sanduskysteve says

I have stated several times I am not a republican and don't want to ever be one.  They are bad news and FNC is creating a bunch of zombies that follow their leaders into fire and damnation at every turn.  Although, CNN has their followers doing the same thing - unfortunately, in this day and age or technology and education - it's too bad that noone can think for themselves anymore.  Which is why you see so many on here doing nothing more than quoting people they follow - like Rush, Beck and that bunch - as if it is the gospel of God or something.

Do not put me into that bunch ok?  I'm an independant, because I think for myself and am not always on one side or the other.

Pete says

Haven't followed his comments much huh Brutus? Typical. Spout off out your word hole and prove your brain is disconnected

The Big Dog's back says

 Sandusky steve, don't drive while you are intoxicated from the Repub Kool ade.

6079 Smith W says

To sell more tires, maybe Cooper just needs to give away a calendar like Pirelli:

http://www.fashionologie.com/2012-Pirelli-Calendar-Mario-Sorrenti-Pictures-20749310

(Viewer disgression advised.)

Pete says

Don S,

The negotiations between a union and a company are no different than the negotiations to buy a car or any other product.

The company made an offer to the union for the purchase of labor.

The union didn't like what the company was offering and rejected it.

The company took its offer to purchase labor elsewhere

If you don't like the deal you are getting, you can walk away from the sale. That is exactly what the company and union did

Now it falls to the union to try and sell their product (labor) at a different place

Good luck with that in today's market

Don S says

Did you read where the company "locked out" the employees ???!!!! That means that the "company" stopped the negotiations, not the employees. That is what "lock out" means. The workers simply turned down the companies last offer, not the negotiations !!!!

Don S says

I'm retired !!!!! From a union company in a RTW state, government contractor. Scabs are scabs, simple to understand. Many of you, that disagree with me, must come from a management background. If you are and have an education in that field, then you have been taught to know that a company, that has problems, are the ones 90% responsible for their problems. That is what is taught in management classes. I know, because I took those very classes at Terra Tech in Fremont, Ohio. I have been on the picket line for a company that has locked out their employees there, in Sandusky. That was in the 70's and 80's. Back then, the company screemed for concessions and they got them. The very next contract the company screemed again, but they didn't get them and we settled with small wage increase and no changes in medical. I was in on those negotiations and we understood the companies position then. That is the story, today. The companies want to continue to take away everything and have the employees and their families suffer a loss to their livelyhood, so to allow the CEO to get a raise and a bonus. The companies have forgotten who it was that helped them make their business profitable. All the employees, blue and white collar !!!!!

sanduskysteve says

@big dog - Hmm.  I have lived in right to work states before - and the reason why some people are leaving is because there aren't enough jobs because all of the positions are filled with people that actually want to keep the money they make.

For those who don't want to work without a huge raise - who's going to be those tires at an inflated price.  You guys cry about China importing products - it's because of the damn unions here that those prices are more in line with what people can afford to pay.  You have the lazy people working in the factories at inflated hourly pay but it takes more than one person to do the work of one person due to union interference, and the end result is a product that noone can afford to buy.  The result of this is the factory can't afford to continue to give in to union demands, and then the unions go on strike - forcing the factory to close or move away.

How exactly, does this help the situation for either side?  The union doesn't win, the factory doesn't win and the people in the town where the factory is located doesn't win either.  No one wins and everyone looses - not just the buck or so that the union insisted they needed.  Not just the worker who now has no work and not the unemployed person willing to work hard to make a living.  No one wins.

sanduskysteve says

Don S - let's look at this differently.  You're pissed because a scab is taking your job.  If you walked off your job, it isn't really yours anymore, is it?  Honestly, if you WANT your job, go to work.  Once you leave the union, I'm sure you can have your job back with no arguments.  It's amazing you stick up for the exact group that is keeping you from working.  The reason your union can't get a contract is because the company can't afford that new contract.

I can tell you that most likely, if Cooper didn't hire others to work, they would either close down or move out of the country to find people to work.  Then NOONE would have that job and the Democrats would be blamed for another company moving out of the country.  The real blame would be on the union, not the government.

