The “OP” topic (hehe, I’m internet literate now, too 🙂 has been wildly hijacked…
[quote=CA renter]
You’re implying that unionized workers are afraid to compete with other workers based on the merit of their skill or quality of product produced. That’s not the case at all. This is not a competition based on abilities, it’s a competition based only on wages. If you’re suggesting U.S. workers should embrace working for third-world wages, feel free to lead the way. You go first.
[/quote]
… so I’m gonna get into the fray on the new subject.
First, apologies to CA renter, with whom I often agree, but I feel compelled to take Dave’s side on this one. Dave is getting pretty lonely on this board, and that’s not fair (since his arguments are right most of the time 🙂
You see, CA renter, what you perceive as “third-world wages” may not be seen in Bangalore as such. Viewed from there, they’re very fairly paid, while American workers doing similar jobs are obscenely well paid. As Dave said, it depends on where you sit. I lived (for years) on both sides of the divide; I have to say that I think their point of view may be much closer to the truth than yours.
The fact is, an engineer in Bangalore often does a similar job to an engineer in San Diego for a lot less money (caveats and exceptions aside, I’m talking in very general terms, of course). As long as this is true, market forces will push one of two options: the job will leave San Diego for Bangalore, or the Indian engineer will come here on an H1-B visa. It’s either one or the other. Anything else (unionizing, trade restrictions, etc) is just pissing against the wind, for lack of a better metaphor.
