Jobless benefits near end for some American Crystal locked-out workers
July 5, 2012 at 1:00 am in Grand Forks Herald
Workers at East Grand Forks, Crookston and Moorhead factories automatically became eligible for 26 weeks of unemployment benefits when the lockout began in August 2011. Continue Reading
Voluntarily, yes the members voted on it, to leave your job, but still get paid. How can this be right? This is why the economy is circling the toilet bowl. Watch what happens in Greece, we’ll be there soon.
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Look in the mirror Jack, something for nothing NEVER turns out good. Look at history, look at Greece right now. It NEVER turns out good.
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Jack, you are right that deregulation (the repeal of Glass-Stiegall under Clinton specifically – Glass-Stiegall prevented banks from engaging in securities transactions) led to significant instability in the banking industry. However, government policies which advocated homeownership by individuals with virtually no ability to afford homeownership and a tax code that encourages consumption and not saving also contributed to the financial crisis. To exclude individual responsibility from the equation is disingenuous. As for corporate greed, you do realize that if the government seized 100% of the income and assets of the top ten percent you could run the federal government for less than a year. To exclude excessive government spending is naive.
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Late to the discussion but.. Unemployment Insurance should be for those who have lost their job through no fault of their own. If you want to have a disagreement with your current employer and risk a lockout, maybe you should have saved up funds, or your Union should be taking care of your paycheck.
All social services should be a last result fallback to help those that can’t help themselves not a primary benefit option for those perfectly capable of working and providing for themselves and their families.
This is why I am for some provisions of the healthcare plan. I think all large employers in this country should have to offer their employees some short of health insurance instead of sending them to medicaid for benefits. I am a small business and offer insurance to my employees because I think it is the moral thing to do.
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unemployment is to be used for workers that got fired or laid off, NOT for refusing to sign a contract. Not signing a contract is willfully going unemployed to pursue a new job.
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The union had from May 2011 until July 31st 2011 to agree on a contract. There is no excuse for the lockout lasting this long…none at all. This is about male stubborn pride and I’m fed up with the bunch of them. They could bend a little and end this but they have to win something in order to look good for the higher ups. Meanwhile we just wait and wait and wait.
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“Union leader John Riskey said he did not expect the expiration of benefits to affect the union’s strategy in negotiations with Crystal management. He pointed to the June 23 vote in which 63 percent of voting members rejected Crystal’s contract as an indication of workers’ unwillingness to accept the offer.”
Yes, 63% rejected the offer. Down from 98% that initially rejected it. Once their benefits are gone they’ll be begging for their contract offer. I’m guessing at that point the only thing Riskey will be able to say it “Well I guess the original offer was better than we thought.” At what point to union members smarten up and give Riskey the boot?
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Jack, so what is tyour point? The question is whether or not these programs should continue to exist. At some point enough people have to step away from the government trough to make a change. Yes, that means some people who have previously benefited need to realize that our current system of ever increasing government benefits is not sustainable.
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Nope, my income level was too high with the exception of items 5 and 6. With regard to item 5, I do pay the fees and don’t agree that they are disguised taxes; that doesn’t make them right simply because I pay for them. With regard to item 6, I do pay income tax, but when you extend it to my entire family I suspect I do have some relatives who don’t pay income tax. Again, that doesn’t make it right. I don’t have flood insurance, didn’t get FEMA benefits and didn’t take out an SBA loan. While your third point is pretty general, I suspect that my life would not be much different when you consider that federal money comes from somewhere; those who pay taxes.
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Correction, I intended to say that the fees are the same as taxes; I don’t buy the explaination that they are not taxes. Jack, although you assume I am a republican, I am not.
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Jack, Medicaid for long-term care would be my initial starting point. Before the government provided long-term care benefits families cared for their elders. Now we have a system where people intentionally impoverish themselves as they get older by transferring assets to family members in order to qualify for benefits. Before there was Medicaid for long-term care we didn’t have any problem with old people not receiving care. Medicare benefits should also be limited to a specific annual amount to allow patients to actually make good decisions as consumers rather than simply allowing a limitless amount to be spent on healthcare. I believe this would drive down healthcare costs as endless government checkbook would be closed. It would also encourage people to exercise preventative medicine and take an interest in their own health. I would allow a hardship exception in limited circumstances. I would also simplify the tax code by reducing it to a series of graduated rates with no deductions, credits or preference items; yes, that means eliminating special treatment for dividends and capital gains. I would eliminate the department of education and return control to state and local governments. Would these changes be readily accepted – nope, it is hard to take people away from the government trough.
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Jack there are many things that could be cut or reduced. First any federal monies give out to someone who is not a US should be cut. If you want to live on welfare then they should bring back WPA and those able to can do public work. There were many local projects that involved the WPA from the 30′s and 40′s, even though this might not cut welfare much I am sure those who are too lazy to get off the system wouldn’t want to stay on if they had to work and the work that was done ie ditch cleaning, replacing side walks, clearing land or any number of other tasks would not only be educational because so many people don’t learn how to do manual labor but also would save money. Also there should be stricter rules for unemployment. Managing a business in the area and yes it does involve manual labor we had locked out workers come in to apply for work, they were offered a job which they accepted but its been 2 months and none have shown and I do know they do not have a job yet. As to Joe Smith’s answer Medicare although being a government run program and having dealt with it for relative recently I do know that it needs major a overhaul to make it more cost effective but the elderly of this country have worked hard building it and this is a program that allows all of us to take care of our parents and grandparents.
