RB>         ù Quoting Bob Rudolph from a message to Ryan Bagueros  ù 
 RB> BR> Their mistake was letting the unions do their thinking and make 
their 
 RB> BR> mistakes, instead of doing it for themselves. NOTHING is free.
 RB> Boy, you're just full of excuses for why people are in poverty. This 
 RB> newest one
 RB> is truly a crock. The reason companies are downsizing has everything to 
 RB> do with
 RB> re-locating to a foreign country like Vietnam, where they can exploit 
the 
 RB> workers there - because of a LACK of unionization. So it is the workers 
 RB> fault 
 RB> for wanting to end unsafe working conditions, and low wages? THEY are at 
 RB> fault 
 RB> because the corporations put profit before anything else? 
   This probably isn't worth the effort, but let's do it anyhow.
   COMPANIES are responsible to STOCKHOLDERS.  When a product is no longer in 
demand, SOME segment of the workforce is faced wither with learning something 
new or with being visibly obsolete - witness blacksmiths, wagon makers, buggy 
whip manufacturers, etc. Unions demanded an unreasonable wage and then 
started 
cutting into profits - when there was plenty of profit, management went along 
with it insetead of digging their heels in and saying 'no more of this crap.' 
When that solution because too expensive, the union worker was already 
accustomed to having a job guaranteed whether there was a need for it or not, 
and had further become accustomed to its being impossible to replace him with 
someone willing to work.  Furthermore, the union membership systematicaly 
destroyed any incentive to excel in the few folks interested in working on 
the 
grounds that anyone that wanted to do well made the drones look bad - so what 
you had was a least-common-demoninator workforce.  Without profit, there's no 
business, so the companies took it where money could be made. Corporations 
HAVE to make a profit or there're NO jobs. Would you rather export SOME of 
them or ALL of them - that's about what the choices are.
   Honda went from nothing to something - based on perceived quality.  it 
sn;
t unionized, but builds automobiles in Ohio that are as well and carefully 
assembled as anythin in the world. People bought them because they were good, 
not because they were japanese - if GM had built anything nearly as good, GM 
would have the wrold by the ass.
   Workers always have choices.  Those that choose not to learna nd not to 
grow get left behind.  Those that choose tow ork in dangerous jobs get paid 
for it. The overseas labor that we use allows the companies to continue to 
operate - or would you rather have EVERYONE out of work? 
 RB> Face it - this is another example of where your american dream has 
 RB> FAILED. 
   I note you never answered my request for just one manufacturing firm of 
any 
significance (or of any existence) that operated on your espoused principles.
   Can it be that that's because it won't work?
--- AdeptXBBS v1.11z (FREEWare/2)
---------------