Tri-Cities Unemployment Up

I worked on the floor as a sewing machine operator and , at another company as a machinist. My father worked as metal fabricator. We were and still are working stiffs. The unions at both companies were more interested in making money for themselves than in helping their members. My father suffered through three strikes during his 20 years with the company and it in no way improved his wages or his benefits. He would have been better off putting his union dues into his own pocket. Please do not think we speak without experiece. My father was an office or the union at his company for many years. He knew first hand how they did business.

The last thing we need is more unions. I personally worked for union as did my father. Two different companies; same result. My father worked for a company that, when it began to do poorly, the employees tried to buy, and they were stopped by the union! A hundred people or more lost their job; many of them older workers who had been employed by that company for 20 years or more. No severance package; nothing! Another company I worked for recently shut down. They were foreign owned and treated their employees very well. The union at another company I worked for negotiated a contract that destroyed the wage of everyone working there. We were on a piece-work wage scale, and the old contract stated that each day was considered alone. The union negotiated a contract that paid by the week. The company then moved everyone around so no one could make a profit. I would work hard and make $300 one day just to loose it the next when I was moved to an operation I wasn’t familiar with. Needless to say, the employees soon quit trying to produce, and the company closed soon after.
I also take issue that you have to make $14-$18 dollar an hour to survive. My family has very seldom made that kind of money, and we do very well, thank you. We live within our means and have everything we need.
There are also some very good companies in the area. The problem is that they are all foreign owned. American owned business are tanking while business like Domtar, Koyo, and Nakatetsu Inc. are doing well. Most of these companies pay somewhere in the area of $12-$16 an hour. The cost of living in this area is fairly low. Many of the areas where the wages are higher have a higher cost of living.
I agree that the economy is doing poorly right now, but we have weathered storms such as this before. The big issue is whether we are flexible enough to come out better for it in the end.

We need Unions. It’s that simple.
Businesses like Mao-Mart pay the crap wages they pay because they get away with it.

A decent wage and good benefits is something that has to be fought for. Republicans made gains in Tennessee in this election and that’s not a good sign.

We get what we vote for.

I agree with Ben 100%. The truth is the Tricites area will not let good paying jobs come to this area. The rich has to get richer. I read in the newspaper the first week of November about a job fair that was offering door prizes to get poeple to come out. For, Myself I want a job that pays a decent wage with benefits to provide for my family. If I wanted a door prize I would go play Bingo. As high as the unemployment rate is there should be no jobs offered in the newspaper. If there is, Its poverty level and the rich wants to get richer. You will read in the newspaper how so and so gave a million dollars to this and that,why don’t they pay their employess something, maybe give them a good bonus to help them out. Sure they will give some of the accosiate something but not thier bluecollar workers. It makes me sick to see some of these jokers in the newspaper. Unemployment could be at the highest level in the world and these jokers would still be running an add in the paper to get poele to work for them. Their was a lot of land down Pineyflats industrial Park but they let something like Fingerhut move in and that was a joke from the get go. Most of the jobs down thier only pay 7 to 8 dollars anyway. If you only make 15 to 18 dollars an hour you are just surviving and sure not getting rich. Some of those jobs that are paying 7 to 10 dollars take out health insurance out of your check because thier to cheap to pay It. Some poeple would say these millionairs don’t have nothing to do with it, but to me It’s like the mafia out there. Alcopoan did not have any thing to do with the valentine slayings either.