As just about everyone in Southern California knows, the supermarket employees union has struck The Store™ (otherwise knows as Ralphs-Vons-Albertsons). What are the unions demands? They demand not to get screwed. What are The Store's demands? Split shifts, two-tier payscales for new (i.e. replacement) workers, two-year wage freeze on current workers, and benefit givebacks. Those damn greedy unions, calling strikes for no good reason!
Never mind that Albertson's loses money because it won't computerize inventory, Vons loses money befause parent Safeway buys grocery chains and then ruins them and sells them off at a loss, and Ralphs makes money hand over fist by having the most understaffed stores in the business.
Oh, right, their complaint: that everyone will go to the Wal-Mart and Costco to save a few dollars -- never mind the inconvenience, distance and lack of amenities. There is nothing wrong with these companies that firing a bunch of MBAs won't cure. But they want to blame it on the workers who are among the hardest working of any American employees.
Want to end the strike soon? Don't shop at The Store, and maybe send $20 to the Union's strike fund. And yes, this is coming from a conservative, which ought to tell you just how untenable The Store's position is here.
THE OTHER STRIKE:
On the other hand, the perennial MTA mechanics strike is on. Their issues? It seems that the union-controlled medial insurance fund, which gets $533/month/employee is insolvent. MTA officials say this is because the union's fund managers are a pack of fools, and shouldn't be spending $800/month/employee llike they are. This is, by the way, the whole issue.
Management has a point. The whole mass transit system for LA is down -- stranding hundreds of thousands of people who (clearly) have no other choice -- because one public employee union wants Uncle Sugar to guarantee the union's internal fund graft management with unlimited public money -- $6 million for starters.
I hope they fire the lot of them and decertify the union. Send the union a Terminator poster.
Update: The LA Times article on the mechanic's strike, and the Daily News and the Times articles on the grocery strike.
Your support for the UFCW strike came as a surprise to me. It is nice to know that some conservatives can see that the Union might have a legitimate reason for not accepting the contract as presented to them.
Posted by: Stormwind at October 14, 2003 01:10 AMHey, I'm delighted when I see a Bear Flag Member standing up for labor and for justice... thanks!
Posted by: Hugo Schwyzer at October 15, 2003 11:57 AMHugo--
You will note that I *also* call for firing all the MTA mechanics...
And this evening's commute does not make me want to change my mind. 50 minutes to go 8 miles. A new record. And the poor saps who need the bus are probably going to lose their jobs instead.
PATCO, anyone remember PATCO?