This is for the Union supporters

[Ronnie Raygun]

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/69508.htm

NO-SHOW WORKERS TO SHOW UP IN CUFFS

By AL GUART and JOHN LEHMANN
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February 26, 2003 -- EXCLUSIVE

As many as 40 mobsters and members of a union being probed for taking no-show jobs in the Ground Zero cleanup will be busted today for similar schemes at other city construction sites, sources told The Post yesterday.

After a long-running organized-crime probe, FBI agents are planning to arrest members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Locals 14 and 15 in a series of early-morning raids.

Investigators have uncovered links between the two locals and high-ranking members of the Genovese and Colombo crime families, according to a 143-page indictment to be unsealed in Manhattan.

Among those being probed is a Local 15 master mechanic the feds suspect was the Genovese ring's representative in the union.

The probe, initiated by the state Organized Crime Task Force more than a year ago, focused on many construction sites across the city, including the new $800 million Brooklyn Supreme Court building and Ground Zero.

But the indictment, to be announced by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jim Comey today, does not include allegations of illegal activities at Ground Zero, one source said.

The probe into union practices during the Ground Zero cleanup is continuing, the source said.

A spokesman for Comey's office did not comment last night.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

I'm convinced. I think all unions, in fact ANY form of dialouge and communication between the working class, is dangerous. We need Pinkertons again, IMO.

[Ronnie Raygun]

You don't need unions to communicate.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

You're right, that's what your 15 is for.

[sspadowsky]

Oh my God. Organized crime is involved in the Unions. I am utterly shocked. Who ever heard of such a thing. :|

Obviously, all Unions are evil and corrupt, and should be destroyed. Maybe Dubya already has it on his "Action Item List."

Say, Raygun, as an airline employee, aren't you a Union member?
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[KevinTheOmnivore]

Ronnie is his OWN union, Sspad. Why does he need a union to do what he is perfectly capable of himself??? I want to invest in a Pinkerton company if one starts up....

[El Blanco]

I like the idea of unions. Its the workers standing up to the bosses without involving government. My dad's union was a big help during his cancer treatment and his surgeries.

However, unions are easily corrupted. they stopped being run by actual workers and took over by professional union guys. Of course, many, if not most, of them work for the mob. Ironically, the mob happened to be in cahoots with the bosses the unions originally fought against.

[Ronnie Raygun]

"I like the idea of unions. Its the workers standing up to the bosses without involving government."

Actually it's the workers shooting themselves in the foot. If you are in a union, you don't really work for the company. You become a contract worker and are pitted against the company. There's this "us against them" attitude that can only hurt the company thereby hurting the worker.

"My dad's union was a big help during his cancer treatment and his surgeries."

How is he doing now?

[sspadowsky]

You didn't answer my question, Raygun.
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[Ronnie Raygun]

No . I do not work for a union .

Delta is the least unionized airline in the industry which explains why we are better off than all the other major carriers.

[sspadowsky]

Well, then I admit I was misinformed. It seemed a fair assumption, since the airline industry is so heavily unionized. What about when you were a baggage handler?
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[KevinTheOmnivore]

No . I do not work for a union .

Delta is the least unionized airline in the industry which explains why we are better off than all the other major carriers.

Isn't Jet Blue doing better? I'm not goingto claim to be an expert by any means on the airline industry, I just thought that to be true.

[El Blanco]

What are workers supposed to do when management decides to put the screws to them? The only thing the workers have in their favor are superior numbers. They have to stay organized to keep their rights. I've been in a union ( a corrupt union, but a union still) and several jobs that aren't union. Believe me, the union is a great help especially for unskilled labor.

[AChimp]

Ronnie is a scab. >:

[Ronnie Raygun]

You have to me a union member to be a scab which I'm not.

Spad, even when I worked on the ramp, I didn't belong to a union. Actually we voted it down and the union only got 17% of the vote.

Jet Blue is hardly a major carrier........the good thing about them right now is that they are not losing money due to the fact that they don't have much overhead....delta obviously does.....however when Delta starts their new susidiary (spelling.....????......I've had two guiness....two red bull and vodka....and one gin and tonic in the last hour and a half) ....SONG and when we start to make money again, they'll be making a 10th of what we make......

Right now, Southwest is tops........

Blanco, unions suck the life of the working class....................

[AChimp]

scab (n)
a) A worker who refuses membership in a labor union.
b) An employee who works while others are on strike; a strikebreaker.
c) A person hired to replace a striking worker.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=scab

[Anonymous]

Interesting. The difference between sober and drunk Ronnie is a spelling error.

So, clearly, the posts don't originate from the brain.

[El Blanco]

Blanco, unions suck the life of the working class

Corrupt unions do, but a good union protects the working class.

And talk about sucking the lifeblood out, what will an unchecked management do?

[theapportioner]

I bet Raygun would eat em up if we call them "confederates".

[Ronnie Raygun]

"scab (n)
a) A worker who refuses membership in a labor union.
b) An employee who works while others are on strike; a strikebreaker.
c) A person hired to replace a striking worker."

I don't work for a union.

