If A 6-year-old Can Figure It Out ....

What an outrage!

Heh- hoist with his own desires. And how noble - to blame it all on a 'worker' (is he unionized?) who simply didn't understand how Evil Wal-Mart is - despite working for Edwards whose whole life is focused around this company.

Heh indeed!
Left-wingers' motto is "Do as I tell you, not as I do".

"While the rest of America's working families are waiting patiently in line, Senator Edwards wants to cut to the front," the Wal-Mart statement said.

...and while the rest of corporate America pays its workers appropriately, Wal-mart manipulates its labour and leeches from government programs to suppress wages. One is a venial transgression, the other, not so much.

It's the irony, joebaloni, the irony. Or it's the hypocrisy, yeah, that's it, the hypocrisy......

Baloney, joebaloni. Wal-mart pays its workers well, provides benefits, training etc - a lot of which are not provided by 'unionized shops'.

Unionized wages? What's great about them? Unions are parasites on the workers. Where do you think union leaders get their salaries, who pays for their offices, their cars, their computers, their travel? Hmmm? The workers. So, a union moves in - and immediately, a good chunk of the worker's pay now goes to The Union. Less money for the worker. And then, the Union insists on More Money for the Worker.
Result? The union fees increase. The worker's taxes increase.
And, to pay for this salary increase, the company has to increase the cost of its product. So, it costs workers MORE, MORE, MORE!

Their net wages decrease because they are paying the salaries and benefits of the union bosses. Remember, the union bosses aren't producing anything; they don't manufacture anything; they don't invent anything. They are parasites; their only income comes from the WORK done by the workers.

And when the worker's wages increase - so does the union fee which is deducted. And so do taxes. And so does the cost of the goods. Result? The worker actually gets LESS.
Result? The worker is funding a secondary set of workers - the Union People - who are living off the hard work of the workers.

Unions are parasites. In this day of gov't legislation about minimum wages, benefits and etc - unions are 19th c leeches.

The great Dilemma of the Left:

"Do as I say. Not as I do."

Sleazy jerks

joebaloni: Last time I checked Walmart was not using slave labor. Every person who works for Walmart does so of their own free will. They all went to Walmart with the intent of getting hired, filled out applications willingly, were interviewed, hired and trained, all of their own free will. They did this knowing what the wages and benefits(or lack there-of)were in advance. No one forces them to work for this evil empire. There is no law that states they cannot upgrade their education to pursue a better career, look for a better job while working for Walmart or just quit.
If you don't work for Walmart quit trying to tell the employees how terrible they have it and if you do work for Walmart then get off your ass and find something better.

That's great Kate!
I hope the report makes it to Edward's home town paper!

...and while the rest of corporate America pays its workers appropriately, Wal-mart manipulates its labour and leeches from government programs to suppress wages. One is a venial transgression, the other, not so much.

On the Michael Coren Show Marilyn Churley tried claiming that Walmart workers are poorly paid. Michael pointed out very quickly that this is not true, and mentioned how in the U.S. they are paid more than the minimum wage.

The next day a Walmart Canada employee wrote in, confirmed it, and said that he enjoyed working there.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Wal-Mart-Edwards.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Socialists complaining about Wal-Mart are committing self-parody on the level of Frasier Crane and his borther Niles "stooping beneath themselves" to accompany their father to a lower-middle class restaurant that serves "taters with all the fixins.'"

It is pure and simple: Wal-Mart hatred is about hatred of the UNWASHED MASSES. Which is exactly the way Bolsheviks felt about Russian peasants and workers. They exist only to be manipulated by those that know better. We can't have anything out there that improves THEIR lives.

The savings on food staples Wal_mart offers (milk, bread, etc.) in one year alone to American consumers far outweighs the enitire food stamp program of the federal government (ca. $140 million).

So Lefties, do you not want poor people saving money on food now?

"Elizabeth and I knew nothing about this. He feels terrible about this. He made a mistake, and he knows he should not have used my name," Edwards said.

Yes, if a 6 year old can figure it out then I can see why righties can't figure it out. Conservatives like to play the childish blame game and just don't get the fact that it was a staffer wanting to please their boss (Edwards).

It's not what Wal-Mart is but what it represents. Ugly big boxes that destroy downtown cores and cause unsustainable urban growth.

