Duped by Wal mart

scott5792

Everyone remember when Wal Mart was first opening?All the hoopla about "american made" was their motto.What was the last thing you saw at Wal Mart that was made in America?I see a whole bunch of third world products, but very few USA made. What happened?

Big Sky Redneck

I hate to say this but it is near impossible to sell only American made products. Who can we thank for that?? I blame politics and unions. Politicians want to do political butt kissing and support all of these countries and let them sell thier products here and the unions greed closed how many factories and sent them over the border? Can't blame Walmart. There are a few of us on here that get a behind the scenes look at what happens in the retail world and it's sad. I have delivered many many many loads to Walmart DC's that came from American factories but the number gets smaller everyday. More and more we see customers closing doors and we have to go to the piers to get the same shipment.

mudge

I KNOW 7mm's comments about unions are gonna' start something. I have one thing to say about them.......I LIKE THIS GUY! Mudge the appreciative

---

I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!

njretcop

Does that mean that I was duped by General Motors Corp when I bought my new Buick?The trunk lock states says on it: Made in Mexico, parts under the hood have tags on them stating there were made in Korea, China and Argentina. The car was assembled in Canada.

---

It's the stuff dreams are made of AngelNRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com

Big Sky Redneck

Well Mudge, I thought for sure I would get something started over the union comment but I have failed, I guess I will go down to the local and file a grievance. WAIT!!! I know why they havent said anything! They need to have a meeting to see if they will get paid for blasting me for blasting them! Justa stirrin, yep just a stirrin. It is true though. The unions get greedy, they strike demanding more pay, the companies then close the doors and open elsewhere, often times in another country. I have been one more union docks than I care to think about and it's pathetic to see how lazy some of them are. Favorite union quote, "Not my job".

badboybob

We are entering more and more into a global economy. The most important thing a business can do is make money. That's what capitalism is all about. If they don't make money they go bankrupt.That's one thing American labor union leaders don't understand. They think a business is only a cash cow for the union. The union leadership, like polititions, think only of expanding their powerbase.When it's cheaper to send raw materials half way around the world, then import the finished product, than to have it manufactured here you can blame the labor unions.You buyers and sellers who don't like the high prices UPS and Fedex charge can thank the most corrupt union in America - the teamsters.Rant finished. Fire away.

---

PC=BS

Big Sky Redneck

Here is an example of teamster work, nice and slow.PACKAGE PROGRESSDate Time Location Activity Apr 1, 2002 11:55 A.M. ALTOONA-ALTOONA, PA, US DELIVERY 7:15 A.M. ALTOONA SORT, PA, US OUT FOR DELIVERY 2:30 A.M. ALTOONA SORT, PA, US ARRIVAL SCAN Mar 30, 2002 12:41 A.M. NEW STANTON, PA, US DEPARTURE SCAN Mar 29, 2002 10:57 P.M. NEW STANTON, PA, US LOCATION SCAN 9:32 P.M. NEW STANTON, PA, US ARRIVAL SCAN 1:06 A.M. CACH, IL, US DEPARTURE SCAN Mar 28, 2002 8:15 P.M. CACH, IL, US LOCATION SCAN 12:46 P.M. CACH, IL, US ARRIVAL SCAN Mar 26, 2002 10:58 P.M. DENVER, CO, US DEPARTURE SCAN 7:50 P.M. DENVER, CO, US LOCATION SCAN 5:49 P.M. DENVER, CO, US UNLOAD SCAN 9:22 A.M. DENVER, CO, US ARRIVAL SCAN 3:30 A.M. CASPER, WY, US DEPARTURE SCAN 12:27 A.M. CASPER, WY, US LOCATION SCAN Mar 25, 2002 10:15 P.M. CASPER, WY, US UNLOAD SCAN 10:12 P.M. CASPER, WY, US ARRIVAL SCAN 7:16 P.M. SHERIDAN (5900), WY, US DEPARTURE SCAN 6:37 P.M. SHERIDAN (5900), WY, US ORIGIN SCAN

scott5792

No doubt. It's like taking the bus to californiaScott

rmeyer

Ok 7MM i'll bite on the Union bit. Since you said the greedy unions sent businesses packing over the borders i'll ask how you figure that? I say it's greedy business who move on their own to increase their PROFIT margin. Do you think they pass any of their labor savings on to the American consumer? No, they don't. They just fill their pockets deeper.

