Re: Unions In Canada Have Got To Go

[Anonymous]

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Obama is a favorite among organized labor. So it's surprising that next Wednesday the Labor Department will publish data for 2012 showing that during Obama's first term, the U.S. unionization rate for American workers declined faster than during two terms of President George W. Bush.



Who would have guessed?



President Obama's first term has been a disaster for jobs. There are only 460,000 more nonfarm payroll jobs today than when he took office.



As the economy grew over the past year, the total unionization rate declined from 11.8% of wage and salary workers in 2011 to 11.2% in 2012. The private sector unionization rate fell from 6.9% to 6.6%, and the government unionization rate dropped from 37% to 35.9%.



The latest data continue a trend of steadily declining union membership over the past 30 years. Yet during Obama's first term, the decline in union membership has accelerated. The unionization rate declined by 1.2 percentage points, compared to 1.1 percentage points during the eight Bush years. Public sector unionization rates fell by nine-tenths of a percentage point during Obama's tenure, compared with seven-tenths of a percentage point during Bush's two terms.



No matter how pro-union a president, an anti-business agenda results in lost jobs for non-union workers and union members alike. While Obama has championed union causes, his tax and regulatory policies have systematically discouraged business investment and job creation in America. Our corporate tax rates are among the highest in the industrialized world, and burdensome and inefficient regulations add to the cost of production and render every employee a walking liability. Consumer confidence has been low, resulting in lower consumption, which also affects employment.



President Obama seemed to do everything he could in his first term to help unions. Much of the $831 billion stimulus package was directed at unionized workers, either in the public sector, such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters, or private sector construction workers who got stimulus funds for "shovel ready jobs" that, as it turned out, weren't so shovel ready. Obama's Executive Order 13502, on project labor agreements, required construction projects over $25 million receiving federal funds to hire unionized workers.



Big unions love Obama even if his policies have caused harm to American workers. I know this thread was about Canadian unionization, but big labor has a similar agenda on both sides of the border.

[Anonymous]

I will find out tomorrow at work how the budget will affect the provincial civil service.

[Anonymous]

Only thing I have heard so far is that the province will borrow large amounts of money for infrastructure. That doesn't sound like Harris style cuts to me.

[Anonymous]

I will find out tomorrow at work how the budget will affect the provincial civil service.

I haven't gotten all the details yet myself. However, I guarantee the cuts are no where deep enough, especially to the snivel serpants. ;)

You would feel differently if it affected you.

[Anonymous]

^^Workers forced to join a union they may not like? Worker dues spent on political parties and causes they may not support? Canada is a democratic nation, but unions are little islands of fascism.

[Anonymous]

I recieved an email today about the budget and how it affects AUPE members like myself..



It appears no direct cuts, but wages are frozen this year as well as benefits..



Shen Li and Obvious Li think I get raises above the rate of inflation and that is not true..



My husband is not a union member and has had bigger raises than me at his company.

[Anonymous]

I recieved an email today about the budget and how it affects AUPE members like myself..



It appears no direct cuts, but wages are frozen this year as well as benefits..



Shen Li and Obvious Li think I get raises above the rate of inflation and that is not true..



My husband is not a union member and has had bigger raises than me at his company.

There you go, what fucking good is your fucking union? Your husband doesn't pay union dues and is getting bigger raises than you. I wonder how Gil McGowan is making out in these so-called times of austerity?

I never said that unions are always the best way of securing better wages and other benefits..



You say there is corruption at the top? I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me..



On this forum I have even said that I could possibly make more in the private sector, but the wages are not why I have stayed in the public service for so long.



They are flexible which allows me to be with my family when they need me..



You don't have children yet, so you can't appreciate just how important that is.

[Anonymous]

Oh the irony, younger workers rejecting the civil service because they don't think it is secure.

Illinois has racked up $96 billion in unfunded pension obligations, and that's left some young people wondering what the state's biggest political issue of 2012 means for their future. We offer a look at the distrust — and apathy — surrounding public sector jobs and Illinois' pension problems among the state's young workers.



The state legislature is expected to meet in early January, before new General Assembly members are sworn in, to come up with legislation that will help close the billions of dollars in underfunded pension liability.



