Right-to-work bill passed in Republican-led Michigan House after walkout by Democrats
How right to work got on Gov. Snyder's radar: He blames Proposal 2
Obama opposes right-to-work legislation, Senators continue debate on bill
The full list of citations for tonight's show after the jump...
Snap Decision: DeMint leaves Senate for Heritage
Exclusive: Dick Armey Quits Tea Party Group in Split Over Direction (UPDATED)
Activists Question FreedomWorks' Direction
Political strategist Karl Rove speaks in Wichita
Karl Rove's Crossroads defends Shelley Moore Capito
Right-to-work protestors arrested in Lansing
Snyder questions approach of fellow GOP governors
Right to Work Increases Jobs and Choices
The compensation penalty of "right-to-work" laws
Michigan Voters Reject Collective-Bargaining Protection
Gov. Rick Snyder now says right-to-work is 'on the agenda'
Australian PM Julia Gillard's warns of zombie, K-pop-induced apocalypse
The Tom and Alex End of the World show
Republican Doomsday Plan: Cave on Taxes, Vote 'Present'
In Tax Fight, G.O.P. Seeks a Position to Fall Back On
What matters most in the fiscal cliff?
Poll: Fiscal cliff blame would fall heaviest on GOP
Business leaders siding with Obama on debt ceiling?
Jobless Claims in U.S. Decline as Sandy Effect Wanes
Analysis: Weak data point to bigger economic drag from Sandy
Jobless claims improve steadily after Sandy spike
To repeal the job-killing health care law... (pdf)
Will Obamacare Kill Jobs? A New Study Says No
Olive Garden, Red Lobster putting more workers on part-time because of Obama health care law
Olive Garden: Obamacare press hurt us
Olive Garden parent Darden suffers from bad specials, 'Obamacare'
Darden Restaurants backs off plan to cut workers' hours because of Obamacare
Massachusetts Health Insurance Requirements
Myth vs. Fact: Health Care Reform in Massachusetts
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Can we stop calling this a 'fiscal cliff' ?
Instead, we should call it 'fiscal boot camp' and scream at our congressmen:
"What is your major malfunction, Numbnuts?!?!?"
Get 'em in shape the hard way.
Drop and give us 4 trillion!
On Thursday's show Ezra Klein discussed Darden Restaurants attempt to limit their healthcare costs by reducing full-time employees hours. When I lived in Lakeland,FL (birthplace of the Red Lobster), I was working there as the Environmental Services Manager for a local Theology college for the AG.
The Administration there cut some full-time employees hours back to 37.5 hrs a week to take advantage of a law that says only full-time (40 hours a week) employees were entitled to health insurance coverage.
The savings were not used because the college was in dire need of paying its bills, rather the administration used the funds to give itself and its members yearly raises ranging from $2500 - $10000 a year. They offered me a $2500 raised I told them to disperse it among my full-time employees, they said they couldn't do that! I turned it down.
Furthermore the employees targeted were mostly Black and relied on the insurance. I hired two people in supervisory positions who were Black because overall they were the best folks for the jobs. This had not been done before at this Theology college, in fact my Boss commented one day,"We are no longer a lily white organization thanks to you." This mentality is pervasive in the south among religious organizations.
Though his tone was not angry he showed some disappointment in me that I had bucked their traditions.
Happy Holidays!
Once they make your State a Right to work place, it gives them license to start subracting. Your work hours will go down, they'll want you at part-time status only, no benefits. They strip you of your rank. you will be made to sign an onslaught of paperwork, that states that you can't sue them. They have you take an oath stating that they can fire you for absolutely no reason at all, you have to sign it or your automatically gone. Your immediate supervisor will start laying the hammer down and you will never be treated the same, stripped of all your dignity, you are made to believe that you owe them something. They form little managerial clliches' if they don't personally like you, you can kiss your job goodbye, it's as if you're back in High School. You have now become the new and improved modern slave worker.
Wait a minute, I thought it was consumers that create jobs. Perhaps you should take your gripes to them?
Angel, can you throw any more of the myths into your garbage can of a post?
you can't sue them.
Oh, God forbid you can't sue someone!!!! How about you take an oath that if your company does not do so well you will take a wage decrease??
And no benefits? Since when did "benefits" become a requirement of employment?
And as most of your compatriots say, if you don't like it, MOVE
You know what, Pasco.
I can't figure out the Conservative obsession with not paying people a fair wage. Maybe you can explain it to me. Maybe you can explain to me why people should be paid less than a decent salary.
Now I'm sure you'll counter with a "well they can stop buying -insert luxury item here-" and calls of welfare queens and such, but that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about the working poor, people who spend and scrimp and save and make peanuts in order to feed and clothe their families. Step outside of your cushy middle class lifestyle for once and find out what it's like to have to decide between going to a doctor and putting food on the table for your kids.
Why is it such a goddamned BAD thing to pay people a decent wage?
I have nothing against people being paid a FAIR wage. It is the Union bloat that I am against. What is a fiar wage for the Union bosses? Why is it that when given the choice, people leave the Union in droves. Would a worker consider having their pay drop based on lower company profits? I think not. Why in the hell should you be paid the same as a co-worker that does not produce as much as you do?
There are already a minimum wage laws in place. The government stepped in, not the Unions. Unions add bloat. How much more would you receive if you did not have to pay union dues? How about the Union bosses only accept minimum wage. Unoons are a business. When do they represent the people they are supposed to serve these days? How much do these unions donate to political campaigns? Would this money not be better in the hands and bank accounts of their members?
I specifically have an issue with PUBLIC Unions.
Except if you look at the way it is in the real world, and not in Conservative land, you'll see people are paid less, on average, in Right to Work states. Pensions are cut and insurance benefits are drastically reduced. (I will add that unemployment and cost-of-living are lower in RtW states.)
Dues need to be collected for unions to function. It's the point. It's like the individual mandate that Conservatives hate. You don't pay into the system, the system fails. Creating a Right to Work situation undermines and destroys Unions, which destroys the ability to bargain for changes to working policy.
I worked for Wal Mart for a few months, I can imagine that's what it's like to work in a Right-to-Work state. I had 39 hours (after factoring in the hour or two they usually made me work extra every paycheck.) I had no capability to ask for more. They made me do backbreaking work I had not been hired to do. They basically made my job there miserable, forcing me to quit rather than firing me. I think I got paid 7 dollars an hour.
Great show Ezra. I like Red Lobster and was surprise to find they were so cheap about employee benefits but isn't that always the way it goes. So who actullay builds a business. THE CUSTOMER. Darden Restaurants came off of the high and mighty attitude when they found out customers stop coming to their restaurants because they were not giving good customer service. To me Applebee's, PaPa Johns and Denny's all offer sub-standard food and to say they did not want to offer medical insurance to their employees was a slap in the face of the customers. All of the customer service of those three restaurants are sub-standard so they really need to find ways to get more customers.