budmott

My Tahoe states on the inside door,"Made in Texas by Texans". Give mea warm and fuzzy feeling. Plus bestveichle I have ever owned.IMHO...bud

Big Sky Redneck

I will tell you that I'm an OTR truck driver, that should explain my hatred for unions. I'v seen the workings of the unions, I'v been screwed by the unions, I see rediculously high salaried people who are LAZY, I see the unions bidding themselves out of work, many factories I used to go to no longer exist, I see many steel mills I used to go to no longer in operation, I see companies get bullied by unions and forced out of existance, I'm like a fly in the wall, I hear many things that make me want to puke, I see laziness fed by $$, I hear labor disputes over stupid crap, look at UPS, a couple years ago they struck, what did they gain, nada, they lost money and so did the owners of UPS, it sickens me to no end to hear workers jealous of the owners making money. The owners are supposed to make money, that's the American dream, own your own business and get rich, union workers are jealous, they want all the money. They unionize, they go on strike to try and take the profit from the owner, they succeed, the owner get's pissed or goes broke, they pack bags and leave. The union boys pat themselves on the back, "yep we showed him". Showed who? You aint got a job! GREED GREED GREED GREED! The unions are nothing but legalized mafia, they bully and extort, they have been know to kill and maim. Look at Overnight, driver beat up and trucks vandalized, why? Because they told the teamsters to kiss off. Maybe a long time ago the union was a good thing, now they are nothing but lazy corrupt organazations that will rob a company of everything it can untill the company goes bankrupt. I can go on and on and on about the unions but I will behave out of fear of starting a fight on here but let it be known I have no time for unions. I can get along with union workers as long as they don't try to push that holier than though crap, they aint no better than me and I'm no better than them.

rmeyer

7mm. Both groups of folks union and non union are gonna have their lazy. No question about it. You label union workers lazy yet you then say you are no better then them. Kinda saying 2 different things there. You also said you hear this and you hear that. Doesn't make it a fact. I have worked union for many years and alot of the scenerios you laid out are fiction. Nothing wrong with a group of people who prefer to negotiate together for better wages and benefits. Tell you this, I would much prefer my retirement pension through my union then most companies 401k packages right now.

ndbilly

rmeyer - You are spot in with your comments regarding pension plans vs 401k's. My father worked for US Steel for 38 years and is in his 19th year of retirement. The old man's pension was not a gift from US Steel but the benefit of organized labor negotiations.Did the unions kill the US steel industry? Was it the unbridled greed of the USWA membership that closed all those mills? Or was it the steel company's virtual world monopoly through the early 1970's that made them complacent and lazy? Perhaps their refusal to invest in new technologies and to replace antiquated facilities and procedures (open hearth vs basic oxygen furnace as an example of the latter) contributed to their demise. Then, too, the state and federal environmental organizations and their constantly morphing regulations and their power plays to see who could supersede whom in making clean air and water requirements more stringent played a role. The steel industry is only one example. There are far too many others and there's blame aplenty for the problems of each. The point is that the companies and industries that have failed in the past thirty years have done so as a result of a number of factors. Looking for a union boogeyman to point the finger to leaves most of those factors unconsidered.

gunpaq

7MM NUT took some of my fire about the unions. Had similar experiences while driving truck. I belonged to three unions because membership was forced if I wanted to work in that particular industry segment. Two of the unions, in my opinion, were okay as they tolerated no slackers and were cooperative with the employers (I still resented being forced to join). The other, a teachers union ruined a great longstanding private school once it was unionized (all promises were broken within the first year). I know firsthand that any negative union talk touches a raw nerve for some reason because my father didn't speak to me for more than ten years after a dinner table union debate. I don't have a problem with anyone belonging to a union but don't make me pay an extortion fee in order to work as a free citizen for myself or an employer in a free country.

---

Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.

k.stanonik

Thank you for your comments about the unions, I am a union contractor and i see men who want to work and ones who dont, why is it that people who are non union complain about us. I am up at 3:30 in the morning when i am lucky enough to work days and help to make sure the roads are in good repair for all of us to drive on or a safe building for you to go to work in, believe me alot of non union co cut corners and people get hurt.

