Monday, July 9, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
What Ever Happened to the old Tramway Lines?
In the Rocky Mountain News lately they have been talking about the tracks of the old tramway cars still visible some places in Denver. Mention was made that they were actually the same gauge as the current light rail trains, but those old tracks would not support the modern cars. Those old lines were first replaced with tramway cars that hooked to an overhead line but did not run on tracks. As I had posted previously, I recall riding those vehicles in the 1950s, I specifically remember the Tramway North-Bound on Broadway at Colfax, in front of the State Capitol Building. Broadway was a 2-way street at that time.
The rest of the story: Henry Ford, and a group of other businessmen representing the Oil Companies, made trips to Denver and other cities around the country in the period after World War 2, 1940s and 1950s, to discourage cities from using rail cars. He felt that he could sell a lot more cars, and we would use a lot more gas by promoting this vision. He was right. We have become so dependant on oil that we go to war to protect the Oil Companies.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
ERGONOMICS IN AN OFFICE JOB
Ergonomics is the science of survival in a repetitive-motion job. Most jobs nowadays involve using a computer, but the problem really goes back to the time of Henry Ford, when workers first started doing the same thing over and over. By doing the same thing multiple times, your body builds up problems that come out after a while. The best-known is carpal tunnel syndrome, where the tendons (and ultimately the muscles and bones) break down, usually first in the wrist, but also affecting the fingers, forearms, elbows, and upper arms. For some people, the injury is a permanent disability. Likewise, sitting in the same position for long periods of time will affect the feet, legs, back, all through the spine. Not to mention the mental breakdown, blurry eyes being the first symptom. After 10 minutes of sitting at your computer, your posture falls apart, you slouch and then you wonder why your back hurts.
A good company will take note of ergonomics in all aspects of their worker's jobs. It was reported a few years ago that someone had isolated a string in DNA that would predict a person's predilection for Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome. Whether that was true or not, it prompted many governments to pass laws disallowing DNA profiling in hiring or even in issuing insurance.
Many Ergonomic studies have concluded that, when your job involves typing in a computer, you need to take a "tiny break" every 10 minutes or so: do something as simple as close your eyes and stretch your arms. Further, you need to take a "small break" every 30 minutes to an hour: get up and walk around for 3 to 5 minutes. The ability to get up and walk while talking might help, if you are not typing into a computer. In fact there are numerous computer programs that virtually force you to take those little breaks. Without those breaks, accidents during the last 15 minutes of a 2-hour period are twice as frequent as during the first 15 minutes. Avoiding tunnel-carpal and similar problems is common among all modern companies. When I worked for the Union at Qwest (then U.S. West), I remember seeing a book published for the Union, nearly 100 pages long, just regarding the selection of chairs for the workers to use.
In a post I made a few days ago, I assumed that it was common knowledge that you need to get up, take small breaks several times during your workday. Apparently, many of the new middle managers have never heard of ergonomics, and they really do think it is okay to tie workers to their desks for hours at a time. I guess that is another job of the Union: to train managers.
Ergonomics is the science of survival in a repetitive-motion job. Most jobs nowadays involve using a computer, but the problem really goes back to the time of Henry Ford, when workers first started doing the same thing over and over. By doing the same thing multiple times, your body builds up problems that come out after a while. The best-known is carpal tunnel syndrome, where the tendons (and ultimately the muscles and bones) break down, usually first in the wrist, but also affecting the fingers, forearms, elbows, and upper arms. For some people, the injury is a permanent disability. Likewise, sitting in the same position for long periods of time will affect the feet, legs, back, all through the spine. Not to mention the mental breakdown, blurry eyes being the first symptom. After 10 minutes of sitting at your computer, your posture falls apart, you slouch and then you wonder why your back hurts.
A good company will take note of ergonomics in all aspects of their worker's jobs. It was reported a few years ago that someone had isolated a string in DNA that would predict a person's predilection for Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome. Whether that was true or not, it prompted many governments to pass laws disallowing DNA profiling in hiring or even in issuing insurance.
