[jeffkrol]

I would note that Germany has a high unionization rate, some of the highest labor costs in the world, and still has lower unemployment and a higher ratio of exports than the U.S.

no facts Gene, just throw in some buzz words and all is good.......

[GeneV]

Does anyone have an example where the unionization of workers has benefited anyone other than union members and union bosses? Are the children or parents benefiting from the teachers sicking out? Are the parents who pay the taxes that pay the teacher's salaries when they call in sick who have to take off from work benefiting? How many of the parents being forced to take off will get fired for missing work or not be able to pay their bills because of the union's action?

Unionization can increase the wages of the entire community, as other employers compete with the union jobs, just as low wage global jobs bring wages down.

In point of fact, consolidations of capital are for the benefit of those who own the companies, not anyone else. I don't understand the venom for workers who do the same thing for a competitive advantage.

[shooz]

Mike? I'm sorry but that is incredibly naive.

Unionization has helped workers in every industry.
In every community.
Before you were here, we had a "discussion", about the Massey mine disaster.
Bottom line? No union, no concern by management for the health and safety of workers.
It didn't work out too well.

[shooz]

John?
You're still using Mr. 8s play book.
Ripped right from the airwaves of Mr. Limbaugh.
No, you don't have to listen to him to hear him.
From the tone of your comments, I would say your workers could very well use a union.
Would you like me to send an organizer?
Just give me the name of your "company".

Would you prefer the AFL/CIO, UAW or Teamsters?

[JohnInIndy]

John?
You're still using Mr. 8s play book.
Ripped right from the airwaves of Mr. Limbaugh.
No, you don't have to listen to him to hear him.
From the tone of your comments, I would say your workers could very well use a union.
Would you like me to send an organizer?
Just give me the name of your "company".

Would you prefer the AFL/CIO, UAW or Teamsters?

I think my crews would disagree with you.

[JohnInIndy]

Mike? I'm sorry but that is incredibly naive.

Unionization has helped workers in every industry.
In every community.
Before you were here, we had a "discussion", about the Massey mine disaster.
Bottom line? No union, no concern by management for the health and safety of workers.
It didn't work out too well.

So it's all the company's fault? Where was OSHA and the other regulating agencies?

[JohnInIndy]

I would note that Germany has a high unionization rate, some of the highest labor costs in the world, and still has lower unemployment and a higher ratio of exports than the U.S.

As the largest country in Central Europe, Germany remains as one of the economic powers in the continent. It is the world’s largest exporter bringing in a good economic state to the country. Through the years, Germany has indeed developed a high standard of living. This has determined an intact and reliable social security among the residents.

And it's expensive to live.

Germany is one of the most scenic places in Europe. There are a lot of forests, seacoasts, national parks and mountains that are seen here. It is very evident that the people here are concerned with the environmental issues. Currently, they are very dedicated to the Kyoto protocol. You can guarantee that when you live here, you will not have any problems when it comes to the environmental issues.

Germany is still a part of the Eurozone. The currency that Germany uses is the Euro (€). The rate of 1 Euro is equivalent to 1.46 USD. Cost of living is generally higher in Germany. Especially since the Euro is a very expensive currency, you need to be prepared for the cost of living that you have to face here.

Housing Costs

Living in Germany is very expensive. If you still cannot afford owning your own home, you can always choose to rent an apartment Particularly for European countries, this is the most common way of living here. You can find a lot of cheap apartments as well as expensive ones. Depending on where you live, you will know the cost of living that you might incur. Munich is where the highest cost of living is. East Germany is practically a lot cheaper than the west where the booming countries are located. Cheaper apartments may cost around €300 to thousands of Euros per month and may increase with the size of the room or the location of the apartment.

Transportation Costs

Transportation is a very important expense that you have to take note of. This is a part of daily which means you cannot neglect this. The German Bahn Card 50 is a great when you want to save on your train tickets. It offers 25%, 50% and 100% on your train tickets. These are sold at €57, €230 and €3800, respectively. The ICE is also a high speed train that are very fast and efficient. These may be effective but can also be expensive at around €60.

Driving with your car, you need to be aware of the prices of gasoline. It recently increased as the prices for diesel is at €1.10 per liter and for gasoline at €1.30 per liter.