Big Sky Redneck

My biggest complaint about unions is the treatment nonunion workers get from them. I told a story some time ago about a load I delivered to a union job site while I was an owner operator and got the biggest screwing ever, they refused to unload the equipment I brought them and stated only union trucks are allowed on the property, I had to go to a union company and have the stuff unloaded from my truck and out on thiers, do you know who paid the frieght bill for the teamster truck? ME! I lost alot of money on that load and it put me in the hole. Grocery wharehouses, another union crock. They extoert labor from nonunion drivers, force us to unload thier freight on their dock using manual equipment while they watch. If we don't unload it they make us hire a lumper, a union employee who gets paid twice! A lumper will charge $40 to $200 at most whs's while he is getting his union pay. EXTORTION AND ROBBERY!!! Can we fight this? Nope, the unions bribe the the politicians and heads of the FMCSA to keep their practice legal. They have OSHA in their pockets as well, in the last 3 years OSHA has been going to these union whs's and posting notices that anyone running power jacks must be certified, that means us. To get certified you have to take the whs's class, no way we can go to them, we would have to take a class at each and every whs. WINNDIXIE in Hammond LA, drivers are not permitted to unload trucks, you have to hire a lumper. If you do not hire a lumper you will be escorted off the property. Union Rules. Do you want me to keep going? Every time I have dealt with unions I got the shaft, why? Because I'm nonunion. The unions take care of their own and nobody else, period. I will not take a union job, I do not want to be like them. I want to make my own choices, not have a union steward run my life and job.

k.stanonik

I'm sorry for your experience, and you have a right to feel the way you do, but please dont blame all of us union memebers for your bad experiences. To tell you the truth if i worked on the docks i would get alot of flack because i would help you out.

scott5792

I surely never thought my comment would get into a union scuffle.Sounds like a serious convo. on here. both for and against.Scott

guns-n-painthorses

You think the teamsters are bad? Try being a independant railroad contractor! Those boys can talk some *. There is nothing they hate more than seeing me roll onto the property and start doing "their" work! The thing that pisses them off is I can by myself with a bobcat, do more work in a day then they can in a week. And I have to comply to all the saftey rules too. By the way, Why do you have to pay a union autoworker 22 dollars a hour to install dome lights!5 guys watching and one guy working,,,,yep, it's a union job!

rmeyer

7mm. What is the osha and the fmcsa you refer to in your post? Unions support politicians who favor their cause alot like gun owners and the NRA do. Every cause you can think of does this. Doesn't make it bribery.

dou1t2

Maybe Wal-Mart workers will go on strike and in time the union will take all their profits and they will be gone forever! If you going to dream, DREAM BIG!

tesla85@citlink.net

Do any of you remeber about 7 or 8 years ago, when it came out that walmart was putting Made In USA labels on clothes and items that were in fact made in the red diaper doper baby country of China?

PDF.44

7MM, we all make our own choice of jobs, if we don't like them we can quit and find a job that better suits us. If not for unions we would be geting minimum wage. I'm not a big union fan , mine included so don't paint us all with the same brush. After 38 years at my trade I am retired and can now move to a state that is more conservative. We do have choices. I made mine you made yours. I choose not to whine but to make the best of it. Maybe you don't realize just how many people hate their jobs but stick it out anyway. Unions or not we have to do what we have do. I do understand where you are coming from but don't slap all of us working men in the face just because we joined a union. When I retired fron the Operating Engineers I was making $35.00 an hour plus benefits not $10.00 without.

