Re: Is anything still made in the USA???

Posted by Mark - IN. on January 26, 2005 at 18:37:04 from (152.163.101.7):

In Reply to: Re: Is anything still made in the USA??? posted by bad mechanic on January 26, 2005 at 10:01:48:

Wait just a minute. You may not like unions, but had it not been for unions, I'm going to guess that whatever it is or was that you get or were paid, that it would not have occured without unions to bring your wages up in the first place, and force non-union companies to pay more competively.

Let me ask you a question about your theory on how the unions have driven the manufacturing out of this country. When you go into a grocery store for instance, and say pickup a GE product, such as a "light timer" for instance, and every single model they market is made in China, you tell me how that non-union made in China product has a price tag on it as though it was made in America at a higher wage, when it was made in China for pennies? My point is that not one American hand touched it's manufacturing, union or not, yet it still costs $10 - $20, and was made for pennies. Where is the union driving that price up?

I've watched contractors build homes using illegal aliens do everything in crews from eletrical to plumbing to drywall, getting paid low wages, yet the builder still charges from $100K to $200K to $300K for those homes constructed at low wages.

I've watched contractors put in streets and infrastructure (water and sewage) using illegal alien labor operating heavy equipment, and doing not just the laboring, but also the finish concrete work, paying low wages to the illegals, yet charge big $$$ for the labor.

Watch a Walmart go up sometime. Once the outer structure is up and the windows are in place, they get covered up to block what's going on inside. The semis that deliver the store fixtures and stuff are not jam packed to the gill to have less semis deliver the stuff. On the contrary, they are packed with less stuff for easy and quick removal. Roll the truck in, get the stuff off, get it up while the next one's backing in. Watch the low wage illegal labor drive up and work during the night behind windows that block them from sight. No unions involved there.

I could go on and on and on, especially when I hear some politician say that the illegals only take the jobs that we Americans do not want, but your complaint is partly about how the unions have driven the jobs out of this country.

Well, you go into any store and find anything not made in China, and it'll be pretty hard, and there are no labor unions that I'm aware of in China, yet those products sell for some pretty seriously elevated price tags, for generally low quality out of tolerance junk - none of which had an American hand involved, union or not. It's called profit.

Although, I do agree with your point on law suits. Do you remember when then Vice-President Quayle addressed the American Bar Association and told them "In Japan, there's one trial lawyer for every 50,000 people, but in America, we have one for every 2,000 people"? Do you remember that? Like him or not, he stood in their faces at one of their sponsored functions, and punched them in the nose. He barely made it out of there with his shirt on his back, but told them the truth. Pretty gutsy, if you ask me.

Mark, IBEW Local 21, and darn proud of it.

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• Re: Is anything still made in the USA??? toomanycases 22:49:43 01/26/05 (0)

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