Catholic parishes to hold prayer event for Crystal workers today
December 17, 2011 at 4:35 pm in Grand Forks Herald
Catholic parishes to hold prayer event for Crystal workers today
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This sickens me. How about a prayer service for those people who have lost their jobs due to no fault of their own? How about a prayer service for those people who cannot find a job and have nowhere to turn to get one? Crystal employees are refusing to go back to work. This is their own doing. As well, how about a Christmas party for kids suffering over Christmas because their parents lost their jobs due to no fault of their own? How is it that everyone feels bad for Crystal employees and their kids when they can go back to work any time they want, but yet there are no special services or special Christmas parties for other needy families. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.
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did the preists call the media to cover the service?
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This Christmas party was for union employees children only. What about children of non union employees, whose parents DID NOT even have a vote…My children are all grown ; but I shutter to think of these children going to school today and hearing all about this party and all they recieved…these children must be thinking; my parent works there also…While I think it was a very nice thing to do, I also believe if you didn’t invite the non union children you perhaps should not have done it at all…that is not the spirit of the season to snub some children, while putting, the party on the news and in the paper for them to see…., what you did really hurt quite a few innocent children….
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Jeff;…I have never said anything against prayer or a prayer service…I don’t use prayer or religion to throw in someones face to get my point across…and if you want to see hate; read your own blogs.
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Yeah how bout the retirees whove lost monies in their retirement accounts and families whose real estate values collasped leaving them owing more to them bankers then what the house is worth. Also say a prayer for the coming lost generations who will never know a America of prosprerity and better times. If anything those should come first before those who want first say in who gets what job when, senority.
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Touchy subject…religion, but I always favored “God helps those who help themselves” approach…..not seeing much of that in this situation.
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And I am not seeing much of the Peace on Earth, Good will toward men (Luke 2: 14) or (Matthew 7:2-5) “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged; if we judge with an evil heart or dark intent, His judgment of us will reflect it; if we judge nobly with honesty and justice, His judgment of us will reflect that, too, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you in these comments either. How low can a person stoop to say that a prayer service, for any reason, sickens them?
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Really; I also believe in prayer, but these union people have used everything they can to further their cause…Veterans Day…poor me…poor my children going without gifts for Christmas…big bad company…Dave Berg for being on the United Way board….do you really think this, as with everything else they do for the camera is not just for publicity? I think their prayer should be for some common sense and for new leadership
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I pray that my people keep our good jobs in the beet company
ruegue que los mexicanos puedan trabajar y prosperar en el River Valley rojo
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Eddie Haskel; When will you union people get it through your head…you are NOT entitled to the profit but only entitled to the wage you signed up for…If you want what the top 5 recieve, get an education and apply for their job…no matter where you work, someone will always get more than you…..quit with the entitlement…You busted your butt and then deserve more than what your pay is? Really, are you serious?…..As for the companies calculation on $75,000, that is not untrue…If you made under $29,000 last year, you are not a skilled employee, but rather the very lowest on the totem pole and a campaign worker….and they don’t have bennies……How in your wildest imagination can you say your healthcare would cost $48,000…You really need to keep you ocean front property in Western ND, you are probably “entitled” to that….I do have a very clear picture of the new contract (which, by the way is no longer), and I think it is FAIR..as for the affect on the communities, that is what the union is doing, not CRYSTAL….How is this working for you?…If you don’t like what is being offered and you only made uder $29,000; my suggestion to you would be to call the company and quit; you obviously are under paid for busting your butt!!!!
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Eddie Haskel; You say “stop trying to take money out of my pocket”….really…the union vote has almost taken $20,000 out of my pocket in the last five months…I have no insurance or prescription coverage..now you tell me who is taking money out of whose pocket….lf you don’t want your job or appreciate it then move on and quit playing the poor me game…your job is being replaced by workers who do want your job…When I asked a few union employees what this was about they said “we don’t even know anymore what it is about”….the only thing that is taking money out of your pocket is your vote…how is that working for you..WAKE UP
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Eddie,
I can’t figure out how this is “taking money” out of your pocket. From the amended contract.
Yearly raises of $1560, $1186, $790, $790, $790 (assuming 2080 hours per year), for someone making $14/hr.
HSA contribution of $1350 per year (if married). All that is money in your pocket, if you have no healthcare costs. About a 3.7% per year increase over 5 years.
If you have high health cost (>$8k), the old policy had an out-of-pocket max of $1950 (family). Now that is $4800. That sets you back $2850, but $1350 can be covered by the company HSA contribution, leaving $1500 which is covered by the salary increase. If you are smart and pay for these medical costs from YOUR contributions to your HSA, you save about $600 in taxes. Year one you are about $700 ahead of today and each year gets better by $1186, $790, $790 and $790. This average to about 1.7% increase in compensation per year over five years.
I just don’t see this contract as one that is setting you back. ACSC is providing an extra bump in pay in years 1 and 2 to offset the possibe increase in healthcare costs.
What this DOES do is it makes it to your advantage for YOU to keep your medical costs lower. You get to pocket some of that money and that change will save everyone money.
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Jeff, I will pray for your ignorant soul to shed its blinders.