Average Cost of Monthly Utilities

The cost for electricity and other utilities are quite expensive here. Electricity and utility bills can cost anywhere from €100 to €300 depending on what you use at home. This can really cost a lot when you are staying in Germany. If you are using too much of your electrical appliances, you may need to cut down if you want to save.

Internet and cable TV bills are also needed when you stay here. For a total of €50 to €60, you can enjoy all of these. For all of the utilities that you use, you may need around €200 to €400 per month.

Cost of Maid Services

Hiring a maid in Germany is quite a luxury. It is quite expensive and not everyone can afford it. Maid services cost around 80 Euro per day or per cleaning. Ask if your apartment offers extra cleaning services instead of hiring from outside. Since there are some agencies which actually charge higher for maid services rather than those which are offered in your apartment, make sure that you choose a cheaper alternative.

Cost for Food and Drinks

Food expenses in Germany actually depend on you. Grocery bills start at around €80 to €150 per month. These amounts only account for the basic food that you need to eat every day. It can cost you more if you add more junk food or extra grocery items. Eating out, it may cost you anywhere from €7 to €22 per meal. Drinks such as beer and coffee are priced around €2 to €5.

Mercer's 2010 Cost of Living Survey
The survey covers 214 cities across five continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowance for their expatriate employees. New York is used as the base city for the index and all cities are compared against New York. Currency movements are measured against the US dollar. The cost of housing – often the biggest expense for expats - plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked.

For the first time, the ranking of the world’s top 10 most expensive cities includes three African urban centres: Luanda (1) in Angola, Ndjamena (3) in Chad and Libreville (7) in Gabon. The top ten also includes three Asian cities; Tokyo (2), Osaka (6) and Hong Kong (jointly ranked 8). Moscow (4), Geneva (5) and Zurich (joint 8) are the most expensive European cities, followed by Copenhagen (10)..

Europe
After Moscow, Geneva, Zurich and Copenhagen, the most expensive cities in Europe are Oslo (11) in Norway, Milan (15) in Italy, London and Paris (both 17) and Bern (22) in Switzerland. Other expensive European cities include Rome (26), Vienna (28), St Petersburg (30) Amsterdam (35), Baku (36) Dublin (42), Istanbul (44), Barcelona (49), Frankfurt (50), Madrid (52) and Lisbon (72). Riga ranks 81 followed by Budapest (94), Warsaw (96) and Tallinn (115). The least expensive city in Europe is Tirana (200) in Albania, followed by Macedonia’s Skopje (197), Sarajevo (196) in Bosnia Herzegovina, Minsk (192) in Belarus and Belfast (182) in the UK.

The Middle East
Tel Aviv (19) is the most expensive city in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi (50) and Dubai (55). Tripoli (186) in Libya is the least expensive Middle Eastern location followed by Jeddah (181) in Saudi Arabia and Muscat (I76) in Oman.

Africa
Reflecting the increasing economic importance of Africa across all business sectors, Mercer’s rankings now includes many African cities for the first time. Many rank highly in the 2010 survey, reflecting the high living costs for expatriate employees. After Luanda, Ndjamena and Libreville, the region’s most expensive cities are Victoria (13) in the Seychelles, Niamey (23) in Niger and Dakar (32) in Senegal. In South Africa, Johannesburg and Cape Town rank 151 and 171, respectively. At the bottom of the ranking, Addis Ababa (208) in Ethiopia is the cheapest African city followed by Windhoek (205) and Gaborone (203) in Namibia and Botswana, respectively.

North America
In the United States, New York (27) is the most expensive city followed by Los Angeles (55). Washington ranks 111. The least expensive City in the United States is Winston Salem (197). Mexico City (166) is the most expensive city in Mexico, while the cheapest is Monterrey (193). Vancouver (75) is the most expensive Canadian city followed by Toronto (76) and Montreal (98). Ottawa (136) is Canada’s least expensive city.

South America
Cities in Brazil are amongst the most expensive locations in the Americas with Sao Paulo (21) ranked as the most expensive city in both North and South America, as a result of the strengthening of the Brazilian Real against the US Dollar. In South America, Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro (29) is the second most expensive city followed by Havana (45) in Cuba, Colombia’s Bogota (66) and Brazil’s capital, Brasilia (70). Buenos Aires ranks 161. Nicaragua’s Managua (212), Bolivia’s La Paz (211) and Asuncion (204) in Paraguay were the least expensive cities in South America.

