By Dee Richard
Now that we have no more holiday cards, shopping, parties, trips, visitors, snow and ice and pothole problems, we are all beginning to get back to normal. It’s time to look around and start to take inventory as to what’s going on in our family, job, neighborhood and government.
In the past, we were informed that we had three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. It would seem, however, that there is a fourth group attempting to deal themselves in as a branch: labor unions.
Going back in history, labor unions came into being because they were a necessity. Why? Human nature being what it is at times is not human. Bosses took advantage of workers in order to increase profits. Then unions came along and organized workers to help eliminate abuse. For many years unions were a godsend when it came to protecting workers and their rights.
The saviors of the oppressed in today’s world are viewed by many as being the oppressors in a role reversal. They have made the employers the oppressed with incessant demands for more benefits and entitlements. Fellows, if your demands become too unreasonable and you press a company so hard that it can’t make a profit, guess what? It will close up shop and go out of business. Then your workers will have no jobs and unions will have no members to represent. As any reasonable person is aware, the main objective of investing one’s money in a business is to make a profit. If there is no profit to be made, then what’s the point of being in business?
One of the secrets of success in life is to learn the art of compromise. Most people will be satisfied and each will feel the others are aware of the problems and are not only willing to address them, but also resolve them.
What is sparking our thoughts along these lines is lately you can’t help but notice how frisky unions are becoming. Let’s start with Walmart. This is still the USA and Walmart and any other legitimate U.S. company has the right to conduct a business here. What gives you the right to say these companies can’t exist in neighborhoods of their choice? What gives you the right to deprive shoppers of the savings these big stores represent? If consumers do not like Walmart or its policies, they simply will not shop there or work there.
The market in the past has always driven the economy and this is a hurting economy. Everyone needs to save. Should it not be the choice of the citizen consumers as to how they choose to spend their money and where they wish to spend it? One size doesn’t fit all.
The alleged reasoning for locating Walmart in the boonies, thereby making it not easily accessible, is to protect the mom-and-pop stores. Stop and think: When Atlantic City and Foxwoods wanted to attract clients to their not-easily accessible locations, what did they do? They chartered buses where you could be driven to your destination and back in complete comfort with no stress.
When the huge discount shopping center known as Woodbury Commons off Route 17 opened in upstate New York, it also made arrangements with bus companies. Everyone is happy with the results. Do not think Walmart couldn’t do the same. It could, and then where are you? There is also the possibility that Walmart could shift its entire operation to an online enterprise. If that happened, location wouldn’t matter.
How would the mom-and-pop stores be protected then? Since most of them are small, how many are unionized? Is that economically feasible for such small enterprises? Remember, the business needs to show a profit.
When Ford invented the mass production of the automobile, what if labor unions had said you can’t produce cars — it will put the buggy and horse carriage manufacturers out of business. Times change and you must adapt in order to survive. Why does your right to protect union workers supersede the rights of non-union people to spend money where they choose?
My final parting words: Remember the art of the compromise.
That’s it for this week.
I look forward to hearing from you with information on people, parties and politics or gossip. I like to receiving your voice mails at 718-767-6484, faxes at 718-746-0066 and e-mails at deerrichard@aol.com.
Don’t forget to check out the Focus on Queens page.
Till next week, Dee.
