This morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time workers from General Motors went on strike. Despite working all night to reach a deal, the 11 a.m. deadline set by the United Autoworkers Union in its negotiations with General Motors Corp. passed with out an agreement. Workers have already begun picketing outside five GM plants. I wish I was still in Michigan. I would pick up a picket sign and stand right next to those workers. But my picket sign would read "Overpaid for Decades and Loving It".
I can not believe that these union protected workers have the guts to stand on a corner and hold a sign saying that they are mis-treated workers. I hope that there is someone out there that can explain it to me. These workers have been being paid way too much for over three decades and still find a reason to complain. The economic situation in MI is already in the toilet. The epicenter of this horrible situation is the Detroit auto market and the ever-increasing unemployment rate.
I have been reading the WWJ Newsradio 950 message board all morning. I was delighted to see that there were so many people out there that agreed that the unions have taken advantage of the auto industry. There are union protected workers that get 15 paid vacation days, 10 sick/personal days, full medical coverage, and receive an annual salary of $80,000 a year. Please keep in mind there are many of these workers that have no more then a high school education.
This is my stance. I am not going to spit out statistics and quotes from union and GM representatives. I have friends and family members that work in the auto industry and I have sat down at holidays and told them my views. And here it is....
Union protected auto workers have been extremely overpaid for decades. The original reason for the unions was to protect the rights of the worker. This was a noble start for this group. The unions came in and developed safer work environments, they regulated the hours that a worker could take on, helped provide them with sufficient pay, and made the company responsible for taking care of its employees. But this has spun out of control. OSHA was developed to specifically keep workers safe and out of harms way. This left compensation for the unions to take care of and they have beaten it into the ground. There is no reason for the UAW to exist. Is the auto industry really that different that they need a union when so many other industries can function properly without? If the UAW is so worried about the rising threat of union protected employees then why don't they suspend their union dues. Let the workers have a little more disposable income. This will not happen because it is a business. It is not looking out for the workers, it is looking out for itself. If the UAW keeps going at the pace that it is, GM will be ripped apart due to the high costs of labor compared to the low quality of the work they perform. Where will UAW reps be after that? Still fighting for the worker? Are they going to be actively seeking out jobs for those workers that handed them a piece of there check that they didn't deserve in the first place? I very much doubt that the UAW will still be helping workers if they can't get their hand in the worker's wallet.
In today's day and age, no ones job is safe. The mechanic, the dentist, line worker or the computer programmer. You have to be good at what you do to keep your job. You have to work your ass off and try and be the best. There are way too many people out there that can get away with not doing their jobs. The auto worker is one of these people. But it is time for the auto market to stand up and fight.
I am hoping that a GM representative comes out of the building and approaches one of the many news crews on-site. I hope that representative looks into the camera and states the following "Good morning. I wanted to let all of our workers know that we appreciate their views and opinions. But we are still a business at the end of the day. Therefore, if you are scheduled to be working at this time, I recommend you return to your job. Those that fail to arrive within a half hour of their scheduled starting time will be laid off without compensation. You are paid to work and if you don't want to work then we will not pay you. For all of you that sit watching this because you have felt the real economic struggle we are currently experiencing in the great state of Michigan, you are welcome here at General Motors. Those standing behind me would like to offer you their jobs. Please apply within."
Monday, September 24, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Things They Should Have Told You At Your College Graduation
I recently went on a business trip to Miami. I was sitting on the plane on the way back to Chicago and I started thinking about writing this post. I wanted to make a play off of the popular book "All I need to know I learned in Kindergarten". I started thinking about this as the two 6 year olds behind me would not stop crying, yelling at their mom because their ears were popping and kicking the back of my seat. (Insert Trojan Condom commercial here) I know that this book teaches all those little things that you are supposed to do. Treat others like you want to be treated, don't steal your neighbors crayon, and every work day should include a good nap. But I think that there are a lot of little things that college grads should be told before being released into real life. I wish that one of my professors or the Dean would have stood at the podium and told me a few key insights into my future. Here are some of the things I wish they would have told me and the reasons why.
