Hi Cockerel!

Well it seems protesting is the ONE thing that union members are best qualified to do. Standing around in groups doing nothing is a core competency. I have driven by dozens of these make work infrastructure type programs that Obama is so proud of, and as I am stuck in traffic I get the opportunity to see that most of the people who are supposed to be working are just standing around, smoking, talking in groups, and not even looking busy. I do not mean I see this sort of thing at a few sites (which would still be unacceptable) but I am talking every time I go by one of these things. No one shows any urgency and at least half of the people on the sites are doing nothing.

I would even go so far as to suggest the unions are part of the problem in the US. A combination of confrontational policy that is counterproductive in itself, plus the effects of years of pricing their labour beyond the ability that companies can pay and still remain competetive, has contributed to so many jobs going offshore. And for those jobs that cannot be moved offshore, in government funded services and administration for example, just look how much they are overpaid relative to the private sector. Those high wages are a drain on the economy as tax pools must be increased, or other critical expenditures must be reduced, to pay for the generous compensation and benefits packages that are paid out due to union bargaining tactics.

Of course the crooks on Wall St have gone too far and a protest is warranted, but I doubt it will accomplish much, and the unions are not the group that has a real axe to grind in this crisis, IMO.

BTW, it was not that long ago that France was paralysed for weeks with a major union-led protest. Consider how few hours a week the average worker puts in for most European countries, and how much they are paid, and how much vacation time they get... And they were still protesting violently. This does not auger well for the future when a real crisis and real austerity measures are plugged in. I think we better get used to riots, protests, and a general state of crisis for some time to come.

cheers!

mike