November 6, 2015: even the unions lose under Obama's ideology; union upset that Obama kills Keystone XL;
The main union for construction workers is accusing President Obama of throwing them “under the bus” by rejecting the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) is one of the few labor unions that broke with the majority of Democrats and supported the project, which Obama rejected Friday after a seven-year review.February 17, 2015: largest Port of Portland shipper, Hanjin Shipping, says sayonara. Can't deal with the unions any more. Could end the Port of Portland as we know it. It will certainly decimate the dockworkers union in Portland.
January 26, 2015: Union membership falls to 100-year low. Daily Signal reports:
Union membership rate fell to 11.1 percent, with just 14.6 million wage and salaried workers maintaining membership.
In 2013, the union membership rate was 0.2 percentage points higher, at 11.3 percent.
The rate of union membership has been on a steady decline over the past three decades.
It grew slightly from 12.1 percent in 2007 to 12.4 percent in 2008. During President Obama’s first year in office, however, it fell once more.October 7, 2014: Philadelphia gut check -- for Philadelphia school teachers, a lesson in new math and ObamaCare:
In a surprise move Monday, the commission that governs the financially troubled Philadelphia public-school system canceled the teachers union contract and decided educators must contribute to their health insurance for the first time to free up money for classrooms.October 1, 2014: a federal judge rules that public sector pensions are not protected when a city declares bankruptcy; ruled in the Stockton, CA, bankruptcy proceedings.
January 6, 2014: Machinists union narrowly votes to accept Boeing contract. The Los Angeles Times says the new 8-year Boeing contract underscores decline of union clout.
December 30, 2013: gut-check. Union to vote on whether to accept modest cut in benefits vs keeping jobs. This is a no-brainer. Boeing says if union votes "no," the company will manufacture its composite wing elsewhere (possibly Japan).
Original Post
The Demise of US Unions
Special Section
with minimal comment; the stories stand on their own
The Real Fairy Tale: California’s second-largest teachers’ union as champion of “social justice”with minimal comment; the stories stand on their own
The online premiere last week of the California Federation of Teachers’ short cartoon, “Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale,” attracted such a torrent of mockery that the state’s second-largest teachers’ union set the video to “private” on its YouTube channel after a few days. Too late. Narrated by actor and self-described socialist Ed Asner, the video depicts an America devastated over 20 years by the greed of the richest “1 percent.” The video’s lowlight shows a white capitalist fat cat standing on a pile of money, urinating on a black woman’s head. (The video was later edited to remove the urine stream.) [Comment: a major theme of this cartoon was that politicians are bought; Ed Asner's choice for president was re-elected in a landslide in 2012 when this cartoon was posted.]Peggy Noonan, WSJ: if union members allowed to vote with their feet ...
By the way, the single most interesting number in the whole race was 28,785. That is how many dues-paying members of the American Federation of State, County and Municiple Employees were left in Wisconsin after Mr. Walker allowed them to choose whether union dues would be taken from their paychecks each week. Before that, AFSCME had 62,218 dues-paying members in Wisconsin. There is a degree to which public union involvement is, simply, coerced.Labors Face New Challenges -- WSJ: Losses in Wisconsin, California come as ranks of government unions decline.
Organized labor, reeling from blows to government workers in Wisconsin and California elections, is grappling with the prospect of diminished political clout and fewer members in public-sector unions that have formed the core of the movement's power in recent years.The LA Times take on the Wisconsin vote: Unions were the big losers.
Labor unions, by contrast, suffered a serious blow to their already-waning political clout. The recall made the third election in the space of a year in which labor failed to defeat Walker or a Walker proxy. The unions lost a fight to oust a Republican state Supreme Court justice and fell short of recalling enough GOP state senators last summer to put Democrats in control of the chamber. And now this.A whoopin', from above:
The headline -- "Walker Survives Recall Election." The story:Union members choosing to vote with their feet
With more than 60 percent of precincts reporting, Walker was ahead 57 percent to 42 percent for Barrett, according to early returns tabulated by The Associated Press.That's not "surviving a recall election." That's a whoopin.' When I was in high school campaigning for a local candidate, I was told that a 51-49 win was a landslide in many cases. That's when I first learned about point spreads in politics. Yeah, 57-42 is not a "survival"; it's a whoopin.' It's a sad day when even the "AP" is biased.
