I've met some nice toll takers...they weren't too happy thou to being phased out by automatic tolling however....and the union that represents the toll takers are losing their bargaining power.
VW to build in Tennessee
- Thread starter MSinger
- Start date
I've met some nice toll takers...they weren't too happy thou to being phased out by automatic tolling however....and the union that represents the toll takers are losing their bargaining power.
Is this why it's such a bargain at $6.75 for 150 miles?
We tried the whole tollroad lease deal here in Ontario with highway 407, billions of dollars were paid to the government. What a deal it was! But then the company it was leased to was sold to someone else and they saw a cash cow.
Fast forward to today,
To drive my pickup about 65 miles on the 407 costs $24.10. And once the deal was signed the government seemed to suddenly loose interest in building or expanding any roads that would possibly be an alternative to 407. BTW, the same trip in a D unit would cost 91.01 for someone from out of state (no 407 transponder, your EZ pass don't work on the 407) if you had the transponder it would be 41 bucks. There's no toll booths either so you get billed, if you don't pay the bill you get you will not be able to renew your license plates.
Now the government has sued the highway several times to try to get them to quit gouging people, the government keeps loosing as the courts say the toll increases are "prudent" with the increasing costs of maintaining the highway, wich was built by the taxpayers as a 50 year concrete road (it is a very nice highway).
Anyone who things selling or leasing highways is a good idea should read up on the 407. Like I said, what a deal!
arkjarhead
Veteran Expediter
Sorry Suds but you wrong about no unions in Tennessee. My step-dad is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Memphis,TN. It's a little different than the UAW though. They sign an agreement and in this agreement is a "no strike clause" that says if they struck they'll loose their jobs. The union has mediated on their behalf with the company before and I can remember as a kid my step-dad going to meetings to discuss things. A couple a few knuckle heads wanted to vote on striking even though it would mean losing their jobs. Luckily the vote never went through.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Ark, there are a lot of unions in Tennessee, the IBEW is one as you mention and so is the IBOE is another. Not to mention some of the soft trade unions.
But the BIG difference is the IBEW and the IBOE are both there to protect the members who often move around from job to job and company to company.
But the BIG difference is the IBEW and the IBOE are both there to protect the members who often move around from job to job and company to company.
Piper: not sure if it's the same in Canada, (but it probably is, as the buyers of toll roads are the same conglomerates), but here in the US, the gov't is required to sign a noncompete clause, agreeing to refrain from building (or even improving) any roads to compete with the tollway.
A "right to work" state doesn't mean no unions, it means that en employee cannot be forced to join a union as a condition of employment, nor can they be fired should they ever decide to quit paying union dues. It means they are free to join, or not to join, as they see fit, but they have a right to work even if they don't join a union. It's a provision of the Taft-Hartley Act.
In states that are not "right to work" states, often called "forced union" states, the unions have a lot of control over management, something that new businesses, especially foreign businesses, want nothing to do with. That's why these new businesses will rarely even consider a non-right to work state without some contractual stipulation that the unions cannot force anyone to join.
There was an interesting editorial a couple of months ago in the Wall Street Journal that compared Ohio to Texas.
The Wall Street Journal: Texas v. Ohio - The Buckeye Institute
"Ohio's most crippling handicap may be that its politicians -- and thus its employers -- are still in the grip of such industrial unions as the United Auto Workers. Ohio is a "closed shop" state, which means workers can be forced to join a union whether they wish to or not. Many companies -- especially foreign-owned -- say they will not even consider such locations for new sites. States with "right to work" laws that make union organizing more difficult, had twice the job growth of Ohio and other forced union states from 1995-2005, according to the National Institute for Labor Relations."
"Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat who supports Mrs. Clinton, blames his state's problems on President Bush. But Ohio's economy has been struggling for years, and most of its wounds are self-inflicted. Ohio now ranks 47th out of 50 in economic competitiveness, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council. Ohio politicians deplore plant closings even as they impose the third highest corporate income tax in the country (10.5%) and the sixth highest personal income tax (8.87%)."
