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louis c

(8,652 posts)
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 06:59 AM Sep 2012

Hey, Wisconsin, What Do You Think of Union-Busting Now?

Last edited Wed Sep 26, 2012, 05:00 PM - Edit history (4)

Scott Walker is a union buster. So are the owners in the NFL.

Let's just review what this job action is about. The NFL Refs are not on strike, they are locked out. That's a big difference.

They don't want anything more than they have, they just don't want to lose what they already have and have been promised through the years.

The NFL makes billions and their brand hinges on the integrity of the game. The Refs safe guard that integrity, and a pension is a small item in securing that integrity.

Now you can see how important experience and competence is at such a high level, pressure job.

Monday night's game was just an example of what football fans from all over America are going through.

Sunday night, we here in Boston went through a similar evening.

Our owner, Bob Kraft, is one of the biggest culprits in all of this. He's been an anti-union maggot in everything he does (he built "Patriot Place" with non-union labor). His son, Jonathan, is worse than he is.

Now, I know that 35% of my union brothers and sisters voted for Scott Walker in his recall. I know that was more than the margin of victory. I also know that if Scott Walker was removed from office, it would have had no baring on last night's game.

However, the dispute between the NFL owners and the NFL Refs is a perfect example of a very rich corporation that makes billions but doesn't want to share a small portion of that profit with some of those that are responsible for helping to create that profit.

Monday night, that point was brought home, vividly, to the people of Wisconsin, and the irony should not be lost on anyone.

55 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Hey, Wisconsin, What Do You Think of Union-Busting Now? (Original Post) louis c Sep 2012 OP
recommend! madrchsod Sep 2012 #1
Excellent post. rec pintobean Sep 2012 #2
how true Chiquitita Sep 2012 #3
yep yep yep, so true. i have been drawn into all this that is happening seabeyond Sep 2012 #4
Let's threaten to take away the NFL's Anti-Trust exemption louis c Sep 2012 #5
yep dembotoz Sep 2012 #6
Sadly most anti unionists are too dumb RegieRocker Sep 2012 #7
That's our job, to do it for them louis c Sep 2012 #8
Just another example of Billionaires fucking up…... 12AngryBorneoWildmen Sep 2012 #9
Where is the NFLPA on this? caraher Sep 2012 #10
Divide and conquer. mac56 Sep 2012 #18
the players' contract forbids sympathy strikes fishwax Sep 2012 #27
I have learned today louis c Sep 2012 #37
that would be excellent fishwax Sep 2012 #40
Blue Flu! Sirveri Sep 2012 #54
What I'd like to see.... Jeff In Milwaukee Sep 2012 #11
lol, I'd love it. nt eqfan592 Sep 2012 #12
Great Post malaise Sep 2012 #13
Wisconsin is just like the rest of America, people here prefer football to education HereSince1628 Sep 2012 #14
Why NFL referees are like Chicago teachers... Astazia Sep 2012 #15
Except that the Packers are a publicly owned team. VenusRising Sep 2012 #16
And according to the results of the recall vote on Walker, 52% of those "public owners" decided to 4lbs Sep 2012 #21
Public owners outside the state had no vote in the recall. VenusRising Sep 2012 #25
and 48% did not.... mcctatas Sep 2012 #52
A publicly owned team that belongs to and benefits the "commonwealth" -- King_Klonopin Sep 2012 #53
Isn't the same thing happening with hockey? amuse bouche Sep 2012 #17
Fuck the "integrity" of the game when it's about the MONEY! TahitiNut Sep 2012 #19
ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the morning" just mentioned this. 4lbs Sep 2012 #23
One merely need look at the Detroit Lions to see this ownership attitude for more than four decades. TahitiNut Sep 2012 #31
I would change ONE word: share October Sep 2012 #20
Wisconsin native and long-time Packers fan here Aldo Leopold Sep 2012 #22
All one has to do is pay attention to the referees in the NFL to predict the path of our schools Viking12 Sep 2012 #24
K&R! n/t Lugnut Sep 2012 #26
K&R Hubert Flottz Sep 2012 #28
Isn't Paul Ryan a Packers fan? Blue Owl Sep 2012 #29
Paul Ryan loves socialist football? eridani Sep 2012 #34
I agree 100% BrainMann1 Sep 2012 #30
Kraft hosted Limbaugh in his Super Bowl suite while his Pats lost to the Giants. dsharp88 Sep 2012 #32
Outstanding post! K&R 11 Bravo Sep 2012 #33
Hey, Thanks louis c Sep 2012 #55
The people own the Green Bay Packers and that is how every sports team MindMover Sep 2012 #35
Sounds like the cheeseheads got what they had coming to them. Zoeisright Sep 2012 #36
Hey dumbass...a whole lot of us cheeseheads hate Scutt Wanker WestWisconsinDem Sep 2012 #46
I was way proud of the LA Lakers star, Derek Fisher, President of the Union cr8tvlde Sep 2012 #38
Good call! wakemewhenitsover Sep 2012 #39
This is the very definition of ironic. Hamlette Sep 2012 #41
right, because all Packer fans are republicans. WestWisconsinDem Sep 2012 #48
Here's one! Generic Other Sep 2012 #49
Ha! I love that! WestWisconsinDem Sep 2012 #50
Support unions-Simple meaning working people sticking together for better wages & working conditions GreenTea Sep 2012 #42
K&R! countryjake Sep 2012 #43
As Sean likes to say.... The Old Creak Sep 2012 #44
The sad part is that the Packers are pro-Union malaise Sep 2012 #45
Whenever I see Walker and Ryan... 47of74 Sep 2012 #47
Amen SpartanDem Sep 2012 #51
 

