All unions are not created equal, nor are all union employees. I don't know why when someone complains about a certain union, all union people become offended. There are some union jobs a monkey could perform, and some unions/union members expect way way to much for the work they are performing. On the same token, there are other unions/union employees whose work comes with so much danger and hard work that no matter what the dollar figure they are receiving is, it could be said that it isnt enough. Perfect example of the problem-- Detroit. Auto workers I believe expect to work for 30 years, then retire and receive a full pension. If I am slightly off on the details I apologize, but I can't be to far off or Detroit would still be Detroit. Honestly, in most situations, common sense from both sides just needs to be applied and the problem would be fixed. If you are performing a task that anyone can perform, and you can begin doing it at the age of 18 without prior training, you should not be making 35 dollars an hour. The world has changed, and as a nation we must change with it in order to stay ahead. The goes for the government, the unions, the corporations, and the citizens/union members/employees. One thing Greg is right about that I noticed, is that employers do not owe employees anything other than agreed upon wages. No one in this day and age can say they didn't have choices. Everyone is eligible for student loans/military etc. If you are working in a certain industry, it is because you chose to. You may have had certain problems or needs dictating the choice you have to make, but those same problems or needs are often still due to a choice you made. Even once you have gone into a certain field, if you really want out, you can pretty much do anything you want nowadays taking classes in the evening and online other than perhaps attend medical school. Not to bring up lawyers but there are even law schools offering programs for working adults with evening classes throughout the entire program.
If we are unwilling to perform jobs in this country for a figure that will allow companies to be able to afford to compensate us and still make a profit, then companies are going to continue to move jobs to other countries. I'm not advocating companies refusing to pay fair wages here and moving overseas when they could afford to stay here and be successful, or move jobs overseas and be ultra successful, but if said business can only stay afloat by moving the jobs, then that is just what they have to do. That's likely when the situation of Americans demanding more money than the job they are performing is worth comes into play.
If you run an electronics company in the US, and labor is costing you 30 dollars an hour, and your largest competitor is having his electronics produced in Japan for the equivalent of 15/hour, how long do you think business A is going to be able to remain in business? It isn't at all fair the way all this works. I do not know what it will lead to for the US in the long run, but our population keeps constantly growing, and aside from Healthcare and fast food, jobs keep dwindling. It had became to expensive for companies to manufacture in the US. It creates a monopoly affect of one bad thing after another. I know the healthcare jobs continue to increase, but it other industries continue to decrease, the only person left to pay for the medical care is going to be the government, which is already broke and the problem isn't even anywhere close to bad yet, when compared to his bad it could get. If available jobs continue to decrease, you have even less people and less people paying taxes, so even less money for the government. I honestly am at the point in my life, maybe even a little last the point that I am ready to have children, and AJ am honestly afraid of what this world/country may be like 30 years from now for the child I would have today. I honestly think our country is in more trouble than our athletic program, and that is saying something. I realize one is important and the other means nothing in the grand scheme of things, so let's all hope we start winning National Championships real soon:)