Buy American

[Kat Kid]

unions are now completely unnecessary for the physical protection of workers (their initial purpose) and simply used as a political slush fund to elect pro-union legislators (liberals).

Your abbreviated history left out the 40 hr work week and improved working conditions part in the middle.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

unions are now completely unnecessary for the physical protection of workers (their initial purpose) and simply used as a political slush fund to elect pro-union legislators (liberals).

Your abbreviated history left out the 40 hr work week and improved working conditions part in the middle.

And now it's a zero hour work week for many. Such progress!

[EllRobersonisInnocent]

Cops for example get a bad rap, but I bet 9/10 are decent enough people.  That's just how it goes though.

Nah, 90% are pieces of crap on power trips. FTP

[sys]

Cops for example get a bad rap, but I bet 9/10 are decent enough people.  That's just how it goes though.

Nah, 90% are pieces of crap on power trips. FTP

good catch, ell.  what a dumb thing for emo to have said.

[john "teach me how to" dougie]

unions are now completely unnecessary for the physical protection of workers (their initial purpose) and simply used as a political slush fund to elect pro-union legislators (liberals).

Your abbreviated history left out the 40 hr work week and improved working conditions part in the middle.

There is a government agency for both of those issues.

[michigancat]

unions are now completely unnecessary for the physical protection of workers (their initial purpose) and simply used as a political slush fund to elect pro-union legislators (liberals).

Your abbreviated history left out the 40 hr work week and improved working conditions part in the middle.

There is a government agency for both of those issues.

so what you're saying is unions are kind of like the 2nd amendment. Unnecessary to repel foreign invaders - we have government agencies for that.

[john "teach me how to" dougie]

unions are now completely unnecessary for the physical protection of workers (their initial purpose) and simply used as a political slush fund to elect pro-union legislators (liberals).

Your abbreviated history left out the 40 hr work week and improved working conditions part in the middle.

There is a government agency for both of those issues.

so what you're saying is unions are kind of like the 2nd amendment. Unnecessary to repel foreign invaders - we have government agencies for that.

I don't understand your riddle. There is nothing in the 2nd amendment regarding foreign invaders.

[michigancat]

OK

[john "teach me how to" dougie]

OK

I guess you assume "being necessary to the security of a free state" refers to foreign invaders rather than protection of the people against government tyranny. Tomato-tomato

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

unions are now completely unnecessary for the physical protection of workers (their initial purpose) and simply used as a political slush fund to elect pro-union legislators (liberals).

Your abbreviated history left out the 40 hr work week and improved working conditions part in the middle.

There is a government agency for both of those issues.

so what you're saying is unions are kind of like the 2nd amendment. Unnecessary to repel foreign invaders - we have government agencies for that.

Oh my. Pffffffft

[michigancat]

It wasn't my best work

[p1k3]

Public union employees shouldn't have been dumb enough to believe they would get pensions and pay raises until the end of time. That crap sucks for them but it's unsustainable and is now a thing of the past.

But the union boss Thugs feed them these lies for their own power/money/greed.

[sys]

there's nothing unsustainable about a 19k/year pension.

[ednksu]

unions are now completely unnecessary for the physical protection of workers (their initial purpose) and simply used as a political slush fund to elect pro-union legislators (liberals).

Your abbreviated history left out the 40 hr work week and improved working conditions part in the middle.

There is a government agency for both of those issues.

which Republicans have effectively neutered until Obama skirted the rules (supposedly).
Too many facts, sorry. 

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

there's nothing unsustainable about a 19k/year pension.

Average probably includes the guy hired 3 days before they filed BK.

The bonds they floated just to fund the pension a couple years back were rediculous.  Bondholders only deserve 20 cents on the dollar on that crap.

[puniraptor]

This thread made me want to watch Robocop

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

They cut police and fire by 40%, only lit 3 of 5 street lamps, let the parks go to crap raised property taxes 50% and paid themselves full benefits.  Completely perverse definition of civil service.

[p1k3]

there's nothing unsustainable about a 19k/year pension.

right

[Rage Against the McKee]

They cut police and fire by 40%, only lit 3 of 5 street lamps, let the parks go to crap raised property taxes 50% and paid themselves full benefits.  Completely perverse definition of civil service.

I don't think most of the people who are losing their pensions did any of that.

[sys]

The bonds they floated just to fund the pension a couple years back were ridiculous.  Bondholders only deserve 20 cents on the dollar on that crap.

agree.

[sys]

there's nothing unsustainable about a 19k/year pension.

right

i mean, sure 19k is far more than any worker class or middle class peon needs or merits.  but they're just fiat dollars.  by the time those rubes try and collect, they'll be lucky to be able to buy a loaf of bread with their pension.

[Kat Kid]

there's nothing unsustainable about a 19k/year pension.

Average probably includes the guy hired 3 days before they filed BK.

The bonds they floated just to fund the pension a couple years back were rediculous.  Bondholders only deserve 20 cents on the dollar on that crap.

Well the latest plan has pension cuts coming and bondholders getting paid first.

[Kat Kid]

They cut police and fire by 40%, only lit 3 of 5 street lamps, let the parks go to crap raised property taxes 50% and paid themselves full benefits.  Completely perverse definition of civil service.

Are you insinuating that the size of the workforces stayed the same over that time?  Because that seems self-evidently false.  Who is "they?"  If you are going to string up Detroit because Kwame Kilpatrick was a terribly corrupt crook of a mayor then are you condemning yourself when Obamacare takes effect?

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

there's nothing unsustainable about a 19k/year pension.

right

Evidently, it is unsustainable. The city has approximately $3 billion in unfunded pension obligations. And this ignores completely "other post-employment benefits" for city employees - namely healthcare - which currently has a $6.4 billion shortfall. This is not necessarily unusual, by the way. Many others cities, large and small, have similar deficits.

Part of the problem may be that, "meager" as those annual pensions are, you're eligible for them starting at something like age 55. That usually doesn't happen in the real world. A lot of these people "retire" with full pension and then take a new job.

[Kat Kid]

there's nothing unsustainable about a 19k/year pension.

right

There might be if you become eligible for that pension at, say, age 55. People don't typically retire at age 55 in the real world.

Is this desk job real world or manual labor real world?