seabeyond

(110,159 posts)
4. yep yep yep, so true. i have been drawn into all this that is happening
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 07:22 AM
Sep 2012

with the nfl. the total disgust at how so much has dissolved with integrity, and what it all looks like.

listening to them pre show and the anger from dikka and some of the others.

the calls over the last couple weeks.

i didnt see that call. but hubby told me about it after turning off the tv

just once, i want to see the greedy get it. just once i want to see a win for the little.

i want ALL the football players to just walk next week and force the hand.

it is their health. as was being said, someone is going to get hurt.

 

louis c

(8,652 posts)
5. Let's threaten to take away the NFL's Anti-Trust exemption
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 07:31 AM
Sep 2012

and the call should start with Tammy Baldwin.

how's that for political leverage?

caraher

(6,276 posts)
10. Where is the NFLPA on this?
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 08:05 AM
Sep 2012

I'm a bit mystified as to why the players - themselves unionized, right? - are going along with this charade? This is affecting their careers (and potentially health!), and this would end immediately if they walked out.

mac56

(17,561 posts)
18. Divide and conquer.
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:34 AM
Sep 2012

Ownership does it all the time among its employees. Setting one union against the other. Shameful.

fishwax

(29,146 posts)
27. the players' contract forbids sympathy strikes
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 11:30 AM
Sep 2012

Many players were vocal in support of the real refs in the buildup to the season, and as the season has gone on players have been increasingly vocal in their criticism of the replacements, however.

 

louis c

(8,652 posts)
37. I have learned today
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 05:47 PM
Sep 2012

that the players are part of the AFL-CIO and they can file a grievance for safety.

If they do this, it would really cause the owners a problem.

It may be in the works.

fishwax

(29,146 posts)
40. that would be excellent
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 06:26 PM
Sep 2012

Here's hoping they push the owners' hand in any way they can. Everyone is saying the NFL cares more about the money than the integrity of the game, but I think the owners care less about money than simply busting the union.

Jeff In Milwaukee

(13,992 posts)
11. What I'd like to see....
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 08:20 AM
Sep 2012

Next Sunday, if the strike has not been resolved, every NFL team should (for at least the first possession) start their second teams on both offense and defense.