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sorry “not a us citizen “
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The unemployment system has fewer employees which in turn means fewer people checking to make sure the people receiving unemployment benefits are looking for jobs. It’s never been easier than it is now to live off unemployment.
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Sorry Jack, you’ll need a little more than an LA Times editorial to convince me. However, I agree that this problem was created by both parties. We have a tax code that is overwhelmingly designed as a series of tax preferences which both parties use to buy votes. While I agree that many of the credits/deductions originated through republican efforts, they were enacted as part of a compromise to democratic tax rate increases. We need a tax system that strips away all of the preferential items and reduces the tax code to something that isn’t utilized as a campaign tool every election. I don’t care if you continue to collect 70% of the revenue from the top 20%, just do it in a manner that makes it possible to determine how much tax each citizen is actually paying. And please don’t parrot the “everyone pays taxes” argument. While true, the vast majority of tax paid by the 50% of the country that does not pay income tax is social security and Medicare. Both of these taxes are eventually returned to the individual. In the case of Medicare, the average individual will receive back more than $250,000 in benefits than they paid in. Yes, the non-income taxpayers do pay some tax, but that tax generally returns to them in a larger amount than they ever paid in.
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Jack, you may be a little confused. The suggestion was to eliminate Medicaid long term care, not Medicare; they are different programs. And yes, it is my belief that individuals should be responsible for their own long term care and if they can’t their families should accept that role. No, I do not believe the Government should be the payor of first resort; it isn’t the government’s job to pay your financial responsibilities. Medicaid long term care didn’t exist until 1965 and was fairly limited until expanded in the 1980s and 1990s. Prior to that time people did pay for their own care and families did help out other family members. You do realize that the inverse of your statement about people not being willing to cover that burden by implication means you are in favor of someone else paying it for you; Medicaid is funded by state and federal tax dollars which, contrary to some people’s belief don’t just magically appear but are taken from other people. Even President Obama has conceded that his proposed tax increases will have an insignificant impact on the federal deficit. Continued expansion of entitlements is unsustainable without imposing significant tax burdens on the middle class.
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One of the first programs I would get rid of is farm subsidies. Farm land is going at record prices and much of it is being bought by investors. If subsidies were eliminated the price of farmland would go down and young people who actually want to farm would be able to get started.
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What, you’d deprive the current governor from the millions he makes in govt payments by calling himself a farmer?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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So how long do you think it will be before the union votes on the contract again now that the Minnesota side has the same shake as the North Dakota workers? Such a shame that the Mn. workers did not put all the money in a pot and split it 1300 ways so all the BCTGM members had the same problems to deal with. Of course that would be a solidarity, all my brothers and sisters fighting the good fight type of thing. Looks like BCTGM is just another CYA and FYB kind of organization.
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You are wrong elderton! You are not eligible for unemployment if you are fired from your job. That job loss would be at your fault. It is amazing how so many people don’t understand the unemployment program.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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There is an 8 or 10 week waiting period after being fired. You would then qualify for unemployment benefits.
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Once again, “Ron the expert” needs to do some reading.
Google something like, “If I’m fired can I collect unemployment benefits?” Ron…and see what you come up with.
I’ve never been on unemployment, but I know of SEVERAL cases firsthand in which the collector of the benefits was terminated because they “weren’t a good fit”, or because there was some downsizing going on.
Now if an employee is terminated for something like misconduct, that’s another story altogether….
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“The only way you would be eligible after being fired is if you were not preforming up to standards, which means you should be let go long before you are even eligible for unemployment.”
That somewhat contradicts this….huh?:
“You are wrong elderton! You are not eligible for unemployment if you are fired from your job. That job loss would be at your fault. It is amazing how so many people don’t understand the unemployment program.”
Two posts….same guy. Draw your own conclusions about how on top of this whole situation Ron is folks.
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I wonder what the BCTGM has planned for the one year anniversary which is fast approaching? The standard gift for a one year anniversary is coincidentally paper.
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I heard that will be yet another vote on the 26th, anybody confirm this?
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gussy; Go to ACSC website. The union reported to the media that vote number 4 has already taken place and that it was voted down again by 63%. Crystal has moved on. Very interesting reading. If the union does not get it yet this letter spells it out quite clear.
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http://www.acsccontracttalks.com/7.10.pdf
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The letter is in regards to vote 3…but an interesting read nonetheless.
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The union could vote to accept the contract TODAY, and odds are replacement workers will be starting the plants for the next campaign. My understanding is a Return to Work agreement needs to be negotiated before the union is let back in the plants.
Will the union SACRIFICE the 6 workers ACSC stated will not be allowed to return??
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