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Healthcare has always cost somebody and it always will. Be it taxpayer, the employer, or us as an employee. This is all about the change in who is responsible to pay the bill. Nobody is “taking money out of my pocket”, but me by not making healthy choices in life. The publicity of all the events involved with this are in incredibly poor taste. The Christmas party was a good idea, but why make it into a spectacle? Prayer services are always a wonderful thing to do, but turning it into a photo op. or a publicity stunt, is which this is being construed to be, stinks… I have prayed for grace and understanding, and will continue to do so, especially for Jeff. Merry Christmas.
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When I pray I pray to the little baby Christmas Jesus.
Go NASCAR!
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I like to think of Jesus as a mischievous badger.
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What sickens me is the discrimination against anyone who is not a Crystal union worker when the union workers are CHOOSING not to go to work. Not because it is a religious sentiment….not because it is priests asking for it and not union workers….it is the sole reason that it is discriminatory and downright wrong. The prayer service should be for everyone who is unemployed, not JUST for ACS union workers. Ridiculous!!
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I, like George Carlin, am going to pray to Joe Pesci for an end to this buffoonery and god help the former union workers if and when he comes to straighten everything out. He’s going to end the strike within 5 minutes with a baseball bat that they couldn’t do in 4 months.
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This is a great, great post. Well thought out, concise, simple, to the point and with conviction. I like it.
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TJ, I really think you should be kicked off of hear and reported to the police for threatening somebody on this page. I wish the grand forks herald would send your i.p. address to the cops and get you arrested for terroristic threats, this isn’t a page for threats. I hope the other people on this blog help me in getting the herald to do that.
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I should have e-mailed the reply to him. You are right about that. It was in poor taste of me to have assumed it was a private correspondence between two people that are friends. Forgive me for offending you Frank. I made a mistake that I will not repeat.
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Hey now…I was only teasing him….he dishes it out and I’m sure he can take it in return. Wow….funny how he can threaten to use a bat on people and you’re okay with that. I personally enjoy his comments….all of them….even the mean ones.
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…and it started with prayers…
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When you say things like that, it hurts. I am human just like everyone else and when I get cut I bleed. I would never say anything mean, spiteful or hateful towards anyone or anything. I have nothing but love for everybody. I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. Can we get a hugging circle going? I’m feeling rather vulnerable right now and need some tenderness.
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You are so full of crap it is coming out your ears…but that is why I find you so funny.
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There should be a prayer service for every low IQ person who has taken out a gun and shot themselves in the foot.
That would then include all the union workers who voted no to the contract and any other people intelligent enough to behave that way. Then they should pray for union members to grow enough back bone to go tell their union leaders to take a long walk on a short pier. After that they could send a Christmas card to ACSC saying “sorry sir, may I have my job back?”. Remember one fact …. most dogs that bite the hand that feeds them get a one way trip to the vet!
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AMEN Creasybear!!!
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We can read these comments and think, man, some of these people are mean-spirited. But this is representative of some of the comments being said at our small-town coffee shops. Most people are tight-lipped and decent, but we’ve all heard some of the more malicious comments. I’m pretty sure we’ve prayed for an end to this conflict at Mass, but it’s one sentence along with a list of other intentions. With 20/20 hindsight, these well-intended people might have reconsidered such a public event. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and find some Christmas spirit,
something I’m having a heck of a time with that this year.
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Alvin; Again I apologize if I have offended or been malicious in any way. This is a very emotional and hurtful situation…..I believe in prayer…I just don’t believe it is right to call all the TV stations and use it for publicity…I wish all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
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exactly why i no longer watch tv newscasts or talk radio anymore. It’s too one sided.
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kassie: My comment wasn’t directed towards you. In fact, I’m questioning the prayer event, too. You’ve been so forthright and done a great job of explaining your views. I feel awful for you. I dislike the comments that start out “this sickens me” when referring to efforts of well-intended, maybe ill-advised members of a church. I re-read my 6:08 a.m. comment and don’t understand why it is so disliked, especially when I see so many nasty comments that many seem to like. Clearly, I don’t know who we are dealing with on this comment site.
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The union needs to get a meeting set up with the mediator and just accept the healthcare but put a cap on the price per month and yearly deductible and set it in stone. This is an election year and no democrat is coming to the rescue. The farm bill isn’t even written yet so they can’t sit and wait for that either. theres only 5 months of season left and by may there will be no bargaining power left. The company will make money this year even with the slow production. granted it might not be 1.5 billion but it’ll still be hundreds of millions of dollars. Also the farmers have been getting bashed on here for months now and if I were a farmer i’d say the heck with it and side completely with the company. If the union would only say we accept the healthcare part maybe the company would give on some other issues. It’s a tough pill to swallow but so is paying into social security and knowing it’s going under in 20 years. Times are a changing and the older generation of thinking isn’t working anymore.
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I agree with much of what you say, Frank. Putting a cap on healthcare would be nice to do, as long as BCBS, United Healthcare, and Humana would cap their rates. We both know that isn’t going to happen. The farmers have been beaten up way to much, so has management, and if you pay attention to the thumbs up and thumbs down on these threads, the union certainly doesn’t look good to the general public. As far as the campaign, there is only 4 months left.
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Good comment, gussy. I’ve read hundreds of comments that are pretty good. I’m thinking very little change results from these opinion pages, as evidenced by the 90% nay vote on the ACS proposal. it seems like the employees expected to not be working at Christmas and I’m suspicious that 90% actually wanted the winter off.
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hate to say it, but no matter what side you are on the words “sugar” and “lock-out” are becoming curse words for alot of people. maybe the new year will bring progress for all involved…
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