"Chivalry is not Dead. Common Courtesy is Dead."
I try to be as courteous as possible to those around me most of the time. It is different if I am at a bar or another situation that I am probably drunk. If someone sneezes, I say bless you. If someone drops something, I will pick it up for them. I will hold a door, carry something heavy or say thank you if someone goes out of their way for me. I do not think this is contagious in any way. The prime example was the women that was trying to tame those brats sitting behind me. As we waited for everyone to slowly exit the plane, she stood right behind me. She was breathing on my neck which I am not a big fan of unless we are in another situation and popping her gum in my ear. I did the polite half turn to let her know that I was not happy with the situation but she continued and I prayed to not go off in the plane. I slowly counted the number of people it would take to get this horrid women away from me. If she is reading this right now. You deserve those kids. I hope they get worse by the day. If I had my way I would find out where you live and drop off a ton of candy and sugar for them just so they would bounce off the walls and you would have to deal with it.
"Your flight has been delayed. But we will offer you a warm Sierra Mist and a $3 cookie when you get on board."
I wish someone would have warned me that there is nothing exciting about business trips if your company does not spring for business class. The experience of flying today is nothing like it was 15 years ago. Flying used to be a luxury and a pleasure. Now it is annoying and the bare minimum. They should include in the safety announcement that the guy next to you has the flu and the baby in front of you will not stop crying the entire flight. I just wish I could have enjoyed flying in the days when it mattered to the airlines how people felt.
"Its not what you Know, its Who you Know"
Something that my university never really highlighted was the networking aspect of business. They made it seem as if you needed to memorize your book and get an A on a test to get a job. When really, it is all about having that piece of paper to show companies that you can learn. It took me 344 pages in "what color is your parachute" to learn that the single most important business skill is to be able to be social. You need to be a people person. Critical thinking is extremely important, but if you can't communicate your results, then you have nothing.
"The Age of Job Security is Gone"
It is said that my generation will switch careers at least eight times before retirement. It is funny to read stories about people who worked with the same company for 25 years and steadily moved up the ladder. This is something that my generation will not see. To be perfectly honest, retirement is something that my generation might not see. They should have told us, "Work your ass off every day at your job. Your employer needs to know how much you care. But never be irreplaceable. If you are irreplaceable then how could you ever get that promotion".
"Thanks for staying in Michigan for your undergraduate studies. Now, its time to leave."
No matter how bad the market was they always tried to veer us in the direction of working with a MI company. They never explored the potential of leaving MI in search of better things. Thanks God I did not wait for someone to tell me and i figured it out myself.
"You need a balance between work and the rest of your life. But never be afraid of a side project, you never know when that new project could give you the time to enjoy life even more"
Anything dealing with entrepreneur was something that was lacking from my education. The programs dealt more with working in a corporation, efficiently moving everything from your in box to your out box and leaving at 5. I wish they would have dealt more with having an addition to just the work you do everyday 9 to 5. This is something else that I will need to learn on my own, even if it is the hard way.
"You can re-take a Class, but Screw Up at your Job and your in Deep Shit"
Personally, i have not had any problems in this area, but I have some friends that have had to deal with this. it is the instant maturing process of realizing that it is time to get down to business. Make-up exams and skipped classes do not count any more. Go or No go. It is your choice succeed or fail. I think that a lot of people stay in school for longer periods of time to be able to not have to face this fact.
"Congrats. You are now an Adult and You have Complete Control of your Life"
In school you always have a direction you have to take. A set of classes that you have to take. An internship that you have to complete. A term paper that has to be done on a certain date. But in real life you have more choices. You can take whatever job you want, if it is offered to you. You can work at Jimmy Johns or you can work at Morgan Stanley depending on your drive and goals. If you want to just sit on the couch all day and collect welfare, that is your choice. You are no longer limited to the goals of others. You can do anything you want. Start a small business, create a new newsletter of magazine that you are interested in, or work part-time as a video game tester. It is your life, live it the way that you want.
"If you don't Remember anything that you have Learned here, Remember that there is No Sex in the Champagne Room"
I think that this is the equivalent to the age old motivation quote "There is no such thing as a free lunch". I just think that the champagne room quote resonates better with my generation.
