Quote:
Originally Posted by DB_in_Cbus
This thread really, truly almost makes me weep. Poor Caterpillar! Being screwed by those greedy workers down in London. Swallowing ANY sort of pay cut is a bitter pill, and I really hope those arguing that the workers should have gladly bent over for the company do not find themselves in a similar position.
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This may come as a shock, but I KNOW unemployment and what it's like to take a massive pay cut. I lost my job in September and was unemployed for four months; I had my pay reduced to nothing in a snap. My father went through four years of unemployment a few years back. My cousin, who just lost his job at Electromotive, was unemployed for several years before being hired there. My family has been through very tough financial times. But instead of blaming others, I do what I can do to improve my employment prospects. Instead of complaining about my former employer in Aylmer and condemning the management in the press, I just quietly moved on and looked for another job. It took me four months to find the right one, but now I have one. I was grateful to have been employed after I graduated from Fanshawe until I was laid off, and I'm grateful to be employed again. And guess what? I have no ill feelings towards my former employer. I'd gladly work for them again if I got the opportunity. Likewise, while his co-workers were picketing and complaining about Caterpillar, my cousin was hitting the pavement looking for another job.
You are entitled to your opinion, but to suggest that I have no understanding of what it's like to take a pay cut makes me weep too.
The problem in some parts of the unionized world is that the glass is always half-empty, no matter how full it is. Except for my cousin, who although he wouldn't have said it outside the family, he was willing to take the pay cut to keep his job, because he knows what unemployment is like all too well. He never stated his feelings about the CAW explicitly, but in the days leading up to the lockout I got the sense he was not impressed with the CAW was conducting itself.
I do not completely condemn unions. One of own SSP members is a union member and his union is committed to upholding academic freedoms, not just sucking money out of an unprofitable employer (in this case EMD was bleeding $16 million/year) for the employees' own exclusive benefit - that I have admiration for. And, there are some companies even today where unions are needed to protect employees from toxic managers - I've worked for companies with toxic management and poor working conditions, thankfully not for a very long time now. However, I have heard far more stories about union organizers slashing managers' car tires, accepting large bribes, or even using physical violence against managers, that most unions make my stomach churn. Some of the most corrupt unions are in Quebec.