Quoting Andrew Lentvorski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
So, what, pray tell, are the below average *supposed* to do for a
living? 50% of people are *below average*. Are we simply supposed to
write them off? Why don't we execute them instead so that they quit
dragging down the economy? Yes, I'm being intentionally sarcastic, but
you can't just dismiss 50% of the population.
Being average or mediocre is not a crime, people. Sheesh.
Noone's saying it is. But I don't think the answer is to punish those that do
work hard in order to protect the slackers either.. level of intelligence
aside. I've known some smart people in my union job that slacked with the
best of them.
While unions "don't reward good work", the seniority system prevents
"Oh, hey, you are 50 years old. Time to get rid of you."
Not always.. if ever anymore. My father was with AT&T for 20+ years and they
basically did that to him and many of his friends. The union didn't do much
of anything to try and stop it... my father was lucky enough to qualify for
"early retirement." Luckily.. going off on his own turned out to be the best
thing that could've happened, but he's damn smart and a damn hard worker
(which is probably where I got it from). But the union sucked, yet again, in
that case.
Besides, why is it the *union's* job to reward good work? Why don't the
*companies* have incentives to reward good work. The carrot normally
works *better* than the stick.
Because the union tends to get a contract in place that specifically spells
out how any pay increases and bonuses can be given out, so that the company
cannot give out any incentives to encourage hard work. That's how it was at
the Zoo when I was there. I wouldn't have a problem with the union if I
could still work there, non-union, and work for my own pay
increases/incentives.
Without strong unions, you get attacks on benefits and pensions. See
the current fight between GM and the UAW, for example. The UAW leader
said recently, (paraphrasing) "Gee. $20 billion in cash reserves and
they paid a solid dividend this year. Doesn't sound much like the
description of a company in trouble, does it? When we see the company
cancel dividends, executive bonuses and start laying off executive
managers, we'll talk about concessions."
True, there are cases of companies doing bad things. IME, and what I saw
happen to my father over the years.. the union rarely ends up helping the
employees that much, usually making some compromise that makes you wonder if
they were paid off or not.
--
Mike Marion-Unix SysAdmin/Staff Engineer-http://www.miguelito.org
Marge: "Homer, sitting that close to the TV can't be good for you."
Homer: "Talking while the TV's on can't be good for you!"
==> Simpsons
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