ET,

My corporation is 90% unionized and I'm glad it is. Management and labour have a well defined set of guidelines to conduct negotiations; training of the workforce is the responsiblitiy of the union; health and safety are managed properly; workers are paid a living wage so they can feed their families and pruchase homes; our clients receive a very high level and standard of service...a win-win-win situation.

Your thoughts are always well organized but usually off the mark, probably because you let your rightie conservative emotions get in the way.

I've worked at a few union shops, and they have all been chock full of lazy cry babies ready to file a grievance at the slightest perceived insult. There were lots of good people of course, but the percentage of lazy losers was way higher than any non-union shop I have worked at.

As an example, the Sunday morning shift at (Insert Phone company starting with a T and ending with an S) would always have twice the number of people required scheduled. Why?? Because half the people never showed up because they called in "sick" How convenient to be sick on a Sunday morning after being out drinking all night on Saturday. Was anyone ever discplined because of it? No. It made the decent employees despise their union "brothers" and "sisters" who were too lazy to show up for work, and knew there were no consequences.

Nope, david brown - I disagree with you.

You are positing that IF a company is not unionized, THEN, 'health and safety' will not be managed properly, workers will not be paid a 'living wage'; workers will not be able to purchase food or housing. Rubbish and nonsense.

All of these factors are gov't regulated; they are not due to any regulations by unions. That includes minimum wages, safety, health etc, etc.

I repeat - unions are parasites. The union bosses are only paid - out of the wages of the workers. So, the workers actually have to work, for their Overlords, the Union Bosses! Any increase in wages, means higher union dues, more taxes and higher living costs.

Oh, and how about 'your clients receive good service' - are you seriously claiming that is due to unionization???
Training? A union doesn't have to exist for that.

Again - unions are parasites and the net result in any economy is a steep lowering of productivity, lowering of living standards, inability to develop and market products. You can check out how disastrous the massive unionization has been for Quebec. Read Bouchard's Manifesto where he is saying that there has to be 'de-unionization'.

There are 2 major auto manufacturers in canada that do not have union shops & drives Buzz's gang nuts. The reason for no union is that the employer treats the employee with respect IE: fair competitive wages & benefits. These 2 companies are able to compete against the Big 3 with no probelm on a employee level.
Look at the troubles the big 3 have had over the past few years, rising wage & benefit cost have forced them to reorganize before its too late.
Do Buzz & gang care? No. Aslong as they collect their high priced wage, Oh sure they will make it look good but that's all it is.
I worked for a major Printing co. in canada for 12yrs the union tried in vain to get in but they were voted out every time, Reason? Fair & competetive wages & benefits, the company treated the employees as family.

Two points:

1. I worked for a division of the above mentioned phone company and our factory workers had a trick to reduce the work to the lowest common denominator. When a new person started, full of enthusiasm and trying to do a good job, they were pressured to slow down to the same speed as the rest. Make work last longer and get paid more. Too bad they weren't paid "piece work" and then we might have gotten something out of them.

2. Once we had a strike, during which, of course, none of the unionized employees got paid. Imagine their surprise when their union president managed to still get paid his nice salary while the rest stood on the picket line.

I have no faith in the present day union system. I think it just milks the members and doesn't do them a lot of good.

I work for a company that has a union side and a non-union side. The union side recently suffered a massive downsizing while the non-union side remained virtually untouched. Reason? The union side has/had a much lower productivity rate.
By the way, we, on the non-union side, have a good safety program, our benefits are second to none and our wages are comparitable to any unionized company out there.
I have also worked with unionized companies and the amout of time I spent on picket lines, legal and illegal, destroyed any percieved benefit I may have recieved. It really sucks to see your savings start to evaporate after three or four months on strike. The lost wages are lost forever. Oh yes the strikes need not have lasted so long. Often an extra month or two would be required to get an extra safety rep hired (usually a buddy of one of the execs.)
ET is absolutly correct Unions are parasites.

In response to David Brown I was the Director of Payroll for a large national Canadian company with over 50 large and small unions, UFCW, Teamsters and so on. I hated unions as their sole purpose seemed to be do less for more. They always drilled into the workers that they worked for the union not the company and they never missed an opportunity to cause problems like work slowdowns or damage to our property in strikes. Most workers did a good days work but the ones who stole, committed physical violence or were constantly off work were rarely disciplined by their union. Training the work force is a management function not a union one.