If Don wants to work - go to work and leave the union outside.  Not every company can continue to give raises and increased benefits every year and if you won't work unless you get it - then someone else will work for it.  maybe you need to budget your money better - and do what you expect everyone else to do - spend less.

The Big Dog's back says

 So you are blaming Repub Nixon? Glory be, Halleluah!

Pete says

The EPA did major damage. And that continues to this day. Permit after Permit to do anything.

I don't think we should allow a Love Canal on every corner, but there has to be a reasonable balance.

I wonder if the taxes associated with the introduction of Welfare and Medicaid had anything to with it. You keep piling taxes on, and it adds up.

I also think we did a lot of damage to ourselves. Everyone wants the latest Big Screen or widget to keep up with "The Jones's". And if one company imports it at a lower resale price, then people will buy that item. They will look right past the USA made item, and buy the cheaper one.

"I can get a 32" Flat Screen made here for $600, or a 42" made in China for the same money"

Which one you think they will chose?

Unions haven't helped us evolve economcally either. They stick to the old ways, and refuse to change. The BMW etc plants just drive me crazy. Thousands of workers hired by them and suppliers. While climate may be a factor, we still have a lot going on in Ohio. Mentioned this before. But if I were building a plant of that size, Ohio not being an RTW state would cross them off my list right from the start. They know the hassles that come with unions. They know the daily BS that goes on. Why would you want to subject your company to that.

origen says

" I don't care how many companies go overseas, just sell your products over there." Right there is the mentality of our unions, "If we cant have the jobs no one will, But continue to pay us unemployment forever because we ran our jobs off"  Seems as though they actually want the system we have to crash sometimes (personally i think its unamerican to want to hurt you fellow american physically and money wise and needs to be considered a terrorist organization)

6079 Smith W says

@ Doggie:

Yea let's just conveniently forget about the Carter yrs. LOL.

----------------

@ Pete:

There is a direct correlation between the loss of heavy industry in the U.S. and the creation of the EPA in 1970.

 Only buy from U.S. manufacturers? I wonder how many $160 USD toasters ol' Doggie's gonna buy?

Or, lotsa of automation and few workers to help keep the price down.

The loony libs don't understand the wage-price spiral.

Pete says

Won't happen Brutus. We still crave the cheapest TV or hot pair of Nike's. So the buying will continue, as well as the importing

And with union hacks like you complaining all the time about companies and management, why would they want to build here, or be union for that matter?

You and your bottom feeding friends had a major part in destroying manufacturing in this country. Face it. And when you drive by the empty factories, give yourself a pat on the back.

The Big Dog's back says

 I don't care how many companies go overseas, just sell your products over there. Problem solved. Then we can get back to middle class people operating businesses here and having a stake in the community. Worked well for almost 40 years, until Reagan.

6079 Smith W says

@ grr:

Thanks for the heads up.

Here ya go: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cooper-tire-buy-serbian-plant-211018600.html

Pete says

I think companies are just getting tired of fighting the battle every few years. And lately, there have been too many options for companies to not have to mess with it.

Here is another one that said "screw it, we're done"

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/12/omnova_solutions_to_...

grr says

Cooper just bought a tire plant in Serbia. Perhaps getting ready to say goodbye to Findlay Ohio.

goofus says

Penisular Poondit, I thought you were a smart feller. But ain't you all comparin Apples to Oranges when youns try to comparen the overthrow of a government wit union violence. Excuse me yall but liberal Wikkipedia told me I'm halfin to call it industrial unrest not union violence. Doesn your expertise come from a watchin da movie "Matewan" ?

Pete says

We could stick with the Union mentality. It has worked so well in the past hasn't it. (Don't look at the empty factories, just ignore those)

The Union Motto for Ohio:

We would rather have ZERO jobs paying $25 an hour, than THOUSANDS paying $15.

So BMW, Boeing, Mercedes, Kia, Hyundai, build elsewhere! We don't want you here!

The Big Dog's back says

 Don't you righties want to make Ohio a Right to Work for slave wages State? Why would he have to come here from a Right to Work State for a job? 

looking around says

@ big_d you got it right!

