speech topic

[Grumpa]

I think you have that wrong, throw the unions under the bus an watch wages fall, workplace injuries and death rise Pension and benefits would be non existant.Corporate leaders would get richer and the middle class would be extinct

[Cane Pole]

I think you have that wrong, throw the unions under the bus an watch wages fall, workplace injuries and death rise Pension and benefits would be non existant.Corporate leaders would get richer and the middle class would be extinct

If so, then please feel free to explain why Microsoft and Toyota and others are so successful without a "Onion"? The did not need daddy big bucks for a bailout. We the taxpayer bailed out the Union. The manufacturers were just along for the free ride. The Union was (and still is) the real root of the problem with the Auto industry.

[deathb4disco]

we are not allowed to do it on sports or fishing or medical stuff.

I had a class like this a few years ago, and sports/medical topics were the most popular. (In my speech, I argued against the designated hitter rule.)

How about:

The best band of all time,

The identity of Jack the Ripper,

The most influential person in history,

The greatest invention of the 20th century?

[popperonahead]

do it on the phenomenon of facebook and internet message boards. could go through the archtypes of posters...


trolls
know it alls
liberals
conservatives
religious bigots
agnostic bigots
gay haters
straight haters
white haters
black haters

and of course, board moderators who gotta "enforce the rules at all costs" like they own it.


should make for an interstesting discussion unless your teacher moderates it, locks you down and gives you an f.....lol.

[deathb4disco]

do it on the phenomenon of facebook and internet message boards.

Yeah, go to Google and type in "facebook is for losers".

Take a position one way or the other and argue it.

[Hanr3]

Write a paper persuading the teacher to allow the use of fishing as a topic.

Ther are controversial issues in fishing, tournaments, catch and release, minnow dumping, invasive species, eco nazis pushing for hte banning of recreational fishing. Your point could be that by excluding fishing as a topic your excluding a very real and substatial part of our economy. Including the political process to keep fishing as a viable resource in America and how important it is to the livelihood of Americans. Fishing is one of the largest recreational industries. :p

[OKSTATEjiggy]

Ther are controversial issues in fishing, tournaments, catch and release, minnow dumping, invasive species, eco nazis pushing for hte banning of recreational fishing. Your point could be that by excluding fishing as a topic your excluding a very real and substatial part of our economy. Including the political process to keep fishing as a viable resource in America and how important it is to the livelihood of Americans. Fishing is one of the largest recreational industries. :p

That's actually a really good idea. Seeker, when is your paper/speech due? We'll be glad to help

[Hanr3]

If so, then please feel free to explain why Microsoft and Toyota and others are so successful without a "Onion"? The did not need daddy big bucks for a bailout. We the taxpayer bailed out the Union, the Manufacturers were just along for the free ride. The Union was the real root of the problem with the Auto industry.

Sorry Charlie,
Employee wages is the only cost factor companies can control. The first thing companies look to when its time to cut costs is wages, its the only thing they control. They dont control the cost of electricity. They dont control the cost of raw materials. They dont control the cost of anything except employee wages. Teh union helps the little man maintain a decent income. The problem with GM is they put all thier eggs in one basket, the large SUV market. The Tahoe is the number one selling SUV and has the highest profit margin. There are a number of things GM could ahve done, sell more affordable products, cut the cost of the Tahoe. Nope they chose to cut employee work hours. If tehy would have loweved the cost of the product tehy could have sold more, instead they cut wages/hours to reflect the reduced demand. Besides the price of a product ahs very little to do with the cost to manufacture that product. The only time the cost of a product and the cost to produce the product is a concern is when the cost to produce exceeds the cost to sell plus profit. Its called Prodcut Pricing- what will the market bear is what you charge. Has little to no relastionship to what it cost to produce the product. Hence employee wages are not part of the equation to produce the product except to verify that it cost less to produce than it does to sell it.

The root cause for their economic problems is not the union, its managements fault for not taking care of thier home/business/employees first and shareholders second. Instead management aims to please the stakeholder first at the expense of its employees. Shareholders give a rats ass what the union worker makes, nor do they care what you charge for the product as long as thier shares grow in value and they get a little kickback in the form or a dividend once in a while. Or in two words the "Stock Market". The root cause for thier economic problems lies with senior management pleasing shareholders (the stock market) instead of taking care of business and takeing care of thier employees. Once upon a time the company cared and took care of their employees, 20 years and out, or 30 years and out was common. Anymore your lucky if you work for the same comapny more than 5 years. Management lost thier way.

As for Microsoft and others, typically white collar workers dont have unions. Plus some companies will shut plant doors if they suspect the workers are trying to unionize. They will move the plant to another city, one who will give them 10 years tax free. Then we complain because the school districts dont have the funding they need to teach our children and we increae the taxes to the residents, not the business. So the worker pays the businesses taxes out of thier income. Taxes the business should have been paying.

The bottom line, too many people praise the dollar instead of God.
Wal-Mart ring a bell. Low wages, they beat thier vendors up over price, and they dont care where the products come from. Ever seen a Wal-Mart freighter coming from China. Largest cargo ships ever made. Yea its the unions fault! Get real!

Your also not off scott free. Do you buy your groceries from a union store or from one like Wal-Mart? Do you buy your products from American companies or from foriegn sources? We Americans as a collective decide how this economy lives and breathes. Lowest bidder isn't always the best place, even with your money. I could go on and on about this.

Its a cycle, you buy from a local store and they buy from a foreign store the buck stops overseas and never gets pumped back into our economy. So yea, blame the unions for doing the decent thing and trying to keep a decent wage for thier workers in an environment wrought full of corporate creed. you want solutions, hold companies accountable. Buy shares in companies that care.

[Cane Pole]

Well now, this is inspirational. Praise the unions and pass the bailout box.

I drive Toyotas and shop at Wall Mart. I feel no shame or guilt.

Where is Jimmy Hoffa? SEIU is such a fine example of the workers thug union.

When I was a youngster, I saw a man beat to death by picket line thugs. I will never forget it. The man was pleading for his life and the thugs just kept beating him, calling him a scab and worse. He had 7 children. Real ethics in action. Nothing has changed. Strong arm tactics, but this is to be some what expected from weak minds.

[crappieseeker]

Hanr3 I like your idea about persuading the teacher, that was pretty funny. The reason she wont let us use certain topics like those are because she hears so many speeches on them, burnt out on the same stuff I guess. Thanks for all the input from everyone though. See, just the mention of unions already started a debate here. I wish my class was full of older people like us who really have an opinion either way, however they are mostly youngens. I believe the unions once served a great purpose and I believe there are still a few good ones around, however the auto union has hurt itself. I can speek from experience because I have worked in the auto industry. The comment about lower wages and unsafe work conditions was not an issue in my non union auto company. We made a good living and had one of the best safety records of any plant in the country. We had some union supporters there, but we always voted against the union. Our company took care of us, and in return, we took care of them. Being on both sides of the fence, I would have to go against unions for the most part. Nothing against union workers personally, there are bad apples in every bunch.