Many Ergonomic studies have concluded that, when your job involves typing in a computer, you need to take a "tiny break" every 10 minutes or so: do something as simple as close your eyes and stretch your arms. Further, you need to take a "small break" every 30 minutes to an hour: get up and walk around for 3 to 5 minutes. The ability to get up and walk while talking might help, if you are not typing into a computer. In fact there are numerous computer programs that virtually force you to take those little breaks. Without those breaks, accidents during the last 15 minutes of a 2-hour period are twice as frequent as during the first 15 minutes. Avoiding tunnel-carpal and similar problems is common among all modern companies. When I worked for the Union at Qwest (then U.S. West), I remember seeing a book published for the Union, nearly 100 pages long, just regarding the selection of chairs for the workers to use.
In a post I made a few days ago, I assumed that it was common knowledge that you need to get up, take small breaks several times during your workday. Apparently, many of the new middle managers have never heard of ergonomics, and they really do think it is okay to tie workers to their desks for hours at a time. I guess that is another job of the Union: to train managers.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Did the UAW break the American Auto Companies?
One of the biggest problems of Unions is their reluctance to change and keep up with the times. Some say that the reason Ford, GM, and Chrysler have fallen on such hard times is that the Unions would not give in to change. The change they refer to is the fact that Union people were making too much money, and would not accept lower wages. They say that the American Companies were forced to pay those high Union wages while Foreign companies got by with paying much less.
The truth is that European companies have Unions which are much stronger than American Unions. The Asian companies may pay less in wages, but even they don't have to shoulder the tremendous expense of health care. 30% of the cost of workers at General Motors is for health care (and growing); it's about half that much in other countries. If you subtract the health care expense that American companies have to pay, and especially if you compare the cost of living for Asian countries, then auto workers are paid similarly in most of the industry. When the manufacturers moved to places without a Union, or a much downsized Union, they were just trying to save money on the back of the workers. Here is another reason we need Universal Health care.
The American Car Manufacturers problem has been Engineering. Somewhere they decided that they would make cheap cars instead of cars that work well. The car makers actually shared many aspects of manufacturing and personnel matters with the UAW, but they never let Engineering decisions be shared.
One of the biggest problems of Unions is their reluctance to change and keep up with the times. Some say that the reason Ford, GM, and Chrysler have fallen on such hard times is that the Unions would not give in to change. The change they refer to is the fact that Union people were making too much money, and would not accept lower wages. They say that the American Companies were forced to pay those high Union wages while Foreign companies got by with paying much less.
The truth is that European companies have Unions which are much stronger than American Unions. The Asian companies may pay less in wages, but even they don't have to shoulder the tremendous expense of health care. 30% of the cost of workers at General Motors is for health care (and growing); it's about half that much in other countries. If you subtract the health care expense that American companies have to pay, and especially if you compare the cost of living for Asian countries, then auto workers are paid similarly in most of the industry. When the manufacturers moved to places without a Union, or a much downsized Union, they were just trying to save money on the back of the workers. Here is another reason we need Universal Health care.
The American Car Manufacturers problem has been Engineering. Somewhere they decided that they would make cheap cars instead of cars that work well. The car makers actually shared many aspects of manufacturing and personnel matters with the UAW, but they never let Engineering decisions be shared.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
DO YOU FAVOR A UNION?
The truth is that you will never become wealthy working at a job that might offer Union Membership. But in the United States the wages for those Union jobs (called the Union Premium)average 15 to 20 percent higher with a Union than without one. That amount is ALWAYS more than enough to pay your Union dues.
Some people say that the Union should not be involved in making decisions for the company. Think about it: you are saying that you do not have the intelligence that your Supervisor has. YOU are the Union. In fact, when it comes to a company approaching insolvency, it is MUCH LESS likely that a Unionized company will become insolvent.
If you think it is not right to require everyone to join the Union then you are making the argument for the "Right-to-Work" States. We call those the right to work for less states, and ALL their wages are much less than in other states. If you are in a Right-to-Work state then you may, in fact, be better off without a Union since you can save those costly Union Dues.
click here to see a good resource.