David, explain to me why example all the successful car companies, Toyota, Honda are non-union and their employees are extremely happy and will not unionize while the domestic companies like GM are dying and their unions will be in coffin with them. Not having a union allows these companies to be dynamic with a highly paid, flexible, focused work force that from the chairman to a new hire on the assembly line has a say and makes a contribution to produce a top quality product. Poor management practices lead to unionization and your company is 90% union, hmmm..

The long and short of it is that workers have the freedom to work where they choose. If you don't like the company, if the pay isn't fair, get a job somewhere else.

David Hand,

Companies like Toyota and Honda are successful as non-union companies because they pay very close to union wages/benefits and treat their employees well.

If it weren't for the threat of unionization these companies would pay minimum wage; would be staffed largely by part time employees thereby not having to provide any benefits whatsoever; and would treat their employees like stuffed BBQ duck.

While I do agree that unions can be like leeches, if approached correctly and negotiated with properly a mutual benefit is possible.

As far as your hmmmm goes may I suggest that poor management practices lead to the types of confrontation you've outlined. The union in my company is 100% responsible for training as well as health and safety. When a worker comes to me they have to perform at a high level or seek employment elsewhere...this is the result of good management-union relations.

But what about Public Sector Unions. Huh, what about them......

As Norm Peterson once said "Can't live with 'em,
pass the beer nuts"......

Jim L

Here’s a more disturbing angle to the play station frenzy.
I saw a bunch of grown men huddled outside of the local Future Shop yesterday but didn’t know why until I read about it in the National Post.

Sitting in your bedroom and playing with yourself.

“The average age of a gamer? In North America, it's 29. Seventeen per cent of gamers are over the age of 50….
When 20- and 30-year-olds resist growing up -- and in more and more cases, resist leaving home -- " the aspiration for independence becomes diminished
The trouble with adults going so gaga over video games that it dominates their leisure time, is that it takes the normal grown-up urge to go out and accomplish something important, and sublimates it into something less meaningful, leaving intelligent and talented adults feeling artificially satisfied by their virtual conquests, rather than by real achievements.
"When you're 25 or 30, presumably one positive way you can move forward and make strides is by giving scope for your desire to be an independent individual and make your mark on the world," Prof. Furedi says. "Rather than sitting in your bedroom and playing with yourself, basically."

3W.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=8bacdd75-ee5e-49be-903e-730535df90d3&k=86483

Figures not one mention of loosening up foriegn worker hiring in Alberta Sask and BC. You only seem to care about matters that have nothing to do with Canadians. "Rummy" PLEASE.

A story about someone trying to buy something for his boss from a place the boss does not support. Oh...My...God!!! Must be a really slow news day.

Oh, and I thought off-topic rants were frowned upon, Kate.

If they're not, then perhaps some comments about the hypocrisy of the late Milton Friedman, who spent his life extolling the virtues of the private sector while always working for government financed agencies and universities...

Anyone who wants to read blogs with different content than this one are welcome to leave at any time.

my sister started as a cashier at a wal-mart...she is now a store manager making easily over 80k....what is so bad about that????

To be completely honest about Wal Mart it should be noted that that company has been called to the mat more than once for its treatment of employees. The one I can remember off the top of my head was when a Wal Mart store locked the doors and would not let the employees out till they had stocked the shelves for the next day. The Employees were not paid for this overtime either.

You got to ask yourself why you even have a weblog. The posters here are the same ones who have a fascination with the Trailer Park boys. You should perhaps either get current with events in the country or let your posters have a little freedom to create their own topics. And before you rant about this being your log, save us all and perhaps reply with some thought and intelligence. Kate the artist turned rabid right winger. Your artsy boyfriend/husband must have really put the hurt on ya. And one last thing drop the Ann Coulter attitude its already been done to perfection.

I wonder if all those standing in the cold in front of wal-mart for a video game, and being vocal, and in some cases violent, were as enthusiastic to get out and vote last week. Also wonder how many standing in line in Canada even know who is running for leadership of the libs in Canada or Conservatives in Alberta. Being a tax preparer and seeing hundreds of T4s/yr, I can state that full time Wal-Mart employees make a good salary. Also, I notice that up to 400./or more are deducted as union dues from CUPE, teachers ect. Most of these union people are unaware of how much they pay for their so called benefits. They are just interested in the amount in Box 16, not the amount they actually take home. Then you ask them how long they were on strike, how much they lost in wages, and did the small raise even come close to making that up. I also wonder how many teachers are still employeed in a different city after being let go for improper behaviour because the union will not dismiss or take away a teaching certificate.