Asia Pacific
Two Japanese cities, Tokyo and Osaka, are the region’s most expensive cities. Other highly ranked Asian cities are Hong Kong (8), Singapore (11), Seoul (14), Beijing (16), Nagoya (19) in Japan, Shanghai (25) and Taipei (78). A total of seven Chinese cities appeared on the 2010 rankings, highlighting the increased commercial importance to multi-nationals of locations other than just Beijing Shanghai and Hong Kong.

New Delhi (85) is India’s most expensive city followed by Mumbai (89) and Bangalore (190). Elsewhere, Jakarta in Indonesia ranks 94, followed by Vietnam’s Hanoi and Thailand’s Bangkok (both at 121) and Kuala Lumpur (138) in Malaysia. Pakistan’s Islamabad (212) and Karachi (214) are the region’s two least expensive cities.

Sydney (24) is Australia’s most expensive city followed by Melbourne (33) and Brisbane (55) while Adelaide (90) is the country’s least expensive city. Auckland (149) is the most expensive city in New Zealand while Wellington (163) is the cheapest. The Australian Dollar and the New Zealand Dollar have strongly strengthened against the US Dollar, which has moved the cities up in the ranking.

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Last edited by JohnInIndy; 02-17-2011 at 11:04 AM.

[shooz]

So it's all the company's fault? Where was OSHA and the other regulating agencies?

Mr. Bush pulled their teeth.
I guess you missed that part.
Mr. Limbaugh failed to mention it?

[shooz]

I think my crews would disagree with you.

That's what all the bosses say.
If it's true? Why are you being so evasive?


PS. Care to comment on my We're #3 thread?

[shooz]

Will this bozo send in the guard to teach all the kids?

[JohnInIndy]

Unionization can increase the wages of the entire community, as other employers compete with the union jobs, just as low wage global jobs bring wages down.

In point of fact, consolidations of capital are for the benefit of those who own the companies, not anyone else. I don't understand the venom for workers who do the same thing for a competitive advantage.

If this is true, and it is, how are employers paying it? Is it coming out of profits or is it added to the cost of goods sold? Of course the consumer is paying the price. Which could mean that non union people can't afford the goods. So it really is the unions fault for the higher prices. And also why so many manufacturing jobs go overseas.

[mikemike]

You're still using Mr. 8s play book.

Who is Mr. 8?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Lets look at education and throw out a few factoids.

Recent growth

Before the 1960s, only a small portion of public school teachers were unionized.[5] But that began to change when, in 1959, Wisconsin became the first state to pass a collective bargaining law for public employees. Over the next 20 years, most other states adopted similar laws. The passage of these laws had a significant impact on NEA, which began to serve members as a labor union, in addition to serving members as a professional association. Passage of these new labor laws, along with NEA's new role as a labor union, helped NEA membership grow from 766,000 in 1961 [6] to roughly 3.2 million today.

National Education Association - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia






Grandfather Education Report by MWHodges

This might be simply correlation instead of causation but how has unionization helped the quality of education in this country? The teachers don't seem to be doing anything to help the students because they are too busy helping themselves. Any attempt to hold the teachers accountable for the quality of education is fought tooth and nail by the unions. Any attempts to fire bad teachers is blocked by unions which is why you hear about "rubber rooms" where unionized teachers unfit for the classroom are sent to hang out all day on their full salary. All this stuff detracts from quality of education and all you ever here from unions is that teachers are underpaid.

I think teachers are paid pretty well but they aren't given the respect they deserve. Of course they have to earn respect individually from their students and the parents and no union can ever collectively bargain for respect with the students or the parents.

Will this bozo send in the guard to teach all the kids?

You might be on to something. The troops couldn't do a worse job than the unionized teachers.

[shooz]

Yep.
Just what we need. More kids who know how to field dress a weapon.

We're #4 now.
Soon dropping to #20?

[shooz]

If this is true, and it is, how are employers paying it? Is it coming out of profits or is it added to the cost of goods sold? Of course the consumer is paying the price. Which could mean that non union people can't afford the goods. So it really is the unions fault for the higher prices. And also why so many manufacturing jobs go overseas.

Don't record profits speak for themselves John?

Many go overseas to hire children. That's a reality.
You ever heard of Saipan?

[mikemike]

Yep.
Just what we need. More kids who know how to field dress a weapon.

A lot of people join the guard to get help paying for college so they would be knowledgeable about the subjects taught in school and could teach the regular curriculum.