Grocery Strike

simplesally

I am not sure if the grocery strike is just here in So Cal, statewide or nationwide, but it has widened now because the Teamsters Union has decided to honor the strikers. They will no longer deliver groceries to the Big 3 chain stores. Independant drivers now are being used. All over the news it was stated that the shelves might be empty, the turkeys gone and shoppers might have to shop at multiple stores to get what they need.

So I rushed to the market yesterday hoping my items were there. Thank God! There was my Jim Beam, Diet Coke and 7-up just sitting there waiting for me to pick them up. Looks like they were well stocked.

And sns thought I wouldn't get there in time to get T-day supplies. Bah!

Yerusalyim

Having been screwed by a union I belonged to once...I'm not a big Union guy...Teamsters...not my favorite union either...though I love truckers.

Sassy

And sns thought I wouldn't get there in time to get T-day supplies. Bah!

lol.... what about food??

simplesally

Food?

Sassy

I know I can always count on you for the important stuff..

morty

glad to hear you got the important things off the shelve....lol...

What about our truckers that are out of work though?...Some will not even have money to buy the food now, never mind find it on the shelves...I hate when strikes start....it is not only the public that suffer but, the employes, that are on strike that suffer has well....many do not get paid when they are striking..or very little..( here in Canada, anyways...not sure of the law in the usa)...I only bring this up because my hubby is a truck driver and they always seem to get the shaft when ANYONE strikes......just my 2 cents worth.......Hope the strike ends soon and everyone is back on the job soon...

morty

Sassy

I hate strikes. I try to honor them, so they can get things taken care of sooner rather than later. This strike is starting to irriate me though. Too long going on. I do feel for the employees on strike.

BeautifulGarbage

My Mom is on strike and I have not crossed the line, yet. Nor, will I. Stater Bros and Food for Less have separate contracts and are not on strike. So, I shop there. However, their medical benefits will run out the end of december. It's been horrible for everyone. However, Safeway (Vons), the ASSHOLES (with Ralph's and Albertsons dutifully towing the line) in this whole mess are determined to deeply slash medical and retirement benefits. I hope not one damn thing gets delivered to those markets. And, my spouse is also a truck driver.

My family has been out so long. JWs are not allowed to strike? I know of one newly baptised JW that walked the line (They get half their regular pay for 40 hours) and was reported by a Assistant Manager (not union) ASSHOLE elder-type JW(not sure if he is) to this guy's elders. This guy helps support his family with the money, while ASSHOLE elder-type is still working making his regular pay. So, we have been spreading the word to everyone about JW Nazi behavior. Interestingly, my cousin, Mrs. Elderette's husband is also on strike and she has never earned a penny in her life. So, no money is coming in for them. Too bad. Maybe the congo has started a collection.

I hope it's over soon too.

imallgrowedup

I feel very badly that families get caught up in these strikes and all the suffering the strikes cause. It must be a difficult situation to be in - to ready, able and willing to work - but told you can not. It's got to be even harder not to defy the union when your family is suffering financially. But - as a union member, you've got to do whatever the union tells you to do, even if it is not in your best interest. And if you don't obey the rules, you face ostrasization from other members of the union. Kind of sounds like the JW's to me.

The unions have held such an important place in the shaping of labor environments and laws in this country. They were created in the early part of the 1900's specifically because workers were treated so poorly by their employers - it was the only way to get proper working conditions. The unions have done a great service to this country by ensuring worker's rights. In fact, there are now labor laws as a result of the hard work the unions put forth to ensure that everyone can work in "user friendly" work environments, or the company can be held liable. The labor unions have much to be proud for. In fact, they need a pat on the back for a job well done! And in my opinion, it's time for them, and the people they control to move on.

Labor unions are no longer useful in ensuring proper working conditions. The laws that are set up do the job for them. Now, imho, the only useful purpose these unions serve is to coerce others into unnecessary actions. They brainwash their members into thinking that their members need them for something that they can do on their own. Again, sounds like the WT. In the meantime, the people who don't need them are paying them something out of their checks every month so they can act as their "go between." Still sounds like the WT. The truth of the matter is that employees do NOT need labor unions - labor unions need the employees! They've twisted it all around, just like the WT does!

I live in an area of CA where all the grocery stores are union - except one. And I won't shop anywhere else but the non-union store. Why? Because the prices are at least half what I pay in the unionized stores for the same products. Some products are as much as 1/3 the price. The store is open 24 hours, the employees are always nice, and the parking lot is adequate. Why pay more for less? Of course, nearly every time I go to this store, there are union picketers outside of it handing out flyers with misleading information about how "horrible" this company is. So, I've taken their "list" and gone in and talked the employees themselves. None of them are treated badly, as is asserted in the flyers. They aren't laid off when they become eligible for benefits, as the lyer asserts. In fact, one clerk I spoke to worked for a union grocery store two blocks away and she was laid off THERE after only three months. She'd already been at the non-union store for a year and a half and was very happy with the way she was treated.

My point is the families and the stores themselves are suffering at the hands of the unions. It's time for the unions to go bye-bye, then families won't be subjected to a force which requires them to go into debt or lose their homes so THEY can justify their existence. Anyone who is under the control of a union needs to see them for what they are - and break free! They are NO better than the JW's.

*growedup steps off soapbox and slides it back under bed*

growedup

rem

imallgrowedup,

I agree with your post 100%. I used to work for a Unionized company and I really had no choice but to join the union. I couldn't believe I didn't have a choice! Unions have outlasted their usefulness and are bad, I think, for both the economy and the employees.

One thing that upsets me is that the picketers outside the store make it sound like they are getting some type of raw deal. Well, as I was accosted entering my local supermarket I made sure to let the brainwashed unionite know that though his benefits were being reduced, they were still better than mine and what most employees get.

Strikes really only hurt the poorest union workers they claim to protect. I know it happened to me when my union threatened to go on strike. Sure, most of the union members with seniority could afford the strike, but most others, like myself could not.

The thought control is amazing. There was no toleration of divergent views. Those who didn't tow the line were ostracised. It's not a healthy work environment.

rem

Grocery Strike

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