Your post seems to infer a negative view of me. You continuously state "welcome to life" & "such is life". I'm sure you feel you are expressing reality, albeit sarcastically, but I disagree. I believe what you're expressing is acquiescence to defeat. Phrased differently your statements could be expressed as "I can't do any better so I must accept it". Well I don't. I refuse to accept that. You may have resigned yourself to Obamacare being shoved down your throat & corporate greed extinguishing dreams you once held. You may now accept all of that as reality but I won't without a fight.
Yes I have a good job & I am aware of that. I have good benefits & a good retirement. Is that bad? Is it wrong? Is it immoral? When did my salary become the determining factor in the rightness or wrongness of this situation? Are you saying my CEO fairly deserves his but I do not? I was raised to believe hard work could bring good pay & good benefits. And that capitalism, when implemented fairly, presented the best opportunity. When, in your mind, did those ideas cease?
I'm thankful to have my job. I may be safe in assuming you (the former BCBS company employee) would like to have my job & benefits too. That's understandable, thousands of other Americans feel the same. You would probably even be willing to accept less for it. And that is where you and I differ. I am not willing to accept that a corporation driven by a mentality of greed has the right to take from me what I have worked for so that its top executives & major investors can maintain their status of living. That is not life. That is serfdom.
I'm not asking for more. I'm asking for fairness. If my company was in danger, if executive management was asking me to sacrifice along with them & investors to help save the company then I'm with them 100%. But that's not how it is. Verizon is an exceptionally profitable company, maybe one of the most profitable on the planet. And if I helped make those profits then I deserve to share in the success, as does everyone who contributed to it..from top to bottom. That is what the American middle class should be. But instead I watch as people accept the loss of good jobs, good benefits & secure retirements as the inevitable and then say "Such is life". Is it really?
Is that the reality of life? Has government & corporations become the ruling elite? That’s oligarchical fatalism and I want no part of it.
As for your statement that the costs of benefits result in higher consumer costs... Do you honestly believe that if Verizon could reduce benefit costs to zero that they would in turn lower what they're charging you? Or would they more likely increase their executive compensation packages. And I'm curious, do you believe the costs you charge for your services have contributed to a higher price the consumer pays for your services?
As for the union to which I belong & unions in general, I hold a high degree of dislike & distaste for them. Their blatant political & liberal actions violate many of my moral beliefs. They themselves are in many ways just as bad & self-serving as the corporations they fight with. When this strike is over I'm resigning from the union. But I didn't walk out because I'm a "union man", I did so because I'm willing to fight & sacrifice for what I believe in & I have friends who are making the same sacrifices.
I still believe in the dream of the American middle class & I'm sacrificing my income and risking my health insurances, life insurances, pension and everything else to fight for that dream, so before you or anyone else toss out anymore disparaging remarks about me at least ask yourself if you're honestly willing to do the same.
Maybe you should take your own advice & use your mouth less.
19 comments:
To start with, I don't know a single person that has Obamacare insurance. Employees don't become wealthy, business owners do. Stop whining about how much CEOs make.
Brilliantly said!!!
Brilliant and Eloquent-you are a class act Mike and I am proud to stand with you
Mr. Leffew from my understanding it seems as though Verizon is providing a fair wage health coverage and retirement so your good days work for good days compensation has been satisfied. you speak as though Verizon is taking something away from the unions maybe they are merely trying to reel all of their expenses in to make sure they're able to continue moving forward. When did being hired as an hourly waged employee give you the sense of entitlement to what the companies profits are. Your contracts with wage and benefits aren't bargained with any type of profit SHARING are they?
Mike, I totally agree with your statement. But because of the Free Trade agreements made by both parties, we have all been screwed royally! I myself worked for Airpax for over 25 years. They sent the manufacturing jobs first to Mexico and then to China. Some of the office jobs were sent to India. Our government who have been bought and sold, and continue to be bought and sold, have allowed this to happen to us.
A pair of 100 dollar shoes made in America, still cost 100 dollars that is now made in China! If they can't outsource your jobs, then insource them by bringing in foreign workers from other countries. The only way any change will be made will require either a second American revolution, or another Civil War.
Garbage thoughts. I used to work for Digital Equipment Corporation. It was great and I thought it would never end. The world changed as did the business model. The Verizon management is responsible that the company is still in business not their unionized techs. Digital did not change and they got bought by Compaq (who got bought by HP). I got what I was entitled to -- unemployed. That is exactly what these Verizon employees are "entitled" to. If they were smart, they would go back to their jobs while those jobs still exist.