Wisconsin’s government employees are leaving their government-unions in great numbers. This results from reforms of Gov. Scott Walker, including ending the government’s collection of union dues for government-union leaders, and instead recognizing the union members’ right to choose.From wiki:
What is happening in Wisconsin evidences the necessity of politicians elected to represent the taxpaying public and stop kowtowing to government-union bosses for fear of losing elections. They must recognize government employees’ right to choose and to refuse to collect government-union dues by payroll deduction.
The beneficiaries of dues collection by the government for the government unions, especially the largest, SEIU followed by AFSCME, are the government-union leaders and careerists, not the union members.
In short, it is not “anti-union” to eliminate dues collection by the government, it is “pro-union member.”
This reform is a major reason why union leaders in Wisconsin, and nationally, are desperately trying to recall Gov. Walker and reinstate automatic dues collection by payroll deduction, whether union members want it or not.
Union membership had been declining in the US since 1954. In 2007, the labor department reported the first increase in union memberships in 25 years and the largest increase since 1979. Most of the recent gains in union membership have been in the service sector while the number of unionized employees in the manufacturing sector has declined. Most of the gains in the service sector have come in West Coast states like California where union membership is now at 16.7% compared with a national average of about 12.1%.Boeing, South Carolina, Union Retaliation
Historically, the rapid growth of public employee unions since the 1960s has served to mask an even more dramatic decline in private-sector union membership.
Indeed, were it not for the fact that the once-unionized Boeing employees in South Carolina kicked the Machinists union out of their workplace, the union would likely never have filed a charge against Boeing for locating the 787 work in South Carolina.Not nice. And just plain weird.
Note: I never in a million years would have posted this special section but after the comments I received following the Wisconsin recall, my contract required that I respond. It was purely a business decision.
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14. Stupid is as stupid does. It's not as if the union was not warned about the reality of voting down the contract. The Los Angeles Times reports union members are upset that Boeing is looking for a new site to build their new Boeing 777X after the union voted to reject a new contract:At issue is the company's hunt for a site to build its newest airliner, the 777X. Ryker and other members of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 overwhelmingly voted last month to reject a contract that would have cut some pension plans and healthcare benefits but guaranteed the program would stay in the Pacific Northwest.
Since the vote, Washington's largest private employer has been looking elsewhere for a site to build the plane, a potential move that threatens the state economy and the middle class Boeing helped create.
The company's decision reflects the hard realities of the industry and the latest skirmish in the fight for union survival. Boeing says the contract concessions are essential to compete financially with its longtime European rival Airbus, which plans to deliver its own new twin-aisle jetliner next year.
The two companies have been locked in a duopoly of the large jet market since the 1990s and are currently in a dead heat. Last year, Boeing delivered just 13 more aircraft than Airbus, a far cry from its 297-plane advantage in 1989.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Raymond L. Conner laid out the stakes in a letter to workers before the Nov. 13 union vote on the 777X, an essential part of the company's long-term product strategy.13. Right-to-work state South Carolina wins huge military contract, March 3, 2013.
12. Indiana, votes "right-to-work" on February 2, 2013; first "rust belt" state to do so. Less than a month later, Chrysler announces huge investment in north-central Indiana. February 28, 2013.
11. From Drudge link, Greece running out of cash:
Greek leaders said that despite their latest bailout of 130 billion euros, or $161.7 billion, they face a shortfall of 1.7 billion euros because tax revenue and other sources of potential income are drying up. A wrenching recession and harsh budget cuts have left businesses and individuals with less and less to give for taxes — and growing incentive to avoid paying what they owe.As noted many times, I can't comprehend 9 zeroes. So, if a friend, let's call him EUric gave me $162 and then I told EUric I was still short $2 to pay my bills, do you think EUric would a) give me the $2 dollars; b) give me $10 bucks because he's such a good friend; or, c) tell me to pound dirt.
10. Two huge dots today to connect: first, the president has told Bill Clinton to pound dirt; the White House is not going to extend tax cuts. Second, breaking news on CNBC: the White House has just released a presser saying that the US and Germany have talked; the US pressed the Germans that the EU debacle needs to be solved. Connecting the dots: the money raised in new taxes at the end of the year will be transferred (as collateral/backstop) to the IMF to prop up the EU. Money is fungible.
9. Read my lips: no more tax cuts!
8. Wow, the WSJ -- print edition -- is full of interesting articles today. I simply won't have time to post all the links, nor would many be interested. The common theme: "the chickens are coming home to roost" -- in Europe and in the US.
- Solar Firm's Big Push for US Loan -- the story of the desert tortoise, or is it now the "dessert" tortoise?