And then I'd like to see Roger Goddell sandwiched between Clay Matthews and Brian Urlacher. Who says Bears and Packers fans can't agree on anything?

HereSince1628

(36,063 posts)
14. Wisconsin is just like the rest of America, people here prefer football to education
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 08:27 AM
Sep 2012

And within both football and education, Wisconsinites--and Americans in general--, are suspicious of authorities, cops, teachers and NFL officials who as part of their job are required to cite us for infractions of rules or otherwise criticize our performance.

If we responded to religion that way we respond to cops, teachers and NFL officials, we'd have a nation that tells stories about nuns being sour and hateful.

Astazia

(262 posts)
15. Why NFL referees are like Chicago teachers...
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 08:30 AM
Sep 2012

K&R (wooooohoooo) wicked smaaht (smart)
*~*~*~DUER'S~*~*~*

Please HELP me get the link below posted properly, because this is so important to know how fans are unwitting accomplices in this. LOUIS C can you help me? The link below was posted 18 min ago. Another article posted after the Sunday night game.

I've been reading all about this (nt) & the article listed below NEEDS to be online to all, especially DU brothers & sisters. I just don't know how to turn blue link thingie to fix my copy & paste.
Thanks, Taz
~~~~~~~~~~link below~~~~~~~~~~


http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-25/the-nfl-fiasco-why-referees-are-like-chicago-teachers

4lbs

(6,752 posts)
21. And according to the results of the recall vote on Walker, 52% of those "public owners" decided to
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:48 AM
Sep 2012

keep Walker and his union-busting.

mcctatas

(13,755 posts)
52. and 48% did not....
Wed Sep 26, 2012, 01:00 AM
Sep 2012

I'm kind of tired of Wisconsinites being broadly blamed, it was a close election (not withoout hinkiness) that many people threw their heart and soul into so while I don't presume to speak for all of WI, THIS 'scorning girl is as pro union as ever.

King_Klonopin

(1,305 posts)
53. A publicly owned team that belongs to and benefits the "commonwealth" --
Wed Sep 26, 2012, 02:07 AM
Sep 2012

Hey Wisconsin, did you know your team is "Socialist" ? omg!

TahitiNut

(71,611 posts)
19. Fuck the "integrity" of the game when it's about the MONEY!
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:41 AM
Sep 2012

Nearly ALL of American business is now under the control of people who are ONLY about the money ... and have absolutely NO OPERATIONAL interest or aptitude. These are NOT "craftsmen" ... just 'crafty.'

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Thorsten Veblen described the dichotomy over 100 years ago ... the dichotomy between the 'engineers' and the 'money men.' Folks engage in enterprise either because they're focused on the product or service (i.e. operations) or because they're focused on making meny (and don't give a shit WHAT the business does to get it). When the 'money men' take over, the business starts to deteriorate. General Motors is an example ... with Roger Smith. Smith was all about the money.

The insane thing about it is that the money orientation is destructive of the very enterprises that are sucked dry for the money. That's why it should be called "vampire capitalism" instead of "vulture capitalism." The money-oriented are blind to this if only because they have a 'zero-sum' world view. For them to 'win' they believe others must 'lose.' Thus, their enrichment from controlling an enterprise tends to always result in destruction .. and the impoverishment of others.


The NFL is a monopoly exempt from anti-trust laws. If you don't like the product, there's no other game in town. (Literally.)

4lbs

(6,752 posts)
23. ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the morning" just mentioned this.
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:51 AM
Sep 2012

Mike Golic said that the billionaire owners don't care.

They aren't seeing the TV ratings go down, nor are they seeing a big significant dropoff in fan attendance compared to last year.

All the hundreds of thousands of Tweets, FaceBook posts, and forum posts, what percentage said "I am done watching the NFL or going to an NFL game!" ?

Of those that said that, what percentage ACTUALLY MEAN IT and decide to do it for real?

Almost no one.

So until they feel a real pinch in their pocketbooks, the owners will continue to not care.

TahitiNut

(71,611 posts)
31. One merely need look at the Detroit Lions to see this ownership attitude for more than four decades.
