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I (heart) commies!

badwrenchbadwrench Member Posts: 1,000 ✭✭✭✭
edited May 2006 in General Discussion
'Cause of some union regulations, I'm getting paid $37 an hour for the next week, and I'm not even in any union! I've been averaging 10 hours a day for the past week that I've been doing this particular job (truck haul in the street sweeper) at my usual pay rate (a hell of a lot less than $37 an hour). Because it is now (as of Friday) a State-run operation (something for the Benicia Bridge construction project), they have to pay everyone union scale, and under union regs, I'm considered a heavy equipment operator and they make major ducats. I'm stoked!
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Comments

  • kristovkristov Member Posts: 6,633
    edited November -1
    This prevailing wage regulation is called the Davis-Bacon Act and has been around since 1931. Neither Davis not Bacon were communists, they were in fact republicans. Enjoy your fatter paycheck.
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  • Rack OpsRack Ops Member Posts: 18,596 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    This is why I hate unions.

    badwrench: That comment was in no way directed towards you. It just pisses me off that unions can screw the wage scale so badly.
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  • AlbertLumAlbertLum Member Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    union members are usually poor. go figure.
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  • kristovkristov Member Posts: 6,633
    edited November -1
    The original idea was to protect local job markets in areas like CA and NY from the threat of cheap labor being imported from those big square states in the Great Depression dust bowl. Interestingly enough most of those same states are, after 70 years, still among the lowest in per capita income in the lower 48. Since Davis-Bacon insured that there was no low cost labor competition, unions were able to pretty much charge whatever wages they felt like and employers were left to foot the bill. Nice work if you can get it!
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  • HighballHighball Member Posts: 15,755
    edited November -1
    Interesting.
    Just about the same guys defending and cheering on fat cat CEO's making huge profits, bonuses and sweetheart deals...castigating Union's.

    Oh...ya. No mystery there at all.
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  • kristovkristov Member Posts: 6,633
    edited November -1
    It is regulations like Davis-Bacon which keep wages for many trades at artificially high levels and prevents the use of lower cost labor from large pools present in most of the rust belt as well as the typical states in the bottom tier of per capita incomes, who's citizens would no doubt love to find employment. Since illegal aliens leave no paper trail (or a limited one at best) it is economical to use them rather than pay someone from Mississippi (as an example) California wage rates, which are of course much higher than those found in Mississippi. The auto industry learned this the hard way and this is the reason why Japanese auto makers did not build their new US production facilities in Detroit.
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  • HighballHighball Member Posts: 15,755
    edited November -1
    I am quite sure the argument between the haves and haves-not will rage until the Second Coming.
    Would that parents teach their children that those driven to amass fortunes are sick. There is a difference between living comfortably...and wanting every last dollar in the world.

    Most of the top business world today is driven solely by the love of money.The sleeze and corruption you read about every day is not
    'isolated incidents'..it is a fact of life under capitalism.
    This was also true in the 1920's-30's..when the Unions came together and forced the fat cats to share the wealth.

    Celebrate the demise of Unions. As you do so..be aware that you are celebrating the end of the American dream for the bulk of people in this country.
    The fat cats will make out just fine, thank you very much...
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