Such a shame to see the faithful, though rather extreme, reactionaries that line the posts of this blog like noisy crows, now reduced to plucking rags out of the garbage of US Democrats. Can't talk about the outcome of the US election, it seems. Perhaps that would be too painful.
How about Canadian foreign policy...whoops, not much better. How about Canadian domestic policy....whoops, even worse.
Any babies available to be held, or maybe a check to the Sally Ann. Got to be something he has done right.

Yeah, thanks so much Wal Mart. For years my family had a nice business in our town of 20,000 or so. We knew everyone and treated everyone like the friend that they were. Our help had been with us an average of 17 years. We were 'community'. We supported many of the local projects and a local little league team along with many of the other merchants. Then Wal Mart came. Our business died. We had to close along with several of the other merchants in town. The Little League almost folded for lack of support. Wal Mart supports one team vs. the 7 to 9 that were supported before. And by the way, what ever happened to that "Made in America" campaign Wal Mart touted for so long. They screwed the local merchants and then they screwed the American workers by buying international. All after wrapping themselves in the flag of "Made in America" but they abandoned that as soon as there was a donnar to be made by dumping the american workers.

Getting back on topic I found it amusing that a six year old child would know which running shoes were sold by Wal-Mart. Does he choose his own shoes? Where do the children of multi-millionaire tax avoiders shop?
One must remember that one man's sweatshop is another man's boon.
Also I guess the fact that Playstation 3 is made in China escaped his notice.
3w.made-in-china.com/productdirectory.do?subaction=hunt&mode=and&style=b&word=play+station+3&comProvince=nolimit&imageField3.x=42&imageField3.y=10

Why is everything always argued in absolute terms (e.g., "unions are always bad (or good)")? How about "some unions are good, and some are bad, depending on how they operate"? History (even recent history) is replete with examples in which a unified workers' voice has won great victories for its individual members, just as there are many examples of complacent unions doing more harm than good.

Of course, in any given company, unions aren't necessary to ensure that wages are fair and conditions are humane. Enlightened management, who recognize that a happy workforce is a productive workforce, can ensure that their policies are so, without the "stick" of unionized labour. Too often, however, industry competition and investor demand for profit at all costs, unless resisted, tempts (or forces) executives to privilege fiscal interests over labour interests. It quickly becomes a race to the bottom. Government-legislated minimum wage, falling as they do below "living wage" standards, are not enough. The onus is either on management to proactively offer fair compensation, or on workers to organize and compel management to do so. Isolated and anecdotal cases aside, Walmart is hardly known as an advocate for enlightened labour-friendly policies, either with respect to its retail workforce or its product sourcing standards).

As for mrtisaduffer, Kennyk, and others' point that Walmart workers who dislike the conditions are welcome to find work elsewhere, you really ought to try stepping into the shoes of the working poor. The work ethic may be present, but nevertheless, it's not as easy as you insinuate to simply quit and start job-hunting elsewhere if i) you were never paid enough to amass any savings to speak of; and/or ii) you have a debtload to worry about (as many do); and/or iii) you have dependents to feed. And in smaller communities, where retailers like Walmart often decimate local businesses, other work opportunities may be far and few between.

Gotta wonder if Iberia works for some anti-Walmart, pro-union, big L liberal as the method alwasys seems to be the same ... minimize and deflect anything that is contrary to what they want to be known to something else.

By the way nice smackdown on your reply.

Don't misunderstand me, Kate: it's your blog so post whatever stories you want. My question was about off-topic comments. Or is it just ok when it involves union bashing?

And as for union bashing...ET et al, you need to do a little research before you get all worked up. Some of the stuff posted here is such crap that I just shake my head (ie. "union will not dismiss or take away a teaching certificate"). Unions exist to make sure the collective agreement is being upheld, and health and safety regulations are not violated. Everything else, including hiring, firing and disipline, is managment's responsibility. I challenge anyone to find a collective agreement that says an employer cannot disipline or fire a problem employee. Management's job is to manage, and when they don't the result is the same as when parents just let their kids do whatever they want.

Feel sorry for your loss there bob j. My parents used to shop locally as well. No need to mention that shopping locally cost them most of their disposable income and that we existed near poverty for the first twelve years of my life. Not so the retailers, they always seemed to have more than enough . Of course that changed when my parents managed a small loan that enabled them to purchase a vechicle allowing them to shop elsewhere, at bigger retailers with lower prices. Sorry smaller may be better for some, but not for all.