Mike do not waste your time with the bevy of noncritical thinkers on this board. To them it's perfectly OK when gas is $4 a gallon and they pay out the wazoo for commodities because "that's the market". Same dumb dumbs can't seem to realize that there is also a market for labor and it is folks like you that who are willing to stand up that create a demand for living wages. These same folks will scream on and on about the 40's and 50'see as the good old days, not even realizing the way the economy was set up at that time. Here's a clue, it was a lot different from now. Ignore these people on the board and good luck out on the picket line.
Mike, while your coming out of the shadows is commendable, you say you want fairness. What is fair? Fair is a highly subjective term based on an individual. As a corporation, companies cannot exert fairness in terms of every person's personal concept of fair.
Do you think it's fair that several college students graduate every semester only to have no job for a year or two because of all the legislation being passed under the guise of 'fairness' like the $15 per hour debacle that will surely make jobs more scarce than now? Do you think it's fair that a single mother has to work two or three jobs to support her one child after the father left the home or was never involved at all financially or otherwise? Do you think it's fair that teens today may have to work and save until they're in their 40s to afford to buy their first home? Do you think it's fair that the folks from Crown and Dresser lost all of their retirement when the companies moved out of the area?
As I said fairness is subjective. The problem with folks who boo the unions is this. It takes some gall when so many people are out of work to go on strike when you have a job that 25-30 people would love to have. You are showing not only imprudence because your job could very likely be shipped off to foreign countries and contractors who do not have unions can take over but also smacks in the face for many on the shore who would love to have your job. It takes a lot to say these things publically when so many people are struggling to make ends meet and you're making more than people at McDonalds or Checkers. Just takes a lot of gall in general that you guys would have the audacity to strike while so many others suffer. It's just an insult to all those who would love to have your job and even more would APPRECIATE it.
120 how dare you make an assessment of 'people on this board' you have no clue about others' experiences or situations. All you know is your own. People like you ruin good verbal discourse where both people can learn a thing or two.
Exactly Rubble. You are correct. These people don't appreciate the fact they still have jobs. If upper management at Verizon should choose they could close this office altogether, thus galvanizing the area's reputation for company-closing unions.
Yea Mike good luck on that picket line. From what I see the spirits are running pretty low and the thought of "what if this is it and my job is sent overseas" looms all over everyone's face. Good luck with that when you look back and say man when are we ever satisfied
I agree with you Mike. What some may not understand is that Verizon is trying to cut benefits, wages & pensions. They also want to modify other previously agreed upon issues. While change is necessary the hard working middle class shouldn't be forced to roll over and allow the company to take from them without objection. I believe that is why it DOES matter that Verizon made over 5 billion in profit the first quarter. The CEO's are still getting their bonuses and raises while the people on the front lines are forced to fight to keep what they have.
That being said- the union is not without it's faults as well. They protect people's jobs to the point that it's almost impossible for the company to terminate employees who have falsified records, abused company privelages or FMLA or are just plain lazy and don't get their work done! They also don't advertise to the public that the presidents of local unions STILL get pay checks while the workers are on strike. Let's not forget that whomever called this strike for the 40,000plus union members support a presidential candidate that is a self confessed socialist. Who btw just had a primary in NY and appeared on the picket lines......
What is an honest hard working employee who doesn't agree with either party do when faced with this situation????
I'm gonna share this again I watched Safeway and commercial food workers break my fathers spirit when they boarded up shop and headed out of town. The man worked 27 years never missed a day only to be FORCED to go to a competitor for about 8 dollars an hour less in pay. Good luck with your never knowing when to not make waves
5:02 Come walk with us on the picket line, and you'll see the strength, spirit and determination that is the hallmark of the type of people who have what it takes to make a career at Verizon. Whiners, excuse makers and those without commitment and resolve, don't last long.
Don't make waves. Just roll over and quietly sink, like the American middle class is expected to do.
I don't think so.
A very pointed and firm letter to CWA and AFL-CIO officials, backed by a couple thousand signatures, especially endorsed at the Local level, will get their attention. Keep pushing the Democrat agenda at the expense of the members, and we'll look for another union to represent us.
I'm sure that many love the idea of having our jobs.
My question is, why didn't they apply for these jobs, then? And if they did, why weren't they hired?
If you were facing the possibility of your employer outsourcing YOUR job to a foreign country, would you just put your head down and appreciate the crumbs you're thrown until you're out on the street and unemployed?
We don't care how much CEO's make, as long as they aren't trying to increase their compensation by cutting back on ours.
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