Big Sky Redneck

Osha is the occupational hazard association, the unions pay them to make sure they get the rules they want and only union approved rules are enforced on their property. The FMCSA is the federal motor carriers safety association, now it gets tricky and lengthy but I will try to keep it short and simple. The unions drafted the Hours of service rules in the 50's to suit thier work and to restrict nonunion carriers from doing their job cheaper. Here we are 50+ years later and we still run under union rules, nonunion companies still have to run with that crap. Last year a couple of proposals was made to make the rules more livable, the unions shot them down in a hurry because that would give drivers the flexability needed to drive safely. The unions do not want us to have flexibility, they do not want us to drive longer and farther than they do. They call it a safety issue and it is not, when the FMCSA does the medical tests they use union drivers to "help" the tests along. The union also keeps laws out of the books that would prohibit driver unloading, that is a real safety issue but the unions don't want to hear it. When the FMCSA proposes changing the rules to accomodate us the unions step in. Like I said I can go on and on and on about this. The union will never help the commom worker, they only look out for themselves and if that means trampling all over independants they do it with all their might. I can do a west coast turnaround easy and far better than the union companies provide, but if caught I can go to federal prison for violating union rules that came into law thanks to the union. The union has also nailed the media just like Sarah Brady, they got the public thinking OTR drivers are unsafe and a hazard to the public, hence forth STUPID and RETARDED laws like right lane only and split speed limits, they keep the hours of service rules because they make the public think we are irresponsible. They force us to be outlaws to their rules and then crucify us for doing so. Why is ok for you or anybody to drive cross country pulling a camper or whatever but yet we have to stop after 10 hours? If it was safety EVERBODY should have to carry a log book. Thats enogh for now, I'm getting cramps in my hands. I'll rant later. Meanwhile fire away.

stanman

7mmnut, I'll have you know I've been a member of 3 different unions in the course of my career!The Laborer's union, the Machinists and Aerospace worker's Union and The Montana State Employees Union, (affiliated with the AFL-CIO)The first 2 I joined out of youthful ignorance. The third I was forced into due to the ignorance of my co-workers who voted for union representation.Unions and Union officials are nothing more than thugs demanding protection money!When I requested that none of my union dues be used to promote any democratic or pro-abortion candidates the AFL-CIO reps gave me 2 options.1. Keep my mouth shut and continue to pay my dues.2. Find another job.I surely do miss that job in Montana.

martzkj@msn.com

7mm, STOP blowing smoke about union people being lazy. I been to many docks that are non union and waited forever. Non union people are just as lazy. People are people, they will try and get away with whatever they can. It doesn't matter if they are union or not. As far as are wages, what are you jealous of what the teamsters make. If you non union guys would stick with us, you could be making decent money to. However the fact of the matter is, the union pay is falling further behind each year trying to compete with you non union guys. The fact is you are cutting your own throat by hauling for peanuts and then crying the blues about what teamsters make. You are only digging your own grave. I've been a teamster for 13 years and the fact is, with the cost of living! I make 12% less now than when I started. This is all in the name of trying to compete with non union carriers. Just remember one thing. They can't move your trucking job out of the country. If us truckers would all stick together we could all make more money.

Big Sky Redneck

Jealous??? Nope, never in a million years will I be jealous of what a teamster makes. Why you ask, it's simple. Freedom. Money aint everything, to be a teamster you become nobody to them, another number. I will not ever follow those rules, if it comes down to where they clamp down and make us run "black boxes" and electronic logs to keep us in line with the teamsters I will not renew my cdl, I will go flip burgers. freedom dude, that number one on the road, freedom. Thats why I drive, freedom. How much freedom does a teamster have? Compared to what OTR guys have, none. I want to stay up all night and go truckin, I'm gonna do it. You guys say we are forced to run like that, 90% of the time no we're not, if I'm 2 days from home and I'm awake I'm driving, not sitting in a truckstop crying because I'm outa hours, playing video games and slopping down at the buffet. No sir, freedom to do what I want, hey it's America right. And don't even start that crap about the hours of service saving lives, if you only knew how many drivers toss that stupid log book in the bunk you would be scared. Nobody runs 100% legal. Nobody. The hours of service is teamster rules forced on us by somebody with money wanting us put on a leash because a teamster don't wanna do 3rd morning off the coast, if we do it they expect teamsters to do it, so back in the good 'ol days Hoffa and the boys out a screwing to us and we are still getting it! Don't tell me I'm jealous, never in a million years. Ok, next. let's hear them flames!! This is fun! Yeehaw

