Comments on: Card Check may be good for Central PA

By: Paul Stoltzfus

Paul Stoltzfus — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:05:50 +0000

You bring up an interesting point on Unions.
I totally agree, couldn’t agree more, that employees must have a voice in, “bosses are mismanaging things. Their leadership skills are wanting, they don’t listen to input…”
There should be a way for employees (and their spouses or kids) of every company large and small to write reviews on their boss and company, like E-bay’s buyer’s sellers reviews. The reviews would be as valuable as the review system is vulnerable, so it would need to be self-moderated or un-moderated. Spam controlled- of course, duh.
THEN the only way for companies to manage these stories is to ACTUALLY create great quality of life for the employee and those they support…
There has got to be company out there who is doing this already. If so, where art thou? I want to learn. Someone (like the Chamber) needs to shine the spotlight on them to show the rest of us the way.
If not I’ll be the first in Lancaster County to pull it off. Yes, with 2 employees!

PS. Unions would then become a competing “company” to review. Competition always spurs me to become better.

By: Daniel Klotz

Daniel Klotz — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:30:05 +0000

Hillary, teachers are able to get those things because they are organized via union.

Wendy, it’s so great to hear someone who pretty much shares my viewpoint on unions. I’ve been hearing so much trash talk about them from local folks. I think the bad stuff starts creeping in when a union moves from less of “organized workers” to more of a “workers organization.” Less institution seems like the best bet. But, I suppose sometimes that’s what it can take to balance out consolidated senior management power.

By: HIRH

HIRH — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:14:39 +0000

The illusion of control can be more dangerous than knowing you have none.

Teachers make double what I make plus get loan forgiveness and only need 1/2 the credits I needed for my MA. :-p

By: Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

Wendy Edsall-Kerwin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:44:59 +0000

I have always been a huge proponent of unions, even though I’ve never belonged to one personally. Currently my husband is a union member, but I know that he sometimes finds his union to be ineffectual. It’s an older union that has very good ties with the management and sometimes those ties seem too strong.
I believe that employees sometimes need a union to make their work situation more tolerable and worker friendly, but as with any organization there is always the possiblity for it to become corrupt. Charging huge union fees and not adiquately representing their members, asking for things that put undo stress on both sides of the issue, these are just a couple of the ways this could happen. And don’t get me started on all the phone calls we received telling my husband who he should vote for!
Ultimately though I agree that unions serve more good purposes than bad and that too many people are afraid of them for all the wrong reasons. Not all union workers are lazy slobs who get paid too much for standing around. Lately on the news I’ve heard a lot of talk about abolishing unions in the auto and teaching industries “to keep competive.” I’m not sure if this would be needed change or horribly wrong change.