Please feel free to add more things that you wish they would have told you in the comments section.
"Chivalry is not Dead. Common Courtesy is Dead."
I try to be as courteous as possible to those around me most of the time. It is different if I am at a bar or another situation that I am probably drunk. If someone sneezes, I say bless you. If someone drops something, I will pick it up for them. I will hold a door, carry something heavy or say thank you if someone goes out of their way for me. I do not think this is contagious in any way. The prime example was the women that was trying to tame those brats sitting behind me. As we waited for everyone to slowly exit the plane, she stood right behind me. She was breathing on my neck which I am not a big fan of unless we are in another situation and popping her gum in my ear. I did the polite half turn to let her know that I was not happy with the situation but she continued and I prayed to not go off in the plane. I slowly counted the number of people it would take to get this horrid women away from me. If she is reading this right now. You deserve those kids. I hope they get worse by the day. If I had my way I would find out where you live and drop off a ton of candy and sugar for them just so they would bounce off the walls and you would have to deal with it.
"Your flight has been delayed. But we will offer you a warm Sierra Mist and a $3 cookie when you get on board."
I wish someone would have warned me that there is nothing exciting about business trips if your company does not spring for business class. The experience of flying today is nothing like it was 15 years ago. Flying used to be a luxury and a pleasure. Now it is annoying and the bare minimum. They should include in the safety announcement that the guy next to you has the flu and the baby in front of you will not stop crying the entire flight. I just wish I could have enjoyed flying in the days when it mattered to the airlines how people felt.
"Its not what you Know, its Who you Know"
Something that my university never really highlighted was the networking aspect of business. They made it seem as if you needed to memorize your book and get an A on a test to get a job. When really, it is all about having that piece of paper to show companies that you can learn. It took me 344 pages in "what color is your parachute" to learn that the single most important business skill is to be able to be social. You need to be a people person. Critical thinking is extremely important, but if you can't communicate your results, then you have nothing.
"The Age of Job Security is Gone"
It is said that my generation will switch careers at least eight times before retirement. It is funny to read stories about people who worked with the same company for 25 years and steadily moved up the ladder. This is something that my generation will not see. To be perfectly honest, retirement is something that my generation might not see. They should have told us, "Work your ass off every day at your job. Your employer needs to know how much you care. But never be irreplaceable. If you are irreplaceable then how could you ever get that promotion".
"Thanks for staying in Michigan for your undergraduate studies. Now, its time to leave."
No matter how bad the market was they always tried to veer us in the direction of working with a MI company. They never explored the potential of leaving MI in search of better things. Thanks God I did not wait for someone to tell me and i figured it out myself.
"You need a balance between work and the rest of your life. But never be afraid of a side project, you never know when that new project could give you the time to enjoy life even more"
Anything dealing with entrepreneur was something that was lacking from my education. The programs dealt more with working in a corporation, efficiently moving everything from your in box to your out box and leaving at 5. I wish they would have dealt more with having an addition to just the work you do everyday 9 to 5. This is something else that I will need to learn on my own, even if it is the hard way.
"You can re-take a Class, but Screw Up at your Job and your in Deep Shit"
Personally, i have not had any problems in this area, but I have some friends that have had to deal with this. it is the instant maturing process of realizing that it is time to get down to business. Make-up exams and skipped classes do not count any more. Go or No go. It is your choice succeed or fail. I think that a lot of people stay in school for longer periods of time to be able to not have to face this fact.
"Congrats. You are now an Adult and You have Complete Control of your Life"
In school you always have a direction you have to take. A set of classes that you have to take. An internship that you have to complete. A term paper that has to be done on a certain date. But in real life you have more choices. You can take whatever job you want, if it is offered to you. You can work at Jimmy Johns or you can work at Morgan Stanley depending on your drive and goals. If you want to just sit on the couch all day and collect welfare, that is your choice. You are no longer limited to the goals of others. You can do anything you want. Start a small business, create a new newsletter of magazine that you are interested in, or work part-time as a video game tester. It is your life, live it the way that you want.
