Apologies in advance for responding to Gould in Jim's response - Gould is
already filtered but I can't let some of his uninformed responses go
unanswered...

"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
Unions may have had a place in society at one time, but they are not
counterproductive. All they do is breed nepotism and interfere with
free
competition. How is it that someone who moves boxes around on a dock
can
make as much as I make with two degrees and state licensure as a
Forensic
Engineer? Granted, cost of living has some factor, but explain to me
how
the two jobs are of equal worth. Unskilled labor vs. technical and
legal
analysis.

Huh? What happened to

free
competition. ?

If the box movers can convince society that their services are worth
more than
Forensic Engineers, more power to them.
Naturally, jealous Forensic Engineers will disagree.

By the way, some of those guys "moving boxes" (longshore work is far
more
technical and dangerous than that, btw) probably have more education
than many
engineers. Some of them used to have white collar jobs, before "free
competition" prevailed and the guys working for $2/hour US in Russia or
India
won the engineering and accounting jobs.

No. my problem was the fact that the longshoremen making 90K a year were
fighting the implementation of the technology used by UPS and FedEx every
day - a lot of their practices are yesterday's technology. In addition, I
don't think it was a coincidenct that the timing of the work stoppage
coincided with election time...

Where I live, you can't do random drug testing at the fire dept.
because the
union won't allow it. Some stoned jackass is going to kill somebody
one of
these days as a direct result of union policy.

When that happens, the jackass and his two immediate supervisors should
be
fired- or maybe jailed. You can't sit around the firehouse and get
stoned
without somebody knowing about it. You might find it surprising, but pee
tests
are almost TOTALLY defeatable. There's an OTC product called "Clean Pee"
that
works almost 100 percent of the time. (It's probably even sold in drug
stores
that require their new hires to take a pee test). For $10 bucks, a clean
and
sober buddy will pee in the cup for you, or pee into a test tube you cap
and
take into the restroom. Why would this be news to a guy working in
forensics?

Exactly the reason that I don't even acknowlege urine tests - I use blood
evidence. The fact that you talk about them as if they would be used in a
forensic investigation shows that you are the one who does not know
procedures. Blood evidence is required, and immediately after the incident
or at random if applicable. And BTW, one of the firemen has a patch growing
in his yard, and everyone at the firehouse knows about it, but no one will
do anything about it...

Why do unions cry every time
someone wants to put a job out for competitive bid? Because they can't
compete. They are a burden to society, and anyone who is in a union is
supporting the ideals, making them leftist by association.

Who hires Forensic Engineers? Sounds like a civil service job to me. If
so,
good thing *you* are required to submit a competitive bid every time an
opportunity to ply your trade arises. That should keep your income
suitably
suppressed. We wouldn't want some government agency to guarantee you a
certain
annual income and benefits (all at taxpayers expense) along with some
measure
of protection against unjust or politically motivated firing... those
things
might discourage free competition for *your* job, and make you a leftist
by
association.

Attorneys, insurance companies, and large corporations are my primary
clients, although I will occasionally work for an individual if they want to
foot the bill. And yes, I also do work for many government agencies and
municipalities. I am in the private sector, and woek 60 to 80 hours per
week, thank you. And once again, you are showing your ignorance to the
engineering practice. It is illegal for an entity to retain my services on
the basis of price. Engineers are required to submit a statement of
qualifications, and are chosen on that basis. Once the firm has been
selected, then we negotiate a fee for services. Granted, I can't charge
twice what my competitor does, but I will say that my firm is the most
expensive in our region, and we still manage to hold an 80% market share.
Furthermore, unions are not necessary for protection from unjust
firings...there is federal legislation in place for that already, and our
so-effective court system if you wish to pursue it in civil court...

and for the record, yes I am a white collar worker now, with a salary and a
bonus dependent on the company's profitability. I do not get raises or
bonuses on the basis of a predetermined schedule (unions) and if I quit
producing, I'm out on my can, as it should be...when others around me quit
producing, I toss them out so they don't sponge my profits...

however, I put myself through college, working 45 hours a week on average,
doing things like roughnecking, road construction, concrete formwork,
framing, and carpentry, so don't tell me I don't know what it's like to work
for a living...what I do know is that it's the best motivation to get a
white collar career...