Steve Breen for October 28, 2012

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    Ironhold  over 11 years ago

    Nobody’s saying that all unions are bad.[]Rather, individual unions are, through a variety of factors, causing more harm than good.[]For example, a number of individual education unions have put “protecting their employees” over “reforms”. Because of this, incompetent teachers and teachers who are not up to date are allowed to remain in their positions because the union doesn’t want to admit they aren’t suitable for the job. So long as these teachers remain in their jobs, kids won’t be learning what they need to learn and schools will continue to fail.

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    frodo1008  over 11 years ago

    The trend of more working hours for less compensation has been going on since the mid 1970’s. It is not a new thing since President Obama’s election. Even with your relative lack of American historical knowledge, you ought to know that.

    Besides, it is even modern unions that have tried (unfortunately with relatively little success against big business) to reverse, or even slow this trend.

    It IS this (and not the policies of ANY particular president) that has been steadily pushing the middle class into the working poor!!

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    chazandru  over 11 years ago

    Unions have done much since their inception to earn the disregard of the general public, especially those who do not understand how and why the need for unions began. The good unions do far outweighs the bad, but like any political organization giving too much power to too few people, it is easily swayed from its purpose. Like the Congress it lobbys and donates to as do so many others.The CEOs of several companies have taken Romney’s on tape advice to warn their employees their jobs are at risk if Obama is elected.At least unions can’t do that.We are also creating a prison labor force that works cheaper than people do in China that is competing with Americans looking for a living wage.Unions are trying to stop that too. Creating an industry based on keeping Americans incarcerated is evil.Respectfully,C.

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    lonecat  over 11 years ago

    My grandfather died because there was no union in the mine where he worked.

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    Fourcrows  over 11 years ago

    Howie, that would be proof that we need MORE union power. People to stand up to the corporations who are laying off workers for the sole purpose of increasing executive pay (every million in bonus money is equivalent to 20 50k jobs). There is a lawsuit against Rite-Aid now because once an employee accepted the assistant manager salary position, they were subjected to unlimited hours of the same menial work as before, and the hourly rate essentially became lower than a base employee.

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    Quipss  over 11 years ago

    Now under free market premises the plausible reasoning for this is that there are other companies your skilled employees can transfer into, once the market is monopolized you can do whatever you want.

    Chinese workers are banned from elected unions

    Union shredding occurs in Thailand, India

    And to a large degree unionized workers have seen their wages grow with inflation whereas non unionized workers saw stagnation in wages

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    joe vignone  over 11 years ago

    When did Dorothy become a corporation, my friend?

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    Quipss  over 11 years ago

    Because during the financial crisis many companies were foreclosed upon by the banks. From that point the employees could no longer spend money and thus had their homes foreclosed and lacked the ability to stimulate economy thus causing other companies to shed jobs[]The standards for welfare and for food stamps did not change under Obama to suddenly become the jackpot, it is because of external factors (perhaps the largest market crash since the depression might have something to do with it)[]Finally if you wish to compare to stagflation in the 80’s the cause and solution was the Federal Reserve * a private organization* spiking interest rates to 23%

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    Dtroutma  over 11 years ago

    Grew up in an “anti-union” family. When I DID “grow up” ended up being a union steward for a while, and regained some CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS for folks the “administration” was trying to take away. (won the case before SCOTUS)

    The United Mine Workers was formed for worker safety, and did a good job. Yes, Hoffa, and some others, were crooks, but a minority smaller than the proportion of corrupt CEO’s in “business”.

    I also find it amusing that every time a “right winger” tries to point out how much better off even the “poor” in the U.S are compared to “overseas”, they never mention that those crappy countries are the ones that are NON-UNION, with slave shops, long hours, poor safety, and much lower life expectancies for workers. (They’re also the ones U.S. corporations under the “Bain model”, shipped our jobs to!!)

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    Spyderred  over 11 years ago

    Well put, dtroutma

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    joe vignone  over 11 years ago

    Money is well organized. Labor is taking it in the neck. Who’s side are you on?

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    robert.h.reed  over 11 years ago

    Steven you no longer have my support in reading your strip. You are no longer relevant. You used to be a middle of the road opinion but you and your family’s opinion have fallen off as extremest and radical which is what it wrong with America today. Sorry,

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    Fuzzy Thinker Premium Member over 11 years ago

    “…what I earned, annually…” Some unions have grown beyond reality. Companies have closed down American operations rather than deal with unreasonable union demands. Unions have pushed their jobs overseas. You are pricing yourself out of the market. Greed can be found in many places.Think about it. Why would a company leave America, make products in China and ship them back to America? There are empty factories and 40 million on Food Stamps in America. Michigan has ghost towns. I have seen them.

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    leweclectic  over 11 years ago

    bob-lezeb said, about 7 hours ago

    My parents rolled-up their sleeves, teamed up with American businesses/corporations and worked long hard hours for America’s war effort during WWII in order to defeat the totalitarian Fascists Countries aligned against America. Now those very fascists’ policies are again rearing their vicious heads and aligning them against what America has stood for, only this time the threat comes from within America itself. It is being led by the rich and by most of America’s corporations and their monies. Enough is enough, we, the working class of America have just as much right to organize and spend our organization dues and/or other monies just as much as any business, corporation or other rich group within America. Not since the National Socialist Party of Germany or the Communist Party of Russia and China has the worker not been allowed to organize, spend, and stand on equal grounds with both industry and government. Therefore We, the middle/working classes of America will not be dictated to by industry nor government, however we will meet businesses and government half-way in all matters seeking a consensus if “they” all able and willing. If “They” are blinded by “Profits beyond all understanding and at any cost” then there will be civil war politically, economically, and…!

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    Fourcrows  over 11 years ago

    “Otherwise a President who has the worst record for economy growth, the worst record for jobs, the worst record for taking control of the situation in the Middle East, the worst record for spending, etc., would never be re-elected.”But Bush DID get re-elected!Look at his record – Economy – increasing the Debt by 87% (Obama has only increased it by 35%)Jobs – 4.2% in 2000 to 8.1% in 2008 (Obama has held it steady, with some small gains)The Middle East – Bush completely desatbilized the entire region by invading Iraq and bolstering Al Qeada’s and the Muslim Brotherhood’s numbers (at least Bin Laden was killed during Obama’s first term, when Bush SHOULD have gotten him, but he was to busy planning how to invade Iraq)

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    OmqR-IV.0  over 11 years ago

    “$2000 annual dues”Ouch! I pay £7.65 a month (US$12.25). It matters not a jot on my pay either. Then again, it is very rare for IT folks over here to be unionised.

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