Unions: good for workers or bad for business?

[Strix]

You should have given--er called heads instead of tails.

This is getting boring.

I thought the same thing after your initial post. 

[dps]

3. I would be much more impressed if your sig included the percentage of parolees under your charge who did not re-offend and successfully returned to society, and how much better it is than the average. For that, IMO, is your job. Not crowing about how many you got tossed back into jail. Every single one you throw back in prison is a failure of the parole system, and to some degree, a failure on your part as an officer of that system. It may be necessary, but it isn't anything to be all that proud of - you are a parole officer, not a bounty hunter. Just my opinion, of course.

I don't think that I can quite agree with this, especially when it comes to those who have committed violent crimes.  I'm not saying that they shouldn't have help to avoid re-offending if they want to reform, but from society's point of view, I'd rather we err on the side of caution and send them back at the first sign of trouble.  For non-violent offenders, the risk is different.

Of course, I'm not sure if violent offenders should be getting out early in the first place.

[The Larch]

I bump this thread to post some news about an union initiative in Serbia. Make of it what you wish.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8023415.stm

Serbian supermarkets come to aid of poor


The shops are called SOS Markets, but they have been dubbed "supermarkets for the poor".

They are the result of an initiative by the Association of Independent Trade Unions in Serbia which is designed to help people cope with the global economic downturn.

The social stores offer cut-price goods to Serbs who are suffering financial hardship.

Some of the discounts are up to 70% compared to the prices charged in other supermarkets, with many goods half the usual cost.

"The government prepared a social programme to deal with economic crisis in Serbia, but it was not enough and that is the reason the union devised this project," says Nebojsa Rajkovic, the general secretary of the Association of Independent Trade Unions.

[Razgovory]

Do they sell human fingers?