give you X," pay no attention that it cost you "Y."

My issue with the unions I have experience with is that they're more invested in fostering a "Union vs. Management" situation, no matter what, when the management is honestly trying to work out what's best for everyone.

I haven't had a flippin' raise of any real amount since mid-2008.  Why?  With the economy in the tank, enrollment is down, and we had to cover the contracted raises for the unions, AND, those unions in negotiations for contract renewal were demanding even bigger raises.  (And, of course, payroll isn't union.)

Organize, sure.  Absolutely.  But make sure those doing the negotiations realize that if they sink the ship, NOBODY is getting across the river.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Oh, sure they can.  However, my issue is the fact that those doing the organizing HERE seem more interested in their OWN pockets than those of the people they're trying to protect.  In our case, all but one of the unions are part of larger unions, not just people who work here. 

Welcome to Discordia.

It's fucking everywhere when you pay attention.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Yes, I can see them protesting a bill taking away all bargaining rights for public workers.  But...  "riots?"  Yeesh.

So management can be organized, but labor can't?

I think its less a problem with organized labor and more an issue of what that organized labor is doing. In the company my Dad works for, labor unions are indispensable. His company would still behave like it was 1922 without a Union forcing them to treat workers with some level of respect. However, there are also some Unions which have gone above and beyond reasonable demands and have made a bad name for most unions, even when its likely a relative few in comparison.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Yes, I can see them protesting a bill taking away all bargaining rights for public workers.  But...  "riots?"  Yeesh.

So management can be organized, but labor can't?

I think its less a problem with organized labor and more an issue of what that organized labor is doing. In the company my Dad works for, labor unions are indispensable. His company would still behave like it was 1922 without a Union forcing them to treat workers with some level of respect. However, there are also some Unions which have gone above and beyond reasonable demands and have made a bad name for most unions, even when its likely a relative few in comparison.

Waiting for a downside.

TGRR,
Approves of anything that means piles of unnecessary paperwork.

[Luna]

Oh, sure they can.  However, my issue is the fact that those doing the organizing HERE seem more interested in their OWN pockets than those of the people they're trying to protect.  In our case, all but one of the unions are part of larger unions, not just people who work here. 

Welcome to Discordia.

It's fucking everywhere when you pay attention.

Yeah, of course it is.  

I think its less a problem with organized labor and more an issue of what that organized labor is doing. In the company my Dad works for, labor unions are indispensable. His company would still behave like it was 1922 without a Union forcing them to treat workers with some level of respect. However, there are also some Unions which have gone above and beyond reasonable demands and have made a bad name for most unions, even when its likely a relative few in comparison.

Exactly.  The larger unions, here, treat us like they treat everybody else.  Do the other universities they deal with need the same treatment?  Maybe, maybe not, I dunno...  But I DO know they're not demanding safety features, or "fair" increases.  We had one rep, at the table, state that it was his job to "get as much out of (the university) as possible for as little work as he could."