"Or is it just ok when it involves union bashing?"

Believe it or not, I don't spend all my waking hours
monitoring your collected wisdoms. I expect a level of self-policing among the regulars.

That said, the discussion started with Wal-Mart, so unionization issues are not so far off-topic that I'm going to close it down.

I too feel for the hardships suffered by Bob J, but you should not blame Wal-Mart, it is your fellow neighbours who CHOSE to save a buck rather than support local business.

I pay an extra couple of dollars for a bottle of wine at the local store(We here are not stuck with LCBO) because of their continued community support rather than go up to Superstore who take the money and run.

This is the continual Hypocrisy of those many on the left who tell us what to do but continually look after number one. (See the Lib. Party of Cda. and their lack of concer reagrding Chinese Human Right record beacuse we need to protect our trade relations). They never cease to dissapoint.

You think Edwards is left wing?? I can only assume you have never met a real left-winger :-)

Too funny!

Old 'Silky Pony' (that's Edwards - check out his 5 minute preening video - it's the funniest thing on the net) gets caught and immediately denies it. Yeah right!

Just another two-faced leftard.

Oh, about Wally-World...If the people working there feel hard done-by, don't forget they can go elsewhere to find a job nowadays. With 4% unemployment in many places, if you can't find a better job you're not even trying!

Iberia - in case you aren't aware, Friedman was a professor at the University of Chicago. That's a PRIVATE university. Not public, not financed by the government. Don't let that stop your anger at him, but, it should be based on facts not fiction.

And, the union can make it almost impossible to fire or discipline an employee - no matter how incompetent, no matter how wasteful.

A company doesn't need its workers to pay union dues to ensure that health and safety regulations are followed; those rules are government laws.

So, the company, bled by unions, continues to go downhill. It cannot deal with incompetent and wasteful employees for the union won't let the company fire them or demote them to a position in line with their low abilities. The union keeps raising wages beyond the economic carrying capacity of the company. As the wages are increased the union dues are increased, the taxes are increased - so, the worker isn't much better off. And then, to pay for these increases, the products costs must go up - so, the consumer starts to reject the high cost of the products.
That's the cycle in nations that are heavily unionized.

What's wrong with Wal-Mart as an employer? They take entry-level employees who, quite frankly, often can't get work elsewhere; they train them; they provide benefits - and these people CHOOSE to work there - many for years. Others move onto higher pay jobs. What's wrong with having a sector of our economy that employs entry-level people and gives them dignity, training and skills? Well?

What's wrong with Wal-Mart as a store? So what if it's a box? So is IKEA and it's a great place. Do you want to pay for the architectural decor of the place or for the low-cost goods?

Via Reason Magazine:

But Wal-Mart took that request and did something very unusual – it went on the offensive, issuing a mocking press release on the incident:

Just like the millions of Americans who turn to their neighborhood Wal-Mart for their holiday shopping needs, Wal-Mart announced today that former Sen. John Edwards is seeking to be one of the first to get a Sony PlayStation3, one of the most coveted holiday gift items this Christmas season.

That the Edwards request actually made its way to Bentonville, where a decision was made to respond, and to respond forcefully again sets Wal-Mart apart from most of corporate America. Try to imagine that happening with a Big 2.5 automaker, for example. News of the request would take a week to get past an iron guard of executive VPs. Wal-Mart acted in hours.

However, the slapstick of the Edwards misstep should not obscure the really big picture, the fatal flaw in his "Two Americas" spiel. Many thousands of Americans evidently have $600 to spend on a video game machine. What's more, this Christmas is expected to usher in the year of the flat-panel. With price points dropping below the $1000 mark, high-end TVs are moving down-market fast with Wal-Mart leading the way.

Contrary to the Edwards' pitch that labor-hostile companies are leaving American workers destitute, somebody is making some money out there in America. More importantly, they are making it in many, many cases without a union card. This reality will very hard for union-funded Democrats like Edwards to ignore as the 2008 presidential campaign unfolds. Hewing to the union rules, clear evidence of prosperity, like perhaps a shortage of $600 game machines, will have to be swept out of the campaign.

http://www.reasonmag.com/news/show/116797.html

As anything WalMart seems to be considered on-topic, according to Kate, I have shocking news for y'all. And it's news that you'll find interesting.

