Sounds a bit like Ayn Rand on steroids, but I love it. In Europe (and the UK, I know) more and more people from Poland (for instance) are employed to do plumbing, tiling, building, etc., work. Why do people choose to have their work done by these guys? Because they WORK! As many hours as it takes to finish a job, without focusing on teatime, lunchtime, smoke breaks, going-home time, etc., etc. This is in very marked contrast with local artisans, in my own experience.

Now, I am just waiting to hear all the wailing about the fact that many of these people work "black" (read: under the tax radar), but the same is true for many local people too, so that is no distinction.

So what should we all do to ensure we keep our jobs? Be more productive, work more efficient and this does not just mean work cheaper or work longer hours...

So now I'm watching Dirty Jobs on Discovery channel, and I decided that you can't pay me enough or give me enough benefits to do some of those jobs.

I think people who spend their days trucking through people poo and used condoms in a sewage treatment plant ought to be given every benefit possible! Ewwww! It's used tampons!!

Mexicans (possibly the polish too)are not some magical people that work non-stop for super low prices in order to compete with the job market.

They are normal people that are just as lazy as the rest of us, they just happen to settle for less than a living wage to do it. My dad worked as the only legal resident at a boxing factory where he was constantly complaining about how he had to pick up the slack when the other workers were taking their 3rd lunch break. Of course in all fairness, my dad is a ridiculously hard worker, and he can outshine most people.

It isn't exactly unheard of for contractors here to hire people with no experience just because they will work for nickles on the dollar. I had a personal experience with this when my electric was fixed... After everything was said and done my dad had to go through the house and fix all the problems the clearly inexperienced workers created.

This is an annoying problem for anyone that has to deal with it directly. But I guess untill companies grow a moral spine and start paying decent wages this wont change, so I am just spitting in the wind -_-

You would be suprised how tolerant people are of things. I have yet to find a single thing that grosses out my boyfriend (i've tried) and there is nothing on dirty jobs that he wouldn't do for a decent wage :P

First off im loving this thread!

My 2 cents:

I think its the job of our government to really protect how much outsourcing is done. One good argument could be that outsourcing is taking money out of our own economy because they are not spending the money here.

Then why is everyone b***hing about Mexicans? Sure they send SOME money over to their country but they are spending it HERE as well.

Its not only Mexicans sending money. Im friends with a lot of Africans that send LOTS of money overseas.(Kenya especially).

To protect your job all I can say is get the best education as well(great advice!)

You wont see a Mexican hiding in a truck-riding over the river-putting on a tie and going to give you a physical, or defending you in court. (Although that would be hilarious to see happen in a comedy)

So the best thing to do is don't settle for a crap job.

Get an education and hire Mexicans to cut your lawn and talk to derrka derrrkas to order your computer from dell.

Overall we are looking for things to be good globally are we not?

(that was more like 50 cents huh? im going to be a famous rapper!)

Most jobs? Unless you're including travel from home to the office, I think I will disagree with that statement. Most jobs are done in the office and the only driving is to and from work and possibly a quick trip for lunch.

However, if driving is PART of your job (ie Trucker, plumber, pizza delivery guy), then usually you get one of two options - either you're driving a company car (and the company pays the insurance) or you're driving your own car where you get a millage allowance of xx¢ per mile. That per mile allowance is to cover normal wear and tear, gas, and insurance. Also - if you use your own car, you do get tax breaks as well.

You said earlier that you didn't want to touch the 'Summer Vacation' part, allow me.

I worked in a school and luckily I was the IT guy. "Hai! I fix computer now?" I also didn't understand it until I worked there and got the real story...

First day of work I was given an option. Take lower pay for the 9 months I worked there and get paid through the summer, or not get paid during the summer. I did say 'Luckily' above, that's because I chose option C and convinced them that Summers is when we get to do server-work without all the teachers and students mucking us up.

Summers you don't work, so you don't get paid. My father (College Professor) took a job at a Wal-Mart too supplement income. A Masters of Business.. working at WalMart. He probably had more education than his store manager. He loved to teach though.

Teacher Strikes are usually about money and security. Nobody is the bad guy in this, teachers Love to teach. They'd rather teach than let their students go without an education. Administrators want to pay them but when they only have XXX,XXX amount of dollars and XX teachers to pay they have to make cuts. Fire 10 teachers? Who takes up the slack? You can't cut the salaries back. And teachers who put in their time day after day, year after year should be compensated more.

So now the teachers either have an increased workload with no extra pay, or they have less benefits (Let's cut VISION insurance!).

They know a city/borough has more money, they just aren't allocating it to the education system. Some bureacrat decided that HIS salary is just fine and no cutbacks need to be made on HIS staff. So they talk. And talk. And go on like this post seems to be doing. And when they're told 'No' for the 400th time, they show the boss that some things are NOT negotiable.

They strike.

And NOW the boss is listening. NOW they have a deadline, gotta get those kids in school. NOW they can't just say "No, go away." because they aren't going away.

I supported the teachers 9 times out of 10. I wore the shirts, I held the signs (After school) I risked ALOT. My boss could have let me go without batting an eye and I don't think the teachers would have done any striking on MY behalf. But it was a cause I believed in. Eventually funds were changed around, the teachers kept their jobs and everyone was happy (well.. except for the year-round paid snowplow crews).

You need to understand things from everyone's perspective though.

/rant.

I disagree. While most people drive to work, most jobs don't require driving. A smart company would offer incentives to employees to use mass transit or walk instead of offering car insurance, though.

I almost never drive. I walk to work when I'm in the city, and I'm usually working in places where no cars go. I spend alot of time flying in rickety old planes and helicopters, but my company does offer a good health and life insurance plan.

Thank you, Tragluck. You get it. Most people don't understand that teachers don't get paid for those three months. That's why I didn't want to talk about summers. It's seen as a perk.

Thanks for being an IT guy. I'd be lost if it wasn't for the tech gurus in my building.

Just a note on the car insurance issue. Benefits are supposed to relate primarily to making me a better employee--ie, education, health, well being, life insurance, breaks. All these things combine to create an environment where I can provide the best value per dollar for my employer. Car insurance doesn't add in to the equation because driving is not a job requirement, and a benefit that applies to a select group of employees (ie, those who drive) tends to cause unrest.

wow

in my abbreviated opinion.

"creative accounting" and folks expecting a wage after the work is DONE but NOT contributing to their own 401k killed job security in the United States.

__HIDDEN 'red ink' that manipulated the "forcasted value" of a company = lies to share-holders.

capitolism = fascist_rule by the commonWEALTH.

ALWAYS tip with cash.

::;)__the tyler durden in the rear left side of my brain