Costco does, for example, still give its employees time and a half for working on Sunday and higher hourly wages. That’s nice–but it IS reflected in the prices. As I mentioned, it also brings with it some disconnect for its workers. A co-worker of my son’s friend has worked there for over 20 years and so is now earning a fairly substantial wage and has a good retirement built up. He knows that the customers who come in and treat him with disrespect probably are earning the same as he does or maybe even less than he does. He just has to take abuse.

Sam’s Culb employees I deal with are every bit as helpful as what you described. I don’t use the cut up boxes because in my van I just don’t need them. But if I did, our city requires all trash collection services to provide recycling (at a slightly higher monthly rate). I don’t live in a poor neighborhood. This is a golf club community. I am the ONLY person on my block who uses the recycling services. And I can recycle almost anything. I am amazed at what I can recycle. I have done whatever I could in that regard since the very first Earth Day back when I was a poor newly wed living in an $80 a month basement apartment and still attending college.

I get my prescriptions filled at my Kaiser pharmacy. At the most I pay $29 a month for basically maintenance medication. I double checked with the WalMart pharmacy a while ago and my KP plan won out on prices.

As far as unions go, when I was first teaching the AFT and the NEA were first getting going in our state. The AFT is indeed a union and always advertised itself as that. The NEA came in and won the battle mostly in CO by selling itself as a “professional” organization. It works, however, like a union during bargaining. I’ve mentioned it several times……it NEVER bargains for some of the changes I would like in policy that might make education better in our state. It always bargains for more salary and perks only, and then always joins administraton in asking for more tax money for the schools. I gets the right to negotiate for the teachers in CO because it’s reached the magic percentae of teachers in the district to be able to do that. But in CO no one has to join the organization. Most of us do, and I have explained why–the legal insurance membership brings with it. I am almost certain that if there were a different way to get that really cheap legal insurance, many teachers would not join. Besides the teachers and the administrators are figuratively and often literally in bed with administration, so what’s to negotiate? Citizens are the ones who are fooled by thinking the teachers have the best interest of the children in mind. I could rant all day about the waste that goes on in public schools.

As for family history in Colorado, my ethnic group was the focus of child labor laws. My parents, the children of immigrants, often wonder about that. These people came from an economic system in their communities in Russia at the time that was centered on farming and on the church, which provided the education (a good basic education, too). But most all were going to be farmers or skilled laborers in farm-related jobs. (My great-grandfather, for example, besides being a farmer, was the town’s blacksmith. My own father could do the work of a farrier since he was so good with horses.)

So when they got to CO after escaping the bolsheviks, they ended up in company supplied shacks doing stoop labor in the fields. Their children began doing that also and the small one-room school’s yearly schedule was altered to fit farming necessities. The wives worked alongside their husbands. My mother, the oldest daughter, tended the little babies and toddlers while my grandmother worked the fields.

The Hispanic migrant workers came and worked alongside them. They were young men and older men. They earned their wages and spent half on themselves while they were there and sent the rest to Mexico.

Our old patriarchs took all the wages, divided the earnings to cover living expenses and saved the rest–until later our people took over many of the farms that went into foreclosure because of bad money management. The banks a the time actively sought out the Germans from Russia to make deals with them to take over those farms. They knew these people could farm AND MANAGE MONEY>

But because the children were asked to work and contribute to the family finances, people came in and decided they were being abused. I’m not saying all those old men were kind fathers and didn’t abuse their children (emotionally especially), but a large percentage were not. My parents never complained really about being abused as children,

I grew up always understanding my role in the family: to help my mother with some of her chores, to work on the farm where I could when I was needed, to keep the family’s honor by behaving in school. I was definitely abused according to some people I’ve met. It always surprises me. And I am still always surprised when I see young people acting in a way that might bring “shame” to their families.

Bronwyn, I guess what I am saying is that one’s individual attitude and perspective gained from one’s individual history always colors how one looks at things.

There is much I hate about going into a WalMart or a Sam’s Club store–mostly the conspicuous consumption that Thornstein Veblen spoke about in his theories. I have fought the battle all my life of trying to get rid of all the stuff I have acquired that I shouldn’t have and that I don’t really need. We are a society that likes STUFF and WalMart makes that possible for everyone.
But at this point, WalMart also employs an enormous number of people who would not otherwise have jobs. It’s sad that our society is at this point, but it is. It’s a terrible place to have to work, but it is a place where one CAN find work. I’d work there rather than at some party-provided union job where I’d have to hold my tongue.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-11/michigan-governor-signs-right-work-law-jimmy-hoffa-warns-civil-war

And what does the community agitator in chief have to say about all this…. *crickets*…. absolutely no condemning of this violence.

I fully support MI’s right to work law, and 5 years ago I would not believed myself if I would have gone back in time to say to my 5 year younger self that I supported MI’s right to work law. Unions now enrich themselves to make their “leaders” like that thug moron Trumka massive amounts of monies, not caring as much about the actual union members.

Most of my family is union, but they all live in right to work states, they CHOSE to join, because the union does a great job, when they did not, they can leave the union, which keeps the union leadership in check to make sure they represent their members, not some ulterior motives, like supporting demonrats over their own members (people will surprised to know how many union members are not progressives, they are hard working conservative, america loving blue collar workers)

I think forcing someone to join a union is wrong! the people who were bullied by bad management of employers are now the bullies, I think having a healthy tug between management and unions is a good thing, however it only works when both sides are an exercise in voluntary participation, you chose to work in a company, you chose to join a union. It is YOUR choice based on how each of these enterprises respects their employees/members.

And the whole thing about working conditions etc, most of these are now law, what the unions are doing now are fighting to the point where it is detrimental for companies trying to grow, expand, hire more people, which in turn is what will really increase wages, not bullying by unions about wages, it was to work to include both sides.

I fully support MI’s right to work new law, and a former liberal, I never thought I would say that! I think more states should have it, unions are there in right to work states like VA, FL, etc, but those union leadership have to do good representation of their members, if they don’t they lose members, if the company does something not good, then people can voluntarily join a union to change certain policies etc. But this healthy tug of war can only work when people have the choice to decide to join a union or not as a prerequisite of being employed in a company.

There is such a thing as bad union leadership just as there is bad management. Right to work laws make sure to hold to account bad leadership on both sides, especially unions.