Pete says

Isn't the One Year Anniversary of the Monroe Street Strike/Lockout coming up next month?

vcreed723 says

The only bottom feeders here are the union workers, they are the TRUE bottom feeders of society, I would like to see cooper fire everyone of them and hire all new. Nobody took their jobs, they gave them away when they decided they wanted to stand our in the rain at christmas time. Fire the 600 that voted against the contract and keep the 300 that voted for it, see ya boys!!!!

marinette says

What about the union fireman/teachers that do home additions,roofing,remodeling,carpentry etc. All union jobs. My brother included. He laughs and calls it Scabbing on the scabs. I guess thats OK?

Pete says

Yep Brutus, you never fail to try and spin everything to your benefit. You are, after all, not the sharpest tack in the drawer, so warping things to fit your twisted ideology is standard practice for you. Was under your old name, still is under your new one

origen says

@Don

Sadly the scabs will think twice, The unions will not budge and the company will go over seas and no one will have a job. Maybe then when society breaks down and the majority of people without jobs are rioting the union leaders will be the first ones people track down in a parking lot to "Make them think twice" Then you can complain about keeping pace with inflation caused by the government monetarizing the debt to buy GM,Chrysler ect ect to hand out to the unions. Respect is earned, The unions have no respect for anyone so they deserve none in return.

Don S says

There should be more of this happening, then the scabs will think first before taking the job. If this happens enough it could force the company back to the table. Many need jobs, but this cut throat scab work has to stop to force companies to be fair to their employees. That is what happened in the 1930's and it needs to happen in today's world. I'm sorry scabs, but you are bottom feeders by taking anothers job, while these companies are locking thier workers out of their jobs. It's the companies that are in the wrong. The employees just want their pay to keep pace with inflation and have good healthcare for their family. They can't have this with scabs working their job. Respect for your fellow man is gone.

kURTje says

Yeah sounds similar to Henry Ford's "Service Workers."         Vaguely remembered when a Motorcycle Club was used (as muscle)  in a W.Virginia wokers scenerio.   Late 70's?        These struggles have frequented America's history on both sides of the aisles.

patriot5 says

kURTje says

That guy that was roughed up is from N.C?           Isn't that a right to work state?

Peninsula Pundit says

Yes, the unions arose in this country with violence.

What were workers supposed to do when the Pinkerton guards starting firing at them?

Always remember, the first shots were fired by corporations.

It was true then and it will again be true when the feces once again hits the wind-aereating device.

And it's true today.

This is a case in point.

PS, the French revolution, when the populace overthrew the king, was also a bloody mess.

Once in awhile, the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots.

All you candy-derriered wusses who don't understand when a good beating should be administered, step up and learn your lesson.

And I'll sleep as well as I ever have.

big_d says

I usually stay out of these types of threads, the same people throwing around the same tired insults in both directions, but I will say this, whether you agree or disagree, that unions exist for a reason. I've worked around this area in various shops for 35 years and the ones in which I was a union member needed a union because of the way employees were treated. I currently have some years in now at a local nonunion shop that needs one, again, because of the high handed ways I have seen people treated. I have seen a lot of good people, with a lot of seniority, pushed out the door under flimsy circumstances. Their current tactic is to layoff full time people while retaining part timers The reason? Part timers make 10 dollars an hour less with no medical or dental benefits, unless they pay full price, which none of them can. Another current tactic is to start ignoring seniority when it comes to layoffs, and designating certain classes as "key employees". I cannot help but to believe the intent is to force out as many senior employees, i.e., those with more weeks of vacations, more illnesses and time on sick leaves, due to age related problems, (back surgery, knee surgery, carpal tunnel surgery, etc.) and replace them with permanent part time workers. after all, once they learn MY job, what do they need ME for? Unfortunately, people don't want to act until it affects them personally, they ignore what they see happening to their friends and coworkers, and by then its too late, because once you lose something in terms of pay or benefits, you will never get it back. If you are a business owner and disagree with me, good for you, you worked hard and made something of yourself, well I've worked damn hard too, hot, dirty, work for someone else because maybe I didn"t want to be behind a desk or whatever, My father always said that it takes a certain type of patience to work in a factory, to walk into a building day after day, year after year and do the same things again and again, to do what you have to do to raise a family. Some people simply cannot, will not do it, they don't have the mental toughness it takes to put up with it. A world without unions would be a poor one indeed. Like everything else in this world, there has to be checks and balances, and whether you like it or not, unions serve that purpose.

gilamonster says

Funny that Loughner stated his favorite books were Mein Kopf and the Communist Manifesto, his favorite video was watching the flag burn; obviously a left wing kook. So no extreme acts of violence from the left; hHAHAHHAHAA, LMAO; just fell off my char..

