General Category > POLITICS (IF YOU DO NOT LIKE POLITICS, THEN DON'T GO IN HERE!

why I am glad to be represented by a union...

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bonneyman:
All people have the sin nature, and everyone is basically selfish. Looking out for number one. And when you get a group of people like that together, some folks are gonna get pushed and then push back.

I agree companies - if they are smart - would pay their people enough so a union is unnecessary. But bosses get greedy, stockholders demand more profit, and the normal Joes doing the actual work want more fair pay. Somethings gotta give. And with most people just looking out for themselves there's gonna be sparks flying. I ain't got any easy answers but if things don't change massively there's going to be a collapse and the only ones who are gonna be left are the farmers - because they can grow food and everybody has to eat!

skfarmer:

--- Quote from: bonneyman on January 21, 2024, 01:42:24 PM --- the only ones who are gonna be left are the farmers - because they can grow food and everybody has to eat!

--- End quote ---

are you sure of that? i have done ok and am doing ok because we have chosen to be frugal.

at the end of the day, we are in a massively  capitol  intensive business. let's just for conversations sake i have a million dollars in equipment and i have 5 million dollars in land. now throw in a few hundred thousand in inputs like fuel, rent, seed fertilizer and manpower. maybe i am worth more than that and maybe i am worth less. that part is irrelevant, what is relevant is that no matter what i have i am pretty much middle class. some years  lower, some mid mid, some upper middle.

as of late, land prices are off the chart, new machinery and a lot of used stuff is beyond reach. some inputs have moderated but remain high and grain prices are signicantly lower. now throw in the mercy of the weather, not a lot of young farmers and the average age of the us farmer is 57.5. ironically almost the same age i am.  what am i getting at? some farms are doing very well but a lot of them are just getting by. if things get tough the only choice to be made is to liquidate assets. as they get older many farmers are doing just that.


without getting too personal i settled my parent's estate a few years ago. my sisters all received very large amounts of cash. some of it from my parents and some of it from me as i inherited some of the land and purchased some of it at a preset price. one of my sisters had a discussion with me  about it. she said that she would have liked some land and was disappointed because of it. fortunately my parents knew the difference between fair and equal, wants and needs. i told them they got money to do with as they wish, home improvements, vacation property. investments whatever they wanted. i got land but also got debt (to pay them) and who wants more of that at my age. i think/hope she got my point.

not sure if all of this rambling makes sense but my point is this. don't assume if things get tough farmers will be better off because at the end of the day my farm does not run without, fuel, seed, fertilizer , chemical,  parts, and maybe most importantly land or dirt.

bonneyman:
Not meant as a dismissal, sk. I'm sure you've got your share of struggles and living off the land isn't easy.

I just meant that when the chips are down, farmers know how to grow food. City dwellers and most other Americans idea of food is the grocery store. When things collapse at least you and farmers like you will somehow be able to feed yourselves when all the rest of us will be fighting over scraps.
I sure can't feed myself out of my garden! :a102:

skfarmer:
no offense taken.

my point is that although i am more diverse than some farms, most farms are not very diverse anymore. i don't produce dairy, i don't produce vegetables and my few garden boxes are a small hobby. i sure could not live on them.  at the end of the day, we are all in this together.  if shit hits the fan, my stockpile of fuel, guns and ammo may be worth more than most things.

TexasT:

--- Quote from: bonneyman on January 21, 2024, 08:32:14 AM ---Like that yellow truck company. Sur there were certainly other factors at work but the strike "winning" may have just made then throw in the towel.


--- End quote ---

I had a front row seat to that debacle. the week before they ceased operations the MGMT wanted to suspend the health and welfare benefits. Not according to the contract and if it happened we would have struck. They rank and file has already given up 10% and another 5% of the wages about fifteen yrs ago. this amounted to billions in concessions. Sad they shut the doors but the govt loaned em $700 million dollars and the mgmt seemed to have lined their pockets as the bonus money never stopped flowing.

Bottom line to me is the MGMT ran it into the ground and the labor let them. all said and done we were all looking for work.

I can't fix it but that person in the original post pretty much got the shaft with no one looking out for them .

I can't imagine trying to farm in this day and age. I do grow a lot of things. I like hydroponics but we do a lot in the dirt too. Mostly microgreens, larger leafy greens and such. Healthy stuff for salads and keeping the insulin levels in check. I'm not getting any younger and my better half is diabetic so we really watch what we eat.

There was a time when you couldn't have paid me to join the union but that ship sailed decades ago. I can't even imagine not having union representation any more. The contract is bargained and agreed to by both sides. There may be concessions from either or both sides. Way better not to loose your job because new MGMT shows up and decides they don't like you or think they can get it done cheaper.

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