A union does not exist in my dept.

There is NO union to refuse. So that marks out "a" and "b".

I wasn't hired to replace a striking worker. So that marks out "c".

Conclusion: Chimp is wrong again.

[mburbank]

Interesting. How come Chimp is 'wrong' as opposed to being a 'liar'? Either you've been listening to me or you're sweet on Chimp.

Oh, and to go back to the begining, I totally think those guys commited crimes because of their union membership. I bet they were honest hardworking Americans before they got into the Union.

Corruption seems pretty evenly spread to me between bosses and Unions. Or maybe not. If you added up all those no show salaries, how would they compare to what Enron bilked out of California, not to mention the life savings of it's employees. It's funny how those crimes got committed by management. They must have been negatively affected by exposure to too many Union movies and Video games.

[Ronnie Raygun]

I don't see the connection between Enron and labor unions.

Anyway, just look at how many people have lost their jobs while the unions were promising "unions can save your job".

Look at Eastern Airlines. They are a perfect example.....and just as bad as Enron was for the time.

[Anonymous]

I don't see the connection between Enron and labor unions.

Now I will make a point that is related and be oblivious to it.

And now I will directly draw such a connection and make Chojin lol.

[mburbank]

I don't see the connection between white collar crime committed by one group of people and white collar crime committed by another group of people.

Naldo. Again, a direct question. I Chimp just wrong about you being a SCAB or is he lieing?

[Anonymous]

Max, in response; if Jesus went fishing, how many trout do you think he'd catch?

Really, now.

[Ronnie Raygun]

Maxi, you can be both you know.

Now, some of you are a liitle more ignorant than others. If you are more prone to being ignorant then that would lead one to believe that you just didn't know any better and that would be the reason they would be wrong. I think this is the case with Chimp.

With you, most of the time I think it's lieing because I think you know better and just like to decieve people.

[mburbank]

Chojo: All the trout He cared to up to an infinite # of trout beyond the # of Trout currently existing.

Assuming He is divine.

If he is not, he will catch no trout at all as dead men don't fish.

NALDO; Your opinion of me lacks charity. Your opinion of Chimp shows disdain and is smug.

[Ronnie Raygun]

What do you expect?

I expect certain attitudes from certain people here and I react accordingly.

[mburbank]

Oooooh, Christiany!

See, when you "expect certain attitudes from certain people here and ... react accordingly." lacks charity, wich is a highly praised Christian value. And it shows a sad lack of faith on your part as well.

I hope every day that you will awake to how narrow your picture of God is. I actively pray that you will examine your belief that God created eternal damnation in a lake of fire as a part of His cosmos. I believe that it hurts God that anyone thinks this of Him. With every post you make, I embrace the possibility that you might show signs of actually examining the nature of your faith, and I 'expect' you do far more than you let on.

[Vibecrewangel]

I had a fairly bad experience with the union I was part of.
Local Food Workers #something or other (it's been like 9 years)

We had a payscale for General Merchandise stock clerks. Once you reached the top of the scale that was it. No more raises regardless of performance or time on the job. The new scale was put into effect evey 5 years. Working full time you could hit the top of the scale in about 1 year as raises were based on hours worked. This meant that as cost of living went up you were still stuck with a 1-4 year out pay rate. The non unionized stores in the area paid quite a bit more for the same work.

If you were even one minute early punching back in from lunch you were written up for working unauthorized overtime.
If you punched out late because you were assisitng a customer or were on a register you were often written up for the same reason. Unauthorized overtime. The union did nothing to prevent this as the contract specifically stated authorized overtime only.

When the teamsters went on strike, we as a sister union had to strike as well. $10.00 a day does not pay the bills. Of course the teamsters still received full pay during the strike.

Union reps failed to show up for any type of disciplanary meeting.

Full and part time workers had to pay the same dues. For some part time workers, this could take up almost 1/3 of their check.



I'm not saying all unions are bad or have as many problems. But mine was a nightmare.

[mburbank]

Alll groups with more than seven members tend toward nightmarishness.

Seven is the maximum number tolerable group dynamics can sustain.

[Ronnie Raygun]

"See, when you "expect certain attitudes from certain people here and ... react accordingly." lacks charity, wich is a highly praised Christian value. And it shows a sad lack of faith on your part as well."

It doesn't lack charity. I treat you with respect. I try hard not to play your games. I don't attack you personally. There's nothing wrong with expecting certain attitudes form people. Christians aren't supposed to stick their heads in the sand. For you to tell me that in order to be a Christian I have to ignore every action you've taken before is crazy. I forgive you you all the name calling and ill will..THAT IS CHARITY.

"I hope every day that you will awake to how narrow your picture of God is."

I do. Remember the eye of the needle?

"I actively pray that you will examine your belief that God created eternal damnation in a lake of fire as a part of His cosmos."

I do. It's everywhere in the Bible.

"I believe that it hurts God that anyone thinks this of Him. With every post you make, I embrace the possibility that you might show signs of actually examining the nature of your faith, and I 'expect' you do far more than you let on."

Unless you're praying to Christ...your prayers are falling on deaf ears.