Minnesota to become a right to work state? (Crystal: insurance, unemployment rate)

[freezengirl]

I cannot see Minnesota ever going for this. It is diametrically opposed to our cultural heritage and history.

[Drewcifer]

Originally Posted by xandrex

That's exactly the problem. The GOP essentially knows that Dayton will veto any bill like this, so they want to go around him completely. The problem is that ruling by amendment is a messy process. I don't want to be California, as I said before. People are fickle and vote on their emotions. Politicians, for all the horrible things they do, at least tend to temper bills down a bit, knowing full well their accountable to people who know their voting record.

The division of powers in our political system are intended to make it hard to pass anything that doesn't have a broad concensus and prevent the tyranny of a small majority. Republicans should be careful with what they are doing regarding governing through constitutional referendums because it might start a trend that turns against them later. I don't want to see our state governed that way. The way things were done in the '50s through the '90s worked, our prosperity is a result of it. We would be stupid to move away from it.

[audadvnc]

Originally Posted by stockwiz

,Though for what it's worth, the standard of living for the lower classes in our country is still not bad... they seem to be worsening over time due to greed, and nothing is being done and I don't see any solution from either side...

That's right. Just like the Big Boys do in their boardrooms, you can draw the trend lines over decades and figure out where this is going. The solutions will have to come from you and me, because the guys running the show certainly are not working in our best interests.

... the republicans have left a bad taste in my mouth, having used to have been one.

The Dems are no better nowadays. The current occupant of the White House as well as Senate and House leaderships have clearly demonstrated to the world that both major parties are nothing but rubber stamps for powerful factions working behind the scenes. Any Democrat of 2012 is more right wing than a typical Republican of 1980.

Originally Posted by freezingirl

I cannot see Minnesota ever going for this. It is diametrically opposed to our cultural heritage and history.

Minnesota doesn't have to ever go for this, only a couple hundred easily bought cronies in the Capitol building. Same difference.

[snofarmer]

I'll slap that gift horse.

As a member of a union for over 19 years, I support the right to work.

Unions are dinosaurs, they served their purpose and are no longer needed.

If you want private business to hire more workers (create new jobs) ditch the union requirements and or the unions all together.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

I'll slap that gift horse.

As a member of a union for over 19 years, I support the right to work.

Unions are dinosaurs, they served their purpose and are no longer needed.

If you want private business to hire more workers (create new jobs) ditch the union requirements and or the unions all together.

I'm not a union member but if you ban unions give it 10 years and see if you still think this way.....

[snofarmer]

The unions have out lived their usefulness we no longer need a union to look out for the worker as we now have GOVT Depts like OSHA the department of labor etc etc.

Unions hold back the productive worker while promoting people for no other reason that seniority.

To go on strike and hold a business hostage is down right criminal.

There was a time when a union was beneficial but that time has come and gone.
It's time to step into the 21st century.


Any business owner knows if they want good workers they have to offer good pay, working conditions and good health Insurance plan.

What has your union done for you lately for the dues you pay monthly?
Pay for a political add?

You could have invested that money or bought a health plan for you and your family.

Anyway it's not a ban on unions,
It's a bill for a constitutional amendment prohibiting unions from requiring prospective employees to join or pay dues, making Minnesota a “right to work” state, was proposed in the House in early January but has yet to come before a committee.


Maybe you could get promoted on your work ethic or get paid what you are worth.
Doesn't that make more sense?

[Clifford63]

Probably not going to happen. Too much Union Support in MN to have it voted out.

I am mixed on issues related to this myself. I don't really like aspects of collective bargaining, and feel certain tactics work against the interest of business and government unfairly. Look at the underfunded pensions that taxpayers are having to bail out. Reality is the laws that corrected under funding made these plans unaffordable to many employers. I don't advocate erasing commitments made in the past, but I see no reason to continue offering defined benefit pension to new employees that cannot be afforded by employers. Try and bring that topic up a the negotiating table and it goes nowhere.

Reality is we have competition for new jobs coming in from overseas and from other states that are being successful recruiting new business based on labor laws. If we want to grow the economy, it seems like some change is in order.

Recently we see the union representing sugar workers go to the dark side. Not only did they encourage workers to strike in a situation with no leverage, they checked out entirely and have stated they will lobby congress to alter farm bill and sugar tarrif. Clearly this is more about preservation/spite than serving interest of the members. Is it fair to workers that they must hold a union card in situation like this?

On the other hand I did work a union job in a meat packing plant for several years when I was younger. Working conditions were pretty bad and the Union did help in that regard. OSHA was there, but a lot of stuff went overlooked.

Americans need to wake up and start taking education and work more seriously. Many of our jobs can, and are already being done elsewhere for a fraction of what we think is fair.

[my54ford]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

You can choose not to take a union position now. It's not like positions which require joining a union make that fact a secret. In many cases, it's a strong selling point.

Sure you can choose not to take a job maybe if you want your Faimly to starve. In case you hadn't noticed there aren't lots of jobs here in MN..... so you suck it up and pay the union blood money .......What about a 10 guy work place where 5 guys want the unnion and 5 don't? the 5 that don't are fU$^ed. All is takes if 50% and your forced to be in the union.... AFSCME does this all the time in MN....

[golfgal]

OSHA and the Department of Labor are direct results of labor union efforts. If there were not union watch dogs....those departments would dissolve. Also, they are grossly understaffed to take over the duties that unions deal with right now. We are having a non-union dispute with a former employer that has been ongoing for over 3 years....it is a pretty cut and dried issue, we are right, they are wrong but they are dragging their feet getting it resolved and while the department of Labor has been mildly helpful, we have been through 3 "case managers" and they all have to start over from the beginning each time someone new starts....it's very frustrating.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by my54ford

Sure you can choose not to take a job maybe if you want your Faimly to starve. In case you hadn't noticed there aren't lots of jobs here in MN..... so you suck it up and pay the union blood money .......What about a 10 guy work place where 5 guys want the unnion and 5 don't? the 5 that don't are fU$^ed. All is takes if 50% and your forced to be in the union.... AFSCME does this all the time in MN....

Well yes, you trade your hate of unions for the food on your table. You make a trade-off. Though actually, you could take advantage of any number of government benefits if your conscious really made you not want to join a union. Or you could just find a place that doesn't have unions. Most Minnesotans aren't part of one at all, so it's not like we have some huge problem to take care of.

I do agree that unions are at times more hindrance than help, but I do think they still serve a purpose in certain work environments. You'll notice that few white-collar workers are part of unions. This is likely partially because their skills make them harder to replace. But we do need people who do more manual and grunt work. These people do deserve a semblance of basic benefits and enough pay to survive, plus protection so that they can't be replaced whenever someone else of able-body comes and says they'll work cheaper. It's simply not stable for society to have high turnover like that. This doesn't mean that unions couldn't use a bit of updating, though...some of their rules and ways of dealing with issues are iffy at best.