Right to work

canndo said:

What was a minimum wage intended for again? Wasn't it you that claimed that none of the european countries that are soooo economicaly superior had government mandated minimum wage? A minimum wage was not "intended" for low skilled workers, it was "intended" as a wage below which employers cannot pay, nothing in there about skills or families.

Click to expand...

no, wasn't me. Minimum wage is intended to represent a floor of minimum compensation, but since it is based upon "Official" CPI numbers it always falls behind what the real minimum wage should be. Over time this disparity results in Min Wage not even providing enough for a single person to live and have their needs meant. Every year it gets worse, just like Seniors on SS have less and less to spend every year, even though the actual amount they get is a bit larger. Inflation has used up more of their spending power than the CPI estimates have accounted for in CoLA increases.

Rob Roy said:

I think it more bizarre to think that people want others to make their choices for them. You seem uncomfortable with answering the core question...Who should run your life, you or another person?

Click to expand...

That's not the core question. The core question is do you want to bargain collectively where you have leverage, or as an individual where you just have to accept whatever the company offers you.

Allowing employers to not hire people based on union status end collective bargaining rights in that state. When republicans speak of "right to work" they speak of allowing employees to make that choice. I don't object to that at all. But what they aren't saying is what "right to work" really does. It allows employers not to hire anyone who desires collective bargaining. That's why republicans support "right to work". They don't give a shit about an employees right to make their own decisions. They care about giving their corporate friends the power to bust unions.

Rob Roy said:

You are correct nobody owes anybody any money absent a voluntary and consensual agreement. So why not simply stop giving them money?

Click to expand...

Because that's not how our system works.

Our system has the wealthy at the top who preform no actual work, buying into corporations and getting wealthy off the labor of others while they just kick back and rake in profits. As a worker you can't just say "no, I don't feel like giving part of my salary to so hedge fund manager", it doesn't work that way.

These people don't work, they just get paid for moving around money and extracting money from corporations like parasites.

You seem to get in some instances that people don't like to be made to do things against their will. I find it interesting that you don't carry that notion into the idea that some people should have the ability to opt in or opt of a Union arrangement.

Click to expand...

That's not really what I have a problem with at all. My problem is allowing corporations to refuse to hire union workers, ending the option of collective bargaining. Right to work does exactly that.