But, Joe Tedeschi, 24, a recent graduate from Northern Illinois University who is certified to be a foreign language teacher, isn't waiting around to see what will happen.



After taking a hard look at the state's troubled pension systems and talking with a handful of public school teachers, Tedeschi said he's reconsidered his career.



The teachers Tedeschi spoke with during his studies said they expect to receive fewer pension benefits than originally planned. As a result, some teachers have had to teach for more years or pick up a part-time job after retirement.



"I'm 24 right now, so I'm going to be doing the same job until I'm into my 60s, and it still might not be enough for me to live comfortably," he recalled saying to himself.



Tedeschi, now at DePaul University working on a master's degree in international public service, said young people, especially those who plan to work in the public sector, should pay more attention to pension reform efforts because it will set a precedent for them.



People in his age group may suffer more in the future compared to those who are closer to retirement, he added.



"(Older people) already have 'x' amount of money put in. They might get certain amounts taken out because of policies or if they retire early, but they've already got a head start," Tedeschi said. "We're all just starting, and so many people our age don't have jobs or even careers yet."



How did we get here?



There are nearly 760,000 Illinoisans in the state's five pension systems.



The five state-funded pension systems are for public employees, state university staff, judges, members of the General Assembly and public school teachers. These employees receive a payment from their employer when they retire.



The state, public employees, local school districts and income from investments typically foot the bill.



But for decades the pension systems have been underfunded.



A big chunk of the problem comes from the state not living up to its constitutional obligation to add money to the fund, said Robert Bruno, director of the University of Illinois-Chicago labor studies department.



"Seventy-seven percent of the unfunded liability, about two thirds, is a result of the state not making contributions into the fund," Bruno said.



And those skipped contributions have resulted in ballooning pension payments. The state's 2012 pension payment was $5.2 billion, which tripled the payment in 2008.



To put that in perspective, the state's annual budget is about $33 billion a year.  



Going forward, the state projects that $10 billion of Illinois' 2025 budget will go toward pension payments. That could mean even deeper cuts to education, programs and other government services.



Most state employees do not pay into Social Security, but instead contribute to pension systems.



Last week, WBEZ reporter Tony Arnold looked specifically at why so many Illinois teachers don't pay into the federal program, which was signed into law in 1935.



When the Social Security program began, it didn't require federal, state and local government employees to be covered. But in the 1950s, Congress passed a law that would let state and local government workers opt-in to the program if they wanted to.



In short, most Illinois teachers don't pay into the federal program, because their pension systems came before Social Security (The Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund was created in 1895. The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System in 1915) and they've had better deals, higher returns and more flexible contributions, Arnold reported.



In addition to Illinois, 13 other states, including Alaska, California, and Kentucky, exclude teachers from Social Security and instead have independent pension plans.

http://www.progressillinois.com/posts/content/2012/11/26/young-workers-dubious-public-sector-jobs-due-pension-crisis">http://www.progressillinois.com/posts/c ... ion-crisis">http://www.progressillinois.com/posts/content/2012/11/26/young-workers-dubious-public-sector-jobs-due-pension-crisis

That is just terrible Shen Li, but I believe my provincial pension should be secure.

[Anonymous]

^^The system is different in Alberta. You'll get some money when you retire. Still, you gotta save, save, save. It's your retirement not mine. How comfortable your retirement will be is entirely dependent upon what you do today.

I do save and plan for my the future of my family..



My husband and I know couples that have higher incomes than us and only one child yet they have debt not savings..



Strangely, these same people blame government and corporations for their overspending.

 :o

[Anonymous]

^^The system is different in Alberta. You'll get some money when you retire. Still, you gotta save, save, save. It's your retirement not mine. How comfortable your retirement will be is entirely dependent upon what you do today.

I do save and plan for my the future of my family..



My husband and I know couples that have higher incomes than us and only one child yet they have debt not savings..



Strangely, these same people blame government and corporations for their overspending.

 :o

Have you ever watched Till Debt Do Us Part? Sweetheart, you could give Gail some helpful pointers.

[Romero]

The teachers had little choice now that all the oil wealth has put the province billions into the hole.