I love this line:
"Ohio lays out the red carpet for companies -- when they leave the state."
"On the other hand, Texas is a right to work state and has been adding jobs by the tens of thousands. Nearly 1,000 new plants have been built in Texas since 2005, from the likes of Microsoft, Samsung and Fujitsu. Foreign-owned companies supplied the state with 345,000 jobs. No wonder Texans don't fear global competition the way some Presidential candidates do."
Below is a map of where the future lies, much to Tallcal's chagrin. The South will rise again, baby!
In states that are not "right to work" states, often called "forced union" states, the unions have a lot of control over management, something that new businesses, especially foreign businesses, want nothing to do with. That's why these new businesses will rarely even consider a non-right to work state without some contractual stipulation that the unions cannot force anyone to join.
There was an interesting editorial a couple of months ago in the Wall Street Journal that compared Ohio to Texas.
The Wall Street Journal: Texas v. Ohio - The Buckeye Institute
"Ohio's most crippling handicap may be that its politicians -- and thus its employers -- are still in the grip of such industrial unions as the United Auto Workers. Ohio is a "closed shop" state, which means workers can be forced to join a union whether they wish to or not. Many companies -- especially foreign-owned -- say they will not even consider such locations for new sites. States with "right to work" laws that make union organizing more difficult, had twice the job growth of Ohio and other forced union states from 1995-2005, according to the National Institute for Labor Relations."
"Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat who supports Mrs. Clinton, blames his state's problems on President Bush. But Ohio's economy has been struggling for years, and most of its wounds are self-inflicted. Ohio now ranks 47th out of 50 in economic competitiveness, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council. Ohio politicians deplore plant closings even as they impose the third highest corporate income tax in the country (10.5%) and the sixth highest personal income tax (8.87%)."
I love this line:
"Ohio lays out the red carpet for companies -- when they leave the state."
"On the other hand, Texas is a right to work state and has been adding jobs by the tens of thousands. Nearly 1,000 new plants have been built in Texas since 2005, from the likes of Microsoft, Samsung and Fujitsu. Foreign-owned companies supplied the state with 345,000 jobs. No wonder Texans don't fear global competition the way some Presidential candidates do."
Below is a map of where the future lies, much to Tallcal's chagrin. The South will rise again, baby!
Likely the same here then. How exactly is this in the best interests of the taxpayer?? Oh silly me...what does that matter.
arkjarhead
Veteran Expediter
I don't know about that. I'll trust you. My step dad worked for the same company for 10 years. He quit only because he was starting his on business.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Turtle... have you noticed what I did about your map? It's almost identical to the RED states in a presidential election. HAHAHA!!!
Maybe goes to show we conservatives aren't that dumb after all.
Maybe goes to show we conservatives aren't that dumb after all.
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always confused
Seasoned Expediter
just before i left the house the big local news story was vw going to build a plant in limestone county where i reside. oh well i guess my visions of making a killing when i sold my property are up in smoke now..... ...
ThibodeauxBayou
Not a Member
The work ethic of the South has finally prevailed. It's nice knowing the vehicles of tomorrow will be produced [in part] by folks, that actually have to show up to work in order to get paid. None of that "can't touch me" union job destroying mentality down here. And you'll get paid a decent wage. You will not be paid more than your worth. Can't or won't put in a solid 8 hour work day ?........ you're outta here. No candy @ss'd meetings with your Shop Steward. We don't tolerate the organizational hierarchy of a labor union. Indeed my friend, God bless the South.
arkjarhead
Veteran Expediter
To many people are used to working their butts off on the farms and in the timber woods down here not to know how to work. Plus they work for peanuts of those jobs and VW comes along and pays a living wage the next thing you know you have a factory full of company men if you know what I mean.