100 percent bullwash. Unions represent the only opportunity for most Americans to negotiate wages, hours and working conditions. You are force dto join a union the way the country is forced to have a president. It's called democracy. Right to Work is nothing more than a means to allow union busting by denying the workforce the democratic right to establish a union shop through open balloting..

The Unions did not force the Big 3 to make cars nobody wanted. The geniuses in the corporate suite handled that blunder all on their own.

Have a nice weekend. And make sure you thank the American labor movement the people who invented paid holidays, paid vacations, paid health insurance, weekends off and, most importantly right now, Labor Day.

A union is a group working together to negotiate a deal. Nothing wrong with that. But if management is unable to reach a satisfactory agreement with this group, how can anyone, including the above mentioned group, think that it is wrong for management to then make a deal with another group, or to assemble individuals to form its own group?

That's just bidness.

While I appreciate the healthy debate regarding unions ( feel like the Gov. of Wisconsin recall election), this thread has gotten a bit away from would you go work in the NBA. I would like to hear from someone that is still working small college / hs school as to why they would work this level of ball.........

Any takers........

I Don't Want to Be a Non-Union Plumber About It, Though
 

I'll take.
I would not pursue being considered for these games as a "fill-in" because:
1) I'd likely be blackballed from any regular position that might come along later (which, due to age, probably wouldn't happen anyway), and
2) It would more than likely turn out to be a prime example of "The Peter Principle" run amok (i.e., the time-honored premise that in any heirarchical system a person, if left to his/her own devices, soon rises to his/her own level of incompetence).

You Seem To Know Me ...
 

Have you worked with me? You've certainly got me pegged. Wait? I thought that you said incontinent. Never mind.

I would probably decline, even though it'd be my one and only shot ever to officiate at that level. MTD had a good point about solidarity in unusual circumstances, especially if those officials are fighting for fairness.

As for unions - they have their negatives, for sure. But it wasn't the teachers union, or the autoworkers union, or the steelworkers union who collapsed your economy. They had little to do with creating the mortgage fraud, derivatives, and credit default swaps that decimated your financial industry. Many of them did, however, see their jobs cut, retirement savings destroyed, and housing values plummet, as a result.

BTW, I'm no lefty liberal, if that's what you're thinking. I saw good qualities in many of your Presidents, including the last three.

Honestly, I doubt seriously that the people you mentioned would get asked. I do not believe those in that situation were asked when the NBA had a labor issue with their officials and doubt that would be the case in the future. You have to have a little more cache to your career than working small college and HS I would think.

Peace

I think we could cite many in the criminal realm who would certainly qualify.

Anyway, I think this is a test of loyalty in two forms: where we draw the line, and where we expect others to draw the line.

Some believe that all sports officials are brethren. Others see each other as competitors, much in the same way businesses do. (For most, it's a combination of the two.) When expected loyalties from others don't match your own -- in any situation -- there's a feeling of betrayal, and the usual result is name-calling ("scab," in this case). In most places, betrayal, or even perceived betrayal, carries a heavy price.

I'll go out on a short limb and say that most -- myself included --wouldn't blame MTD for feeling betrayed by the two who took work from the league that parted ways with him (as evidence by the 90% who wouldn't take work). However, I think it's naïve to expect loyalty from someone you never met. If someone else took an assignment that you rejected, and they don't know you or your circumstances, how can you rationally hold ill will toward them?

I love hyperbole as much as the next million guys combined, but I agree. "Nothing lower?" Really? I don't think you have to get into the criminal element to find a ton of categories that would be lower than a scab.

I've stayed out of this because it has gotten too political, and I've been affected by political gamma rays. I turn ugly, green, and angry.

That said, one doesn't need to support all union activity to recognize that crossing a picket line can be either selfish or short sighted.

Even Better than Uber-Bole
 

This is good; a real notable quotable :)

100% brainwash.


Right to work allows those not desiring to be part of a union to work. Nothing more. IF the union were so good, they wouldn't be afraid of allowing workers to choose to opt out. Instead, they prefer to force the workers to join and pay dues. Why? They' are just not compelling enough on their merits to maintain enough membership to retain their power. They know they only way they can maintain power is by making all workers support them. Forcing membership in order to have a job is bordering on being un-American.

So you think it was possible for the Big 3 to make a competitive car? With about $2000 more in labor costs than the competition, it was impossible for them to make a car with the same features at the same price. Since they were handcuffed on labor costs, they cut corners in the car. As a result, you could always find a better car for the same price from elsewhere. That is why they were not competitive. Only once the unions saw they were going to either take a pay cut or end up with no job when the plants closed did they finally compromise some. It remains to be seen if it was enough.

All the things you mention in your last paragraph are great. As I've said before, the unions were a NECESSARY and GOOD thing when all those items were being fought for. And in some places, they are still working for similar things. But, too often, they're no longer doing such things. They are crippling companies in the name of fairness to the worker but in the end are really just forcing more and more companies to head to Asia and are screwing both the companies they work for and themselves. They're trying to eat their cake and have it too.

I resemble that remark. :p

MTD, Sr.

Never Say Hi to a Pilot Named Jack
 

In keeping with the hijacked theme of this thread, why does it seem that on this esteemed holiday, when all hale and hearty workers traditionally cease their customary labors to enjoy a non-laborious Labor Day, I'm the only one actually working? :mad:

Then again, the double-time plus is a perk. :D

I'll Be Analyzing All That Excreted Beer Tomorrow ...
 

What? Do you really expect people to stop flushing just because it's Labor Day? What do you expect us to do after drinking all that Labor Day picnic beer? Hold it in our bladder until tomorrow? Just so you can have the day off?

I really shouldn't rub it in, but I just returned from a leisurely kayak paddle on the Farmington River. The weather, and the water, was gorgeous.

Ibtl. :d