Colt & OSHA

[griz]

Originally Posted by 120mm

As a conservative, you don't mind a significant amount of the money which is stolen from you by the Unions going to Liberal causes, do you? You don't mind the completely illegal, but winked at by law enforcement political contributions to liberal causes and parties, do you?

I smell a hypocrite, here.

Oh, I mind... I mind a lot. But I don't vote the Liberal line and I certainly don't side with the Liberal cause by any stretch of the imagination. I've made my points and voiced my opinions and as a result, tend to be more of an outcast among my peers... but that's just the way I like it.

Oddly, many of my co-workers are "closet-conservatives" as well. They tend to portray the role of a typical Union Liberal on the outside, yet are strong conservatives on the inside and vote that way. I firmly believe this is much more common than many realize.

I guess we are hypocrites in that respect but that certainly isn't a bad thing for the conservative side now, is it?

[Darth Yhwh]

Just to break away from the union vs. non union debate for a minute….

Colt was fined for violations that potentially could lead to employee injury; however, what is their history of employee safety?

I work in a construction related shop and should OSHA stop by on Monday morning, I’ll bet we could be fined out of existence. We have not however had a serious employee injury in several years (knock on wood). Our crew is very safety cautions and it pays dividends. We’ve even received an award from the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation for our safety record as well as a reduction in our premiums.

So although I don’t necessarily condone the conditions’ at Colt’s factory, I think that until their employee safety record is reviewed they should not be condemned.

I also think that the previous posters comments about how OSHA is funded were very interesting. I never realized that their operating budget was derived from the penalties it imposes. I’m going to look into that a little more.

[FireDevil762]

Originally Posted by griz

Your statement, while correct, has nothing to do with the point I was making. A union shop would not have put up with any dangerous conditions to the workers such as high lead levels, unsanitary conditions, poor working conditions. These working conditions are exactly why Unions were started! To protect the workers RIGHTS and to be treated like humans.

As for Unions costing more to the consumer, only if the owners continue to pile on the profits to their personal bank accounts. Gee... mansions, fancy cars, personal jets and villas in Italy... damn the workers! Let them eat cake!!

I'm as conservative as they come and yes, I'm a member of a national Union. I don't like a LOT of the ideals my Union expects me to regurgitate without question, HOWEVER, I'm paid a very FAIR wage base and benefit package for my training and level of expertise. I make my company a fair amount of money on a daily basis and I feel I earn my keep. Would I do it for less? I sure wouldn't want to and I shouldn't have to but if I worked for a non-Union company doing the same thing, they would charge the consumer the same amount for the same service the main difference being the company owner would keep more of the profit margin. Fair? Yeah, right.

Every non-Union worker in America has benefitted from the Unions. They have brought the wage base up for everyone to increase their standard of living. Thank the Unions for a 5 day 40hr work week and overtime standards. Working conditions have improved due to Unions. The list goes on.

The idealism of Unions isn't a bad one for the worker. It has been abused as of lately. We could go back to the day without Unions and deal with abusive employers, poor working conditions, poor wages, no overtime benefits, etc. Gee... where do I sign up for that??

Yes another case of taking the credit from someone else and saying it was a union idea.

So, who gave us the 5 day, 8 hours per day, work week? Was it really the unions, was it really higher regulations? No, the historical answer is that it was Heny Ford who gave us the 5 day, 8 hours per day, work week. Ford was tired of continuously losing good employees, he was trying to increase employee retention and at the same time increase profits, so he basically doubled wages and implemented a 5-day work week, and in the process effectively invented the modern weekend. It is Henry Ford who is widely credited with contributing to the creation of a middle class in the United States.

http://hispanicpundit.com/2005/09/21...he-8-hour-day/

[brian40]

Originally Posted by griz

If I recall, OSHA is the only government agency that does not take an allowance out of the national budget. They are completely self funded by the fines they levy. How convenient! How would you like to have a company whose income and budget are defined by the amount of penalties or fines you impose on others? I'd be a fine imposing SOB! Daddy needs a new hunting lodge in Saskachewan... cha-ching! Gee... I'm running a bit short of cash this month... think I need to fine someone to fix that... cha-ching! Just like having your own money tree in the back yard!

I am no fan of OSHA, but you are going to have to post a source for that tidbit of information.

[brian40]

Originally Posted by brian40

I am no fan of OSHA, but you are going to have to post a source for that tidbit of information.

Bump, where you getting your info????

Hopefully not from your union leaders. They are as worthless for truthfull info as the gov.