- Europe's Green Energy Suicide
7. Not nice. And just plain weird.Emissions-free solar and wind energy, on which the UK plans increasingly to rely, are expensive. The government estimates that a planned offshore wind farm project ringing the coast will cost ... [the equivalent of $9,000] for everyhousehold in the country. Conventional energy could provide the same amount of energy at 5% of the cost.
6. The iPad is ubiquitous. This morning, getting off the "73" at Harvard Station, a man that could have been taken for a homeless person (he wasn't), was reading his iPad, the same posture as we used to see folks reading the NY Times. Speaking of which, have it bookmarked for its good writing.
5. Speaking of the recall vote, I was not aware that the president had not campaigned on behalf of the unions in the state. Thrown under the bus.
4. Drudge called the race hours earlier than mainstream media yesterday -- although he was off, it appears. He said it would be close. Print media now upset with Drudge. Print media looking more and more like your average blog every day.
CNN, Fox News, CNBC all have breaking news crawlers all day long. Those crawlers no longer carry any weight. Drudge irritates me by not changing his lead story for days at a time, it seems. But I can be guaranteed when I go to Drudge I will see the headline news that is pertinent to that point in time, even if it's the same headline as twelve hours earlier.
More: the headline -- "Walker Survives Recall Election." The story:
With more than 60 percent of precincts reporting, Walker was ahead 57 percent to 42 percent for Barrett, according to early returns tabulated by The Associated Press.That's not "surviving a recall election." That's a whoopin.' When I was in high school campaigning for a local candidate, I was told that a 51-49 win was a landslide in many cases. That's when I first learned about point spreads in politics. Yeah, 57-42 is not a "survival"; it's a whoopin.' It's a sad day when even the "AP" is biased.
3. Just the other day in my morning ramblings I talked about the challenge brick-and-mortar (BAM) stores have in the age of iPhone consumerism. I said BAM can't do much with regard to in-store inventory compared to what is available on the net, but customer service in the BAM stores could make all the difference. So, with that in mind, do you think this 73-year-old distinguished physician will ever visit Barnes and Noble again? I know I won't. But not because solely of this. But it leaves a bad, bad taste in my mouth, as they used to say.
Some months ago, my granddaughter was laying on the floor in the childrens' section in a B&N store; I thought it was cute, and took a photograph of her. I was told by a store employee that in-store photographs were not allowed. As if every kid with an iPhone isn't taking pictures everywhere.
2. The other night my granddaughters, their mom, and grandmother went to the Il Divo concert in downtown Boston. I said I would pick them up when it was over. I could not believe how smoothly things worked out. I arrived in the "immediate area" exactly at the prescribed time. We said we would find each other once we got there.
As soon as I arrived, I called my wife; they had just exited the theater. I said I was two car lengths to the right of the theater. She saw my flashing lights immediately; the four got in and we were on our way.
Two things: first, the Boston drivers were incredibly courteous. The theater was on a four-lane street in downtown Boston. Two lanes to the far left had been turned into a pick-up zone. There were no police or security folks moving traffic. Cars moved into and out of the pick-up zone with little trouble. Folks seemed to leave the third lane open for cars moving in and out, with the fourth (outside) lane being used for steady driving. Chaos is self-organizing.
But what really kept the line of cars moving smoothly -- I am convinced -- were folks using their cell phones to keep in contact. I doubt if anyone had to wait long in front of the theater waiting for someone to find them. I am convinced the cell phone sped up the entire process.
Wouldn't it be interesting if there was an "app" that my wife could put on her phone to immediately locate the GPS position of the cell phone she was calling? Once she dialed my phone number, whether I answered or not, her smart phone would display a map where my cell phone was located. My hunch: the app is already out there. I am just not aware of it.
1. One of the reasons I enjoy investing: it tends to keep me interested in what is going on in the world. If I were not a long term investor in telecommunications, I doubt I would have clicked on this WSJ article about trends in voice usage over cell phones. The generational changes are occurring faster than ever.
In a sea change for consumer behavior, the amount of time spent making old-fashioned voice calls has fallen every year since Apple Inc. introduced the iPhone in 2007.In fact, I could see some folks buying a no-contract, throw-away $10 Wal-Mart phone for social calls they make, and never using voice on their smart phone, the "new" data phone.
Carriers are wrestling with a generational shift in the relationship between their customers and the devices they sell. Phone calls simply are no longer the primary reason people buy mobile phones. The shift is so pronounced that Inc. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said at an investor conference Friday that he wouldn't be surprised if some carrier pops up in the next two years with cellphone plans that cover only data, no voice.
On the other hand, prices for data/voice will continue to come down, I think, making the whole discussion moot.