The truth is that you will never become wealthy working at a job that might offer Union Membership. But in the United States the wages for those Union jobs (called the Union Premium)average 15 to 20 percent higher with a Union than without one. That amount is ALWAYS more than enough to pay your Union dues.
Some people say that the Union should not be involved in making decisions for the company. Think about it: you are saying that you do not have the intelligence that your Supervisor has. YOU are the Union. In fact, when it comes to a company approaching insolvency, it is MUCH LESS likely that a Unionized company will become insolvent.
If you think it is not right to require everyone to join the Union then you are making the argument for the "Right-to-Work" States. We call those the right to work for less states, and ALL their wages are much less than in other states. If you are in a Right-to-Work state then you may, in fact, be better off without a Union since you can save those costly Union Dues.
click here to see a good resource.
OFFICE WORK
Let's say you work in an office, or a call center. People in your office occasionally get up to go to the bathroom, or get a cup of coffee. People read their newspaper or do knitting when there is time between calls. Sounds like a normal office, right?
Enter the Union. The Union contract says that you should have one unpaid 1-hour lunch break and two paid 15-minute "rest breaks" during your 8-hour work day. Enter Middle Management. Manager Joe Blow says all the other time during the day is "my time," so no more bathroom breaks, coffee breaks, newspaper breaks, or knitting breaks other than the prescribed 15 minutes. "I'm sorry," he says, "the Union has tied my hands."
As it turns out, state law prescribes "one unpaid 1-hour lunch break and two paid 15-minute "rest breaks" during an 8-hour work day." Manager Joe Blow is using the Union as his excuse to force the unnatural flow of the workday into his vision, tying the employees to their chairs for 7.5 hours a day. (See a later post on ergonomics for why "extra breaktime" is necessary.)
The result:
... Without a Union, people quit the dead-end job and move on. Since they are probably not paid much, it is for their own good. Manager Joe Blow is promoted and goes on to destroy other parts of the company.
... With a Union, a grievance is filed. The company denies the grievance, steps 2 and 3 are taken and finally, after about a year and a half, an Arbitrator says that Joe Blow is an idiot and perhaps he awards a small amount of back pay for all employees. Because the employees are paid fairly well, some people have moved on and some have stayed.
... So the customers have made out better with the Union since they had some experienced people to help them for longer. The company has lost some money with the Union, but hopefully better customer service has actually helped the company.
Let's say you work in an office, or a call center. People in your office occasionally get up to go to the bathroom, or get a cup of coffee. People read their newspaper or do knitting when there is time between calls. Sounds like a normal office, right?
Enter the Union. The Union contract says that you should have one unpaid 1-hour lunch break and two paid 15-minute "rest breaks" during your 8-hour work day. Enter Middle Management. Manager Joe Blow says all the other time during the day is "my time," so no more bathroom breaks, coffee breaks, newspaper breaks, or knitting breaks other than the prescribed 15 minutes. "I'm sorry," he says, "the Union has tied my hands."
As it turns out, state law prescribes "one unpaid 1-hour lunch break and two paid 15-minute "rest breaks" during an 8-hour work day." Manager Joe Blow is using the Union as his excuse to force the unnatural flow of the workday into his vision, tying the employees to their chairs for 7.5 hours a day. (See a later post on ergonomics for why "extra breaktime" is necessary.)
The result:
... Without a Union, people quit the dead-end job and move on. Since they are probably not paid much, it is for their own good. Manager Joe Blow is promoted and goes on to destroy other parts of the company.
... With a Union, a grievance is filed. The company denies the grievance, steps 2 and 3 are taken and finally, after about a year and a half, an Arbitrator says that Joe Blow is an idiot and perhaps he awards a small amount of back pay for all employees. Because the employees are paid fairly well, some people have moved on and some have stayed.
... So the customers have made out better with the Union since they had some experienced people to help them for longer. The company has lost some money with the Union, but hopefully better customer service has actually helped the company.
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