WalMart Selling Offensive Sex Book

http://thecanadiansentinel.blogspot.com/2006/11/walmart-selling-offensive-sex-book.html

By the way, I did that post this morning. A reader advised me that now the book is no longer available for sale.

Sweet victory over radical leftwing extremism!

Hear us roar!

This has to be one of the most tolerant blogs I have been on. Thank you Kate. I gave my option on Rabble to their question as to the most useless MP. I said "it was Jack Laydown unless you were Taliban." They canceled my membership. And this was the first comment I ever made on their site.

O/T.

Does Gidget Taber not understand the difference between a statement and a question? Every "question" she asks is in the form of a statement, designed to lead the person being interviewed into a preordained answer. It's also quite comical that she ends virtually every interview with "this is a *fascinating* topic, sure to be debated further". I think a shiny set of keys would be *fascinating* to Ms. Taber.

"I gave my option on Rabble"

Because it wasn't the right opinion Alan (wink, wink).

I read somewhere. Perhaps here. That Wal-Mart saves the average wage earner over 2000 dollars a year in low prices.

2000 I bet liberals wish they could steal, in taxes.

Its like cigarettes. Take up a pseudo noble cause, while the poor who uses the main LEGAL product, is impoverished. By Elitist anti smoking bans with high taxes. Of course the well off need not worry, or our Native friends.

The Wal-Mart fracas, is just another "make you look good" political stunt. To pretend these people have any real relevance or do there real jobs.

As has been stated, employee's are not conscripted into work. In Alberta they make a lot of money, considering there is a labor shortage.

In the end these facades of concern usually hurt more than help, if not kill. I wonder how many African’s would be alive today if the false reports & hysteria by the environmentalists, had not stopped the use of DDT?

Why is it always the poor these monsters pick on as guinea pigs for there social engineering, or flights of dark fancy? Particularly when they shed so many crocodile tears for this group?

As for Edwards, he just punctuates the point of there misdirection’s. I find this as just another hypocritical move . By the most blinded fools on the planet right now, plotting there own societal suicide. The left!!!!

Et:

I'm not angry at Friedman; I just think he was a hypocrite. And yes, I know that U of C is private and begun by Rockefeller, but Milton also insited that the exclusive role of business was to generate wealth and not engage in philantropy. Didn't stop him from taking their money, though.

"the union can make it almost impossible to fire or discipline an employee - no matter how incompetent, no matter how wasteful."

Nonsense, but it will stop UNWARRANTED disipline or termination. I guess that could never happen in your utopian world.

"A company doesn't need its workers to pay union dues to ensure that health and safety regulations are followed; those rules are government laws."

Nonsense again. I guess in your utopian world businesses never break the rules or if they do, are always caught and punished by the government.

"The union keeps raising wages beyond the economic carrying capacity of the company."

A union cannot make a company pay more than it can afford. They reach an AGREEMENT, which they both sign. If the company cannot afford it, no one is putting a gun to the owner's head.

(Sigh) I've had this discussion with you once before, and I am still amazed how wilfully ignorant you are about organized labour.

As for Walmart, it has a well diserved bad reputation for the way it treats it's employees and suppliers, so get your head out of the sand. Here is just one example, but no doubt you'll claim it's biased:

edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/releases/rel21604.html

In any case, Google is your friend.

David Brown

What you said about Toyota only paying employees wages about what a union would pay just because they have to is an absolute lie. Toyota and the other Asian companies even fly workers to Japan or other home countries for training. They built their plants in poor areas of the US south, after initially building close the the big three, because of the good work ethic of the people in that area and their history of independence. They pay an excellent salary of 80-100k and their workers love these companies.

My former company did everything it could to work with the unions. They received the best wage package of the organization yet when times were tough they refused any attempt to improve productivity and would not under instruction from their union reps even meet with our president.

Iberia mentioned enforcing collective agreements by management. How about an employee punching his night shift supervisor in the face then being fired as well as charged with assualt then the next day the union has him reinstated because a steward wasn't present at his firing though no steward worked at night. This stuff went on all the time. The time and effort of Human Resources, Industrial Relations, supervisory staff and so many other related personnel just to deal with unions is staggering.

Just look at the public sector unions like CUPE and the Teachers and imagine the costs of meeting their never-satisfied whining.

David, how do you get rid of an employee that doesn't meet your high standard, does the union just say okay, he's gone?