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    J.Hamilton Nolan
    3/20/15 2:07pm

    Let's keep promoting organizations like Unions with a long history of violence, racism, sexism, xenophobia against immigrants, protectionism, intimidation/threats, barring competitors from entering the marketplace, etc. I will never be a Union supporter because a lot of union supporter look the other way when unions commit violent acts or use threats against their opponents.

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      iamccJ.
      3/20/15 2:10pm

      corporations without worker representation have a similar history..

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      J.iamcc
      3/20/15 2:14pm

      Tell me what corporation in the last 50 years used physical violence against their workers? Tell me which corporations in the last 50 years picketed when a competitor opened up across the street? What corporations are using physical violence against competing companies? They don't because we wouldn't tolerate it but union supporters look the other way when they beat up scab workers, picket, or sabotage construction sites that use non-union workers.

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    Raw Deal MontyHamilton Nolan
    3/20/15 2:08pm

    Hey, I don't wanna cut of the hand that feeds, I just want it to go back to Messico.

    -Immigration Opposition

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      The Noble RenardRaw Deal Monty
      3/20/15 2:26pm

      The funniest thing about the "go back to Mexico" kind of crazy is that only about 50% of undocumented immigrants are Mexican; a huge percentage is either central American or Asian (seriously, there are more than a million undocumented Chinese living in the US).

      During the financial crisis, there was also a sizeable amount of undocumented Irish immigrants living in the Boston area because the economy was such shit back home.

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    ThrumbolioHamilton Nolan
    3/20/15 2:24pm

    tells the story of undocumented immigrant workers at a Manhattan deli who decided, in 2012, to form a union.

    Can't help but wonder whether any of them have gained citizenship since then.

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      The Noble RenardThrumbolio
      3/20/15 2:35pm

      Definitely not. Even if they were the victims of particularly bad labor practices, which could potentially allow them to get green cards through the U Visa process (if they assisted with a Department of Labor investigation), it takes 5 years of having a green card to become a citizen.

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    octopusoftheseaHamilton Nolan
    3/20/15 2:35pm

    I'm no economist, but there's one in the family, so I'm going to go ahead and cite his expertise badly. Unionizing unskilled labor is a bad idea. There you go. Raise the minimum wage, but don't unionize people whose jobs could be done by anyone.

    I have another brother who's a dentist, if anyone needs advice on the oral care front.

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      The Noble Renardoctopusofthesea
      3/20/15 2:46pm

      The problem is that unskilled laborers are the ones who need protection the most, because they are the most vulnerable to exploitation. The fact that there are people who can replace them at their jobs is the reason that they don't leave when their boss treats them poorly; too many applicants, not enough jobs.

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      octopusoftheseaThe Noble Renard
      3/20/15 3:32pm

      Yeah, I know. They're treated like crap and they need protection. But isn't the point of unionization that you use your skills as leverage in negotiations? If you don't have skills, what are you leveraging? Why do you have more of a right to your job than someone else, who is just as willing and able? Unions don't stop abuse anymore. Now we have labor laws, hour restrictions, etc. The government is supposed to make sure you don't run a sweatshop. The purpose of unions now is to raise wages and benefits of members. But if you raise wages above your marginal productivity, then what you're actually doing is reducing employment, because an employer will lose money by hiring an additional worker.

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