SeaWorld San Diego may scrap project due to city-imposed union requirement

Well, I work for a non-union company (Meijer), and all I know is that at Meijer our pay is higher, and most people seem more satisfied. I know I'm happier there than I was at Jewel (a local unionized grocery store). I'm not sure why that is, it may just be a coincidence. The only other real union experience I have was the Teamster's special on HBO, and that didn't exactly show them in their best light. I just hope some sort of compromise can be obtained, since San Diego is a beautiful town, and deserves a big tourist attraction.

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Crito, ergo sum.

If the employees at the hotel feel they are being treated unfairly then they can quit. If the hotel can keep people working there for more than a week then they will have to look at their practices. I also believe that the government should not force a business to pick a certain contractor for a reason. It is one thing for the government to for government body to only hire union workers, but it should not interfer with the rights of a business to choose their contractors based on value of service. (Value is the balance between quality and price.)

I live in San Diego. There has been a recent trend by unions to get themselves re established in the construction industry by any means necessary.

This has resulted in the harassment of a local contractor, Brady, by a carpenters union local. Their picketers are frequently seen on busy street corners in front of businesses that used this contractor. The trouble is, they appear to be picketing the business, NOT the contractor. They make no effort to show their true target or their motives. They just try to intimidate the business who is using the contractor and fool the public.

The SD city council candidates are elected by district, and a lot of union money is put behind the candidate deemed most sympathetic to the union cause. A lot of it is disguised as support from policemen and firefighters such with signs such as "Police support ------ for city council" This has led to the election of idiots who are beholden to these unions.

IMHO, it is no concern of anyone other than Sea World if they use non union labor. I run a small construction company and I refuse to use any form of unionized subcontractors. The city council is so far out of line on this issue that it should be recalled.

Let the FREE marketplace decide. Project Labor Agreements are unfair and discriminatory.

I never meet a person who was in a union and was unhappy about thier wages or benefits. But I do know alot of people who aren't in unions that are unhappy about thier wages and benefits and wish they had union jobs.

I for one am prounion. But I feel the local government shouldn't have a say in who Sea World wants to contract out for the job. But since Sea World has 180 or so acers leased from the city could there be somthing in that lease about hiring union workers?

I have been an Union Ironworker (local 404 Harrisburgh,PA) for a little over 3 years now and have been quite happy with it. I had to go thru a two year apprenticeship to learn my trade so I feel anyone in a union has a good knowledge of there trade. Where as a nonunion outfit can get anone off the street and send them to work.

As for the employees of the proposed Hotel they should be allowed to vote if they want to be union or not. I feel that a union is somthing you want to belong to and not forced to belong to.

I do feel that forcing a smaller company to go with union work could bankrupt them. Cedar Fair is one corporation that hires union contractors (ironworkers anyway). We get a magazine every month and some of the projects I've seen in it were the Supreme Scream at KBF, Millennium Force, and Talon at DP. Hersheypark also had Ironworkers working for them. We built many of there rides all the steel coasters, Tidal Force, Canyon River Rapids, Kissing Tower, and the Giant Wheel to name a few. I guess some parks are happy having unions work for them.

I don't think anyone is saying that unions are outright bad, but you can't help but sense a conflict of interest when local government is requiring the use of union workers. That stinks of questionable ethics.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"We used to hate people, now we just make fun of them. It's more effective that way." - KMFDM, "Dogma"

It just said on the news that the city council reversed their decision and Sea World is going ahead with the project... yaay... we can all crap on this post now.

I wonder if 'Playa would care to share with us what percentage of the components in these foreign cars are made in union shops? (Or cars in general--most automakers only make a fraction of what goes in a vehicle.)

After all, he is the expert.

Sorry, I'm so anti-union it's not funny. I consult at a company where the greediness and laziness of the unions is putting this company further and further into debt, and making it more and more impossible for them to fix their problems. I envision in a few years this company won't even exist thanks to the short-sightedness and greediness of the unions.

And don't even get me started on the city unions here.... they are even worse. They are killing the construction and convention business here in Philadelphia with their internal squabbling and greediness.

I agree with Jeff, talent and skill and the market forces should drive employment and prices. Forcing a company by legislation to accept something like this is just wrong and certainly is a conflict of interest. The people hired for a job should be the people who do it BEST as determined by company who wants the services, NOT by government or legislation.

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Men are like parking spaces... the good ones are all taken and the rest are handicapped or too far away.
www.TiggerMan.com

Greediness and Laziness = Tyco/ World Com/ Enron....