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 04:06 PM
Sep 2012

The Detroit area football fans are the most screwed-over fans in the country. William Clay Ford is the poster boy for peddling a mediocre-at-best product and charging top prices ... and GETTING IT. The Detroit area fans continue to pay insane prices to watch a clusterfuck of a football team. They inherit the white elephant of a stadium in Pontiac, abandoned in favor of an inner city stadium built for the convenience and comforts of the wealthy, and ease of separating the fans from their dollars in expanded vendor venues. (Oh... and it's handy for under-attended GOP political "rallies" too.) Ford has owned the Lions since 1963. The franchise has been to zero Super Bowls and doesn't have a playoff win since 1991.

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2012/05/detroit_lions_owner_william_cl_1.html


October

(3,363 posts)
20. I would change ONE word: share
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:43 AM
Sep 2012

This is an excellent essay. So glad to see it posted today -- especially after watching last night's football game. Wow. I don't live in Wisconsin or Seattle, but "Wow".

I just think it is wrong for us (47% or 99%) to think rich people are SHARING. They're NOT. This money is earned, and these contracts are negotiated. It is nothing less than disgusting on the part of the NFL to lock out the refs as some sick demonstration of their power. And that is all it EVER is about, POWER.

Aldo Leopold

(685 posts)
22. Wisconsin native and long-time Packers fan here
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:50 AM
Sep 2012

Nice post. Let's hope this debacle brings the issue into immediate focus for the union busters and Walker supporters.

Blue Owl

(49,906 posts)
29. Isn't Paul Ryan a Packers fan?
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 12:03 PM
Sep 2012

Are you watching, Paul?

Are you happy, Paul?

How is that whole destroying unions thing working out for you, Paul?

MindMover

(5,016 posts)
35. The people own the Green Bay Packers and that is how every sports team
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 04:50 PM
Sep 2012

Last edited Wed Sep 26, 2012, 02:19 PM - Edit history (1)

should be owned ...

The billionaire owners are simply "Greedy Bastards", nothing more, nothing less ...

cr8tvlde

(1,185 posts)
38. I was way proud of the LA Lakers star, Derek Fisher, President of the Union
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 05:53 PM
Sep 2012

for the NBA ... don't know much about it other than they won and Derek Fisher is an awesome player. Hopefully the NFL can get their players "into the game" so to speak, and with their multi-millions stand up for the support folk.

Hamlette

(15,388 posts)
41. This is the very definition of ironic.
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 06:31 PM
Sep 2012

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving group (those who voted with Walker).

 

WestWisconsinDem

(127 posts)
48. right, because all Packer fans are republicans.
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:33 PM
Sep 2012

Just a few of us wearing foam cheese wedges on our heads happen to be of the liberal persuasion, ya know.

GreenTea

(5,154 posts)
42. Support unions-Simple meaning working people sticking together for better wages & working conditions
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 07:17 PM
Sep 2012

Support unions - including NFL refs unions....union workers are more skilled, knowledgeable & caring about working peoples health care & pensions....

Union people stick together against lower wages and benefit cuts by corporations who are NEVER satisfied, who always want more & more & more and workers pay is the easiest and first thing they go after....

The rich & their corporations are always taking away non union workers rights - Shut up they tell you and take what we give you or we'll get someone else high unemployment the corporations and republican love it keeps wages low!

Owners stop being so greedy you're already richer than shit....pay for good quality union working people.

malaise

(267,798 posts)
45. The sad part is that the Packers are pro-Union
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 08:12 PM
Sep 2012

and they publicly backed the Wisconsin protesters.
That said Walker and Ryan have been further exposed as hypocrites.

 

47of74

(18,470 posts)
47. Whenever I see Walker and Ryan...
Tue Sep 25, 2012, 09:15 PM
Sep 2012

....all my greedy insipid teabilly inbred docuhestraw fuckstick alarms go off.

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