"If you don't Remember anything that you have Learned here, Remember that there is No Sex in the Champagne Room"
I think that this is the equivalent to the age old motivation quote "There is no such thing as a free lunch". I just think that the champagne room quote resonates better with my generation.
Please feel free to add more things that you wish they would have told you in the comments section.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Priming the Pump: A Necessity of City Life
Back in Michigan, pre-drinking was never really an act I never really participated in. I usually had to drive to the bar and drinking a case of beer is never really a good idea before getting behind the wheel. Getting drunk at the bar was never really an issue. We usually went to the same place all the time where they would hook us up with drinks and let us stay after hours to sober up and avoid the police during their busiest time of night. But things have certainly changed now that I have moved to Chicago. Now I don't drive anywhere. Now pre-drinking has turned into an art form. It is the simplest way to not spend every hard-earned dollar in your pocket on booze.
The last two weekends have been great examples of this. Two weeks ago on Saturday, everyone came to my apartment before we were leaving for the bar. Everyone was just sitting around, drinking beer and talking about bullshit. When all of a sudden, someone started a yawn chain. Lets just say that I wasn't very happy with this and I knew I had to do something about it. We need to have some fun and we need to do it right now. As you probably can tell, I am a big movie guy. And the one scene that popped into my head when I realized what I needed to do was from Beerfest, when they walk into the Frat party "We're the party brigade".
Suddenly their were 8 shot glasses laid out on my bar and I was reaching into the freezer for the ice cold half gallon of Canadian Club (CC) that I had bought in case of just such an emergency. I quickly rallied the troops around the bar and started getting everyone to do shots. After about 5 shots each within an hour there was no more yawning. Everyone was quite awake and ready to party. We topped everyone off with three rounds of "Thunder Chug" and headed to the bar completely shitfaced. I spent $0 at the bar that night.
This last weekend was very similar. No one yawned because they feared the catastrophic affects of their actions. This time they just bellied up and decided not to fight it. This time I decided to start the night off with some Curty Bombs. This consists of a shot of Jack Daniels dropped in a glass of Rockstar. After three round we were out of Rockstar but had plenty of Jack, or at least we thought. When the Jack ran out we turned to SoCo. Shot after shot and beer after beer, we were once again drunk. How much did I spend at the bar this time? $0
The damage of the two weekends: One half gallon of Canadian Club, 1 1/2 fifths of Jack, a fifth of SoCo and about 6 cases of beer. Not bad for 8 people.
The last two weekends have been great examples of this. Two weeks ago on Saturday, everyone came to my apartment before we were leaving for the bar. Everyone was just sitting around, drinking beer and talking about bullshit. When all of a sudden, someone started a yawn chain. Lets just say that I wasn't very happy with this and I knew I had to do something about it. We need to have some fun and we need to do it right now. As you probably can tell, I am a big movie guy. And the one scene that popped into my head when I realized what I needed to do was from Beerfest, when they walk into the Frat party "We're the party brigade".
Suddenly their were 8 shot glasses laid out on my bar and I was reaching into the freezer for the ice cold half gallon of Canadian Club (CC) that I had bought in case of just such an emergency. I quickly rallied the troops around the bar and started getting everyone to do shots. After about 5 shots each within an hour there was no more yawning. Everyone was quite awake and ready to party. We topped everyone off with three rounds of "Thunder Chug" and headed to the bar completely shitfaced. I spent $0 at the bar that night.
This last weekend was very similar. No one yawned because they feared the catastrophic affects of their actions. This time they just bellied up and decided not to fight it. This time I decided to start the night off with some Curty Bombs. This consists of a shot of Jack Daniels dropped in a glass of Rockstar. After three round we were out of Rockstar but had plenty of Jack, or at least we thought. When the Jack ran out we turned to SoCo. Shot after shot and beer after beer, we were once again drunk. How much did I spend at the bar this time? $0
The damage of the two weekends: One half gallon of Canadian Club, 1 1/2 fifths of Jack, a fifth of SoCo and about 6 cases of beer. Not bad for 8 people.
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