It is not in the cards for everyone to open up their own business. In fact that is possibly the worst suggestion I have ever heard, if everyone opened up their own business, who would be left to work? Besides completely lacking any use of logic, your challenge sounds like a regurgitation of something one would hear on FOX News, so your argument that union supporters do not think for themselves is rendered useless because you yourself cannot think for yourself.
On the subject of fact checking, maybe you should stop being lazy and do a little research yourself. This movement is not so that the hardworking FedEx employees can slack, which has been stated multiple times in this forum by both organizers and supporters (If you bothered to read the rest of this forum you would already know this, or perhaps comprehension, like grammar, is beyond you). This movement is so that the hardworking men and women of this wonderful company can retire with the benefits that they have earned. The trucking industry plays a vital role in the success in just about every other industry, without truck drivers, food, medicine, constructions supplies, cars, and just about every tangible good would not be able to get from “Point A” to “Point B”. So despite its lack of glamour, the average truck driver is one of the most important workers in America. But your rather closed minded self probably have not realized this because they don’t wear expensive suits like most “important” people.
Continuing on the topic of facts, I totally agree that supporters should do their own research; I wouldn’t want the union to turn into another propaganda machine such as FOX or nay-sayers of the union. In fact, here are a few facts that you might find interesting:
-As defined by the Teamsters’ Constitution, the purpose of the union is to
* Organize workers so that they have a voice in the workplace.
* Educate workers so that they know their workplace rights and can participate fully in our democratic society.
* Involve workers in the political process so that their issues are addressed.
* Negotiate and enforce contracts with employers so that each worker will be treated with dignity, justice and respect.
- According to the U.S Department of Labor:
-88 percent of union workers have job-related health coverage while only 69 percent of non-union workers do.
-More than two out of three union jobs offer a dental plan; only 44 percent of non-union workers receive dental coverage.
-More than half of all union jobs offer vision coverage; only about one-quarter of non-union jobs provide vision care.
-85 percent of union jobs offer prescription drug coverage; only 66 percent of non-union jobs provide prescription drug coverage.
-Union workers pay an average of 8 percent of the total monthly premium (employer pays 92 percent) for single coverage; non-union workers pay 20 percent. Union households pay an average of 12 percent of the monthly premium for family coverage while non-union families pay 32 percent.
-72 percent of union workers have a guaranteed defined-benefit pension compared to 15 percent of non-union workers.
Now I do believe this discredits your unsubstantiated assertion that there are no benefits of a union. In all actuality, unions are a benefit for everyone. The reality is that these employees are going to retire, whether they are unionized or not. Would you rather have a privatized organization and company take care of them or Medicaid and the millions of tax payers who are already burdened with the debts of corporate greed? I didn’t take you as someone who would be in favor of socialism.
As Abraham Lincoln stated, "All that serves labor serves the nation. All that harms is treason. If a man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool. There is no America without labor, and to fleece the one is to rob the other." So I ask you, where does your allegiance lie?
C.H.
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