The Big Dog's back says

 Ahhhhh, Giffords was shot by a right wingnut. 

8ballinthesidepocket says

Hey railroader...did your mother drop you on your head when you were born or did you practice being stupid and narrow minded.  What a dunce.  Go back to the picket line and pick up your measely strike paycheck.  You guys are too stupid to see the jig is up.  There are no more freeloading jobs...you have to work.

8ballinthesidepocket says

Hey railroader...did your mother drop you on your head when you were born or did you practice being stupid and narrow minded.  What a dunce.  Go back to the picket line and pick up your measely strike paycheck.  You guys are too stupid to see the jig is up.  There are no more freeloading jobs...you have to work.

Woody Hayes says

Unions are great, look at what"s it doing for the fine ladies and gentlemen living outside in the condos on Edgewater Drive and Monroe St.

OHIOHOOSIER76 says

Your assumption of me being non-union is correct, however, in the situation at Cooper - they hired replacement workers to take the place of union employees that said they didn't want to work (turned down the contract).  IMO, Cooper has every right to keep its production up, regardless of how the workers are paid. 

Why wouldn't an employer want the better person in a position? I have been on the losing end of that stick once, and what it did was it made me buck up and never let it happen again.  When I go to work, I am working and that is my focus to be the best employee my employer expects. 

For the record, I would NEVER work for a union and Cooper's situation is a big reason why. 

Pete says

People aren't free to travel where they like in this country, for work or for leisure, without the fear that a felony will be committed against them?

We don't like your kind around here!

Kinda KKK'ish isn't it?

railroader says

Bottom line, if this person had just stayed in North Carolina, instead of coming to Ohio to scab a job he would not have that little headache...

Breaking News says

 Yellow journalism at its best - nowhere does it even state a suspect or reason for the attack - just a headline to stir up union vs non union controversy

gilamonster says

origen says

It goes to show who does condone this type of behavior (Scroll down to see who). They come out of the woodwork and cheer on violence and condemn other workers for trying to put food on the table without giving the union its cut, Sorta like the mafia dontcha think? Maybe we can create a taskforce in washington like they did the mob to rid our society of these thugs, Oh i forgot the government is filled with these thugs who think nothing of thier fellow citizens if they arent in the union. A bunch of de-evolved animals who know nothing other than manual labor and cannot be trusted to have a rational debate, No wonder Cooper is thinking of moving itsa company elsewhere. Couldnt blame them if they did.

vcreed723 says

Or he's probably just some hard worker who took the job of some UNION LOSER because they don't want to work!

Pete says

Bigot much against people from the South Brutus?

And you always jump to conclusions. Take a look at what you said when Giffords got shot. Should be enough of a reminder for you

The Big Dog's back says

 Well nothing new that you right wingnuts can't read or comprehend. Like that is news. It says he was beaten in a parking lot of a hotel, and the police said there was no connection with Cooper tire. Just some loser redneck from N C, who probably ran his mouth off to the wrong person.

sanduskysteve says

@ railroader and the rest of the union scumbags - if you don't like not working and having someone else do your job because you don't want to - GET RID OF THE UNION that got you into this mess to begin with.

This is one big problem with a "single" voice between the workers and the employer.  Many of those workers would probably be able to make a deal to go back to work, but they aren't because they are part of the union.

Blame this on the union and stop blaming those who want to work and actually work.

Pete says

Let's turn the situation around, how about your employer telling you he has a better person to do your job, assuming you're non union, and he hires that new person and you are without a job.

So because you suck at your job and get replaced, you have the right to assault the guy who can do your former job better than you did?

railroader says

Maybe the ret of the scabs will watch their back, and they should. The union should never condone this kind of activity, but the people who have their jobs on the line should do whatever it takes...