smokey1

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN)for 6 a.m. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved withhis electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG).He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE INSINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA).After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) hesat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spendtoday.After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he gotin his car (MADE IN GERMANY)and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided torelax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself aglass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), andthen wondered why he can't find a good paying job in.....AMERICA.....-Author Unknown-7MM,OSHA is an acronym for Occupational Safety and Health Administration.Your statements about unions are painted with a pretty broad brush. If your beef is just with the Teamsters than please refrain from making such sweeping comments about unions in general. Every union organization is different. I happen to belong to a union, but even with the knowledge I have of how my local and international union operate, I would not even make an attempt at guessing how the Teamsters do business.Back on topic- Walmart distibutes and sells a disproportionate amount of foreign made goods because we the voters let it happen by electing officials that are weak on foreign trade issues and than patronize the companies that abuse these laws for maximum profit. Union and non-union voters alike.

Mercury

Well said Smokey!As a retailer, I can vouch that people will almost ALWAYS buy a cheaper piece of crap over a quality USA made item!I've found out something in the last 4-5 years of owning a retail store: People are CHEAP BASTARDS!!!!!Even when you say "This one is 100x better for only 10% more, they RARELY buy it!"Don't blame Wal-mart.....don't blame the unions, blame the CHEAP BASTARDS WHO BUY CHEAP CRAP!!!!!I'd LOVE to sell nothing but American made items, but I'd go bankrupt in about 5 days! Sad, but true....Merc

Big Sky Redneck

Thanks for correcting me on the OSHA meaning, I knew it was somewhere along those lines, regardless of the name they still stink. Yes, my biggest beef is with the teamsters but I have had problems with other union groups. The problem is, as long as I drive truck for nonunion companies I will have to deal with union companies, teamster or not I still get stuck around them. From what I have learned after being around unions is non union folks are treated like dirt most of the time. It is the attitude that is annoying. From being forced off of a jobsite for not having a union card to having to put up with legalized extortion. One thing about me is I'm very independant and maybe I let my pride get in the way but I hate being slapped down, I hate being told I will have to do someone elses job while they watch and laugh at me, I hate being called a scab when I'm on a union jobsite. Problem is I love driving truck, it's the ultimate freedom I will probably enjoy, sure I break just about every rule made (lol) and stupid demeaning and harassing laws. Maybe thats why the teamsters and other union memebers give me so much flak! I get away with murder on the highway and now they gettin even with me! Ohh well. But hey, I love stirrin up a hornets nest and this is a great way to do it. Give me a big 'ol 379 Pete with a 48'x102" spread reefer and enough led's to land an aircraft and watch me go "get outa my way cause I got this thing in da beeg hole and I'm justa gougin on it, cluck cluck cheekin truck!" I'm done stirrin, I don't want this gettin ugly so I'll quit, but if I may get one more shot in here,,HEY HOFFA! KISS MY............

rmeyer

Always love the guy that debates something he has not a clue about. Thanks for the laughs 7mm.

smokey1

7MM,I understand the way you feel. I've been a union member for 20 years in the construction industry. I've worked along side non-union contractors on many jobs. I have been in many heated debates with my fellow brothers and sisters on the job and at the hall over the way members have treated non-union workers. To call them a scab, worm, rat or any other derogatory term, has always seemed counter-productive to me. Why would they want to join you when you call them names? The majority of them are trying to eek out a living just like everyone does. Some union people are the unions own worst enemy. It doesn't make the union bad, it is more a case of poor individual choice. Every org. has it's bad eggs. I'm sorry you've had so many bad experiences with individual union members. Trust me, we are not all zombie-like robots that blindly follow our unions like good little socialists. Happy trails, and keep it between the lines!Mercury,Nothin' but net! People are sickenly cheap. I chalk it up to being short-sighted. We as consumers need to look more at long term consequences of being cheap. Japanese firms have no problem with making long term investments with money. USA investors seem to want instant returns on their money. Same with the American consumer. Put two pieces of crap next to each other, most will buy the cheap one regardless of the long term pay-off that should rule the decision. Very sad indeed. Our children will someday foot the bill.

Big Sky Redneck

rmeyer, no problem, we can always tell who the die hard union man is. Plus this is the only place I can safely bash teamsters without gettin my head broke or my tires cut.[This message has been edited by 7mm nut (edited 04-02-2002).]