Methinks that that our friend Rush has never been in a union

Apparently not. If he had, he would try to reason quite into the opposite direction, imho. ;)

Methinks that that our friend Rush has never been in a union

Apparently not. If he had, he would try to reason quite into the opposite direction, imho. ;)

You would both be, as usual, wrong. Nearly five years I was in one, I had no choice.

And I tried like hell to undermine it at every opportunity. Every chance I saw. Became sort of a game, really.

You would both be, as usual, wrong. Nearly five years I was in one, I had no choice.

And I tried like hell to undermine it at every opportunity. Every chance I saw. Became sort of a game, really.

You must be really proud of that Rush

You would both be, as usual, wrong. Nearly five years I was in one, I had no choice.

And I tried like hell to undermine it at every opportunity. Every chance I saw. Became sort of a game, really.

You must be really proud of that Rush

Well, if by "proud," you mean "laughed like hell," then yes, I did. Made the time much more enjoyable.

How many 'isms' can dance on the head of a pin? An Egoist can be altruistic because it makes them feel better than those who aren't. Altruists can be egotistical when they berate others for not giving. Forget all these different 'isms' and just live in the moment. Going with your gut is usually better than trying to justify your actions with a constructed philosophy.

The best way to approach any situation is to ask yourself how you would prefer to be treated and then treat others in that manner.

Funny thing is that helping others nowadays is also a form of luxury. The one who has two jobs and still not enough money to live well can't really donate much money. And even donating time will be hard because people are exhausted just trying to survive.

You have probably been made to join the National Union of Students (NUS). Will you be trashing that as well? Please keep me updated...

But the less funny thing is: Those who are capable to help (either by donating money or goods or time) refuse to help out of sheer ego(t)ist reasons, and even try to challenge the need of help. This kind of people can go past some people who freeze to death or starve, without even looking at them, thinking (if thinking at all) those are just deserving their fate by being too lazy to work.

You have probably been made to join the National Union of Students (NUS). Will you be trashing that as well? Please keep me updated...

If they force me to join it (they haven't so far, that I am aware of) then yes, of course I will.

If they do not, they can do whatever they wish with their lil' club.

"I'm trying to maintain a shred of dignity in this world." - Me

You have probably been made to join the National Union of Students (NUS). Will you be trashing that as well? Please keep me updated...

If they force me to join it (they haven't so far, that I am aware of) then yes, of course I will.

If they do not, they can do whatever they wish with their lil' club.

And I tried like hell to undermine it at every opportunity.

And I tried like hell to undermine it at every opportunity.

You may have been a member but it is quite apparent you were not IN the union.
From reading your posts it is quite clear to me that you have no regard for the common good.

The part I really don't get is spending your time actively undermining the people you worked with.

It would seem you are not one to be trusted on any level.
If you would do this to people you actually had a relationship with, what lies and misinformation are you spreading in message boards where there are people you have no connection to?

Anyone reading your postings should keep this in mind when considering any point you try to make.

hmm..are you sure? From what I remember you are automatically a member...I think you have to actually opt out if you want to not be in the student union.

...but that does mean you won't get to use the student union bar with the discounted drinks..or get all the other student discounts...or access to free legal help should you need it, along with all the other protection you get from being in a union.

Not sure what the down side of being in a union is. I have never come across it...and there have been times when I have been extremely grateful to be in a union...for example the time when the school I was working for tried to make me do marking and planning when I was off work very ill. (they even turned up on my doorstep) The same school that actually tried to take marking into to one teacher who was in hospital very ill. It actually took union intervention to get the school to back off.

Thank goodness for unions. I wouldn't dare not be in one. Employers can really take advantage of those people who aren't in a union.

"Wouldn't dare not be in one?" You must have worked for some miserable employers in your life. And that is severely limiting your employment prospects as actual union membership has diminished sharply since the end of WWII, from about a third of workers to about 10 percent now and on the way down.

Why? Because they've priced themselves out of the market.

What a great plan.

Why? Because they've priced themselves out of the market.

Well, Rush, this too should fall under your "Why? Becuz u sez so?" mantra. Provide evidence of it.

What???

The assault on unions began almost immediatly after WWII ended.
A middle class, living without fear of their overlords was unacceptable in the eyes of capitalists.
The assault gained real momentum with the election of Ronald Reagan. It was under his watch that the corporations were permitted to violate federal labour standards without fear. It was made common knowledge within corporate circles that the laws would not be enforced if they wanted to go after the unions and the leaders.
While the federal laws still exist, they are almost never enforced, leaving union activists open to firing at the whim of the company.

As for your bumper-sticker response to why unions are in decline.
It's another neo-con kneejerk spout based on nothing.

How can anyone claim such nonsense...

...while accepting CEO wage increases of hundreds of percentages while working people have seen real earnings below inflation rates?

In 1980, the average salary of a CEO was 42 times the average wage of their employees.

In 1990 that had increased to 85 times.

In 2000 it had increased to 531 times the average wages of their employees.

I have no idea of what the figures are for the year 2007, but I can double-damn guarantee the trend has continued at an accelerated rate.

You feel the need to squeak about unionized working people being overpaid?

Meh. I checked, it's a voluntary student association. A bunch of cheerleaders it seems. It's not a coercive workers union at all.

Nah, I get all that regardless because it's part of the fees. And I have used many of those discounts and been in the bars and whatnot. But like I said, it's just a student association, I can opt out, re-opt in, it's voluntary so I don't care.

"Wouldn't dare not be in one?" You must have worked for some miserable employers in your life. And that is severely limiting your employment prospects as actual union membership has diminished sharply since the end of WWII, from about a third of workers to about 10 percent now and on the way down.

Why? Because they've priced themselves out of the market.

What a great plan.

I guess it has changed since my day. You used to be able to use your NUS card to get discounts at many high street shops and use the discounted student bars country wide.

Rush, all Unions voluntary...and people who aren't in unions are more likely to get screwed and picked on by their employers because the employers know they can get away with it.

Yes Rush..there are some appalling employers out there..and the only thing that protects those that work for them are the unions. For example..should a school decide to treat me in a way that is not within the contract (as schools often do) the Union will support me and help me with legal fees should things go that far.

Employers will do their best to get everything they can out of workers for as little money.

The unions were actively crushed by government because they gave the workers too much power over their pay and conditions.

I think workers having a say about how much they are paid and what hours they work and how they are treated by employers is a good thing. Obviously someone making as much money as they can out of these people wouldn't think it was a good thing. After all paying someone a fair wage or allowing them time off when they are sick cuts into profits.