Union Resurgance

[ReverseSensing]

Funny how so many right-leaning pilots fully embrace unrestrained free market capitalism, unless it has to do with oil or airlines. I wish I had the time to see if any of you Wal-Mart fans have been bashing SWA in other threads, or complaining about over-capacity.

Wal-Mart and SWA both put pressure on prices: but at least SWA has the decency to pay good wages and keep their employees off the public dole.

 

[El Pobre]

And poverty for their employees, forcing their health care costs onto the state medicaid programs, driving good small businesses out of business, etc... WalMart needs to die.

So do low cost carriers such as Value Jet (I mean Air Tran).

 

[El Pobre]

Just Kidding...but you get the gyst

 

[El Pobre]

Dubya would just declare a nat'l pilot strike as a threat to nat'l security and the Department of Homeland Security would gain authority to "detain" anyone involved in labor actions......wouldn't put it past our monkey-brained president.

Um....wouldn't that create a real pilot shortage and really mess up the industry for a few days (until they let everyone out of jail to fly the planes?)

 

[Carl_Spackler]

And poverty for their employees

I seriously doubt that there is a large percentage of walmart employees living in poverty. Is it that hard to fathom that, just maybe, the average walmart worker is not the sole income earner in the house hold? This is true for any min wage worker. The average household income of a minimum wage worker is around $50000. Why do you think this is? Could it have something to do with the fact that either the are a young adult living at home (ie student) or the are not the only earner in the household.

Every worker at walmart has decided for themselves that working for what ever wage and benefit package they get is better than not working at all. What they don't need are liberals telling they what is best for them.

 

[Marquis de Saab]

Ross Perot said that in 30 years, we'll all be selling each other hamburgers. I laughed. I was Mr. Freemarket.

I'm not laughing anymore. Mr. Freemarket got to go and visit some American jobs in India and had a change of heart.

When Kingfisher Airlines flies BBB-JKF-ORD-DFW-MCO-JFK-BBB, we'll see if any more Mr. Freemarkets have a change of heart.

By then it'll be too late.

 

[CopilotDoug]

Not to mention a major factor in controlling inflation, you can not raise prices if there is a Wal-Mart here you.

Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing? When we as the consumer "demand" lower prices, we are shooting ourselves in the collective foot. Sure, shop at Wal-Mart...but don't b!tch about your production job getting shipped overseas or your paycut. Short sightedness is such a b!tch!

 

[JoeMerchant]

Ross Perot said that in 30 years, we'll all be selling each other hamburgers. I laughed. I was Mr. Freemarket.

I'm not laughing anymore. Mr. Freemarket got to go and visit some American jobs in India and had a change of heart.

When Kingfisher Airlines flies BBB-JKF-ORD-DFW-MCO-JFK-BBB, we'll see if any more Mr. Freemarkets have a change of heart.

By then it'll be too late.

Have you seen how much Kingfisher pays ATR pilots? It's far more than American union carriers pay.....

 

[Lear70]

Have you seen how much Kingfisher pays ATR pilots? It's far more than American union carriers pay.....

Almost all those gigs overseas pay better.

China is paying CRJ Captains $7,000 a month plus paid housing, per diem, and benefits.

Japan is paying CRJ Captains $8,000 a month plus paid housing, per diem, commuting allowance, and benefits.

The main problem is time off. They only get 10 days off a month consecutive (hard to come home on that) or less (14 days off every 6 weeks = 7 days off a month consecutive) with better pay.

They're not really commuting jobs, but they definitely pay better than the U.S.

 

[PCL_128]

Just Kidding...but you get the gyst

No, actually, I don't. AirTran employees make industry-average or better compensation, and they have health care and retirement benefits. Not analogous to WalMart.

 

[Lear70]

No, actually, I don't. AirTran employees make industry-average or better compensation, and they have health care and retirement benefits. Not analogous to WalMart.

Maybe the Captains make industry average... the F/O's are in the bottom 3 of major carriers.

That said, none of our F/O's qualify for food stamps, which CAN be said about many Walmart employees.

 

[pilotyip]

Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing? When we as the consumer "demand" lower prices, we are shooting ourselves in the collective foot. Sure, shop at Wal-Mart...but don't b!tch about your production job getting shipped overseas or your paycut. Short sightedness is such a b!tch!

Everyone is free in this economy to not shop at Wal-Mart. Everyone is free to buy a non US built car (which many pilots do), Production going overseas moves jobs overseas, now those countries buy things made in the US, like airplanes and create different jobs. To isolate the US from the world economy would parallel what the British Labour Gov't did from 1946 until 1975. Look at the history of Britain during that period; it almost became a 3rd world country. BTW look at all the pilot jobs it has created overseas

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Everyone is free in this economy to not shop at Wal-Mart.

I just put $80 worth of gas in my car yesterday and spent over $100 on groceries for two half filled supermarket bags. The way things are going, we might not have any other choice :angryfire

 

[waveflyer]

I seriously doubt that there is a large percentage of walmart employees living in poverty. Is it that hard to fathom that, just maybe, the average walmart worker is not the sole income earner in the house hold? This is true for any min wage worker. The average household income of a minimum wage worker is around $50000. Why do you think this is? Could it have something to do with the fact that either the are a young adult living at home (ie student) or the are not the only earner in the household.

Every worker at walmart has decided for themselves that working for what ever wage and benefit package they get is better than not working at all. What they don't need are liberals telling they what is best for them.

I'd love to see where you got that number. B/c you're saying that for every minwage household making $25k/year- there is 1 making $75k/year... and i don't believe that.

As a financially conservative voter- i boycott wal-mart b/c they will not schedule a worker past 39 hours so that they don't have to pay medical benefits- while at the same time pass out government assistance forms to qualify for medi-care and medi-cal. As a taxpayer- it offends me to subsidize the largest retailer in the world. It OUGHT to offend you too. Just as the UAL loan guarantee denials should offend every taxpayer that pays into the PBGC.

 

[CopilotDoug]

Everyone is free in this economy to not shop at Wal-Mart. Everyone is free to buy a non US built car (which many pilots do)

I agree...but how many people make the connection between supporting Wal-Mart and supporting a lower standard of living?

Production going overseas moves jobs overseas, now those countries buy things made in the US, like airplanes and create different jobs.

It's like the Chevy I bought...how many parts on it say "Made in China"?

Boeing has realized they can "save" money by shipping production overseas. Unfortunately, they're losing their a$$ on the 787 having given up ALL operational control to foreign entities.

To isolate the US from the world economy would parallel what the British Labour Gov't did from 1946 until 1975. Look at the history of Britain during that period; it almost became a 3rd world country. BTW look at all the pilot jobs it has created overseas

I'm not suggesting we isolate ourselves from the world market...but where's the sense of Nationalism? There's very little of it...and for the US to compete on a global market...the average american wage will have to "fall" in line (Pun intended)