Dock strike/Toilet paper shortage??

[WinterDeere]

I agree with you for the most part, but some of these workers being displaced don't have the skills to do any more than "grunt" jobs. With every generation, the number of jobs where you could go in off the street and learn all you need OJT decreases in favor of those requiring some sort of education. Even many of the trades are looking for someone who can at least hit the ground walking, if not running. I'm not sure what the solution to that is. Not everyone is cut out for college or even trade school.

I think this is where the several posts from others, about a hiring freeze, or at least slow-down, has real merit. Of course no one wants to push late-career guys out of the only work they’ve ever known, but it may be in the collective interest to dissuade younger guys from going into this profession, or advancing up the union ladder when other opportunities exist.

 

[CH4Ohio]

How many of you took "Typing" in high school? When there were no computers or word processers? Who remembers the "magic" of the IBM Selectric "correcting" typewriter that would type "white-out" over your last letter typed? I had a Smith-Corona that could correct by swapping out the ink cartridge with a correction cartridge. This was state-of-the-art and pretty impressive at the time . . .

I took computer science in college. We used a card punch machine to record program language and then stacked that up into a card reader that executed one card at a time in a mainframe type computer. We had to wait in line behind other students in front of the actual device in order to insert our card deck. If there was an error, it would kick out the last card and the program would not execute. If the program ran, you got a printout on a dot-matrix printer. There was no disc drive storage or options for electronic output.

Like a lot of you . . . I started work when there were virtually no computers. There were no cell phones. There was no GPS. Everything we did was paper-based. Xerox copiers were our most modern office equipment.

I lived through the implementation of mainframe computer systems in the 80's / 90's. We had green-screen terminals and those applications were still used long after we moved to desktop PC's.

Desktop PC's opened up a lot of new applications -- mainly word processing and spreadsheet programs.

We started out with cellular bag-phones that were shared depending on who was on call. I probably had every variation of cell phone from the big bricks to the flip-phones to Blackberry and finally iPhones.

Throughout all this, the front-line workforce was included in the modernization. It took longer to adapt processes to the technology, but employee's went from working on paper to working on computers. They went from depending on two-way radios to cell phones. No one was laid off. A lot of people who were overdue anyway chose to retire. The transitions above spanned 30 years.

The ILA union has avoided the fundamental technological revolution that the rest of the world has experienced since the computer and cell phone revolutionized all work processes. They have a monopoly due to the nature of their work and infrastructure and this makes them very susceptible for government intervention. No rational union member can argue that "automation" or modernization is "BAD" -- yet this is the theme of their walkout.

 

[ultrarunner]

How many of you took "Typing" in high school? When there were no computers or word processers? Who remembers the "magic" of the IBM Selectric "correcting" typewriter that would type "white-out" over your last letter typed? I had a Smith-Corona that could correct by swapping out the ink cartridge with a correction cartridge. This was state-of-the-art and pretty impressive at the time . . .

I took computer science in college. We used a card punch machine to record program language and then stacked that up into a card reader that executed one card at a time in a mainframe type computer. We had to wait in line behind other students in front of the actual device in order to insert our card deck. If there was an error, it would kick out the last card and the program would not execute. If the program ran, you got a printout on a dot-matrix printer. There was no disc drive storage or options for electronic output.

Like a lot of you . . . I started work when there were virtually no computers. There were no cell phones. There was no GPS. Everything we did was paper-based. Xerox copiers were our most modern office equipment.

I lived through the implementation of mainframe computer systems in the 80's / 90's. We had green-screen terminals and those applications were still used long after we moved to desktop PC's.

Desktop PC's opened up a lot of new applications -- mainly word processing and spreadsheet programs.

We started out with cellular bag-phones that were shared depending on who was on call. I probably had every variation of cell phone from the big bricks to the flip-phones to Blackberry and finally iPhones.

Throughout all this, the front-line workforce was included in the modernization. It took longer to adapt processes to the technology, but employee's went from working on paper to working on computers. They went from depending on two-way radios to cell phones. No one was laid off. A lot of people who were overdue anyway chose to retire. The transitions above spanned 30 years.

The ILA union has avoided the fundamental technological revolution that the rest of the world has experienced since the computer and cell phone revolutionized all work processes. They have a monopoly due to the nature of their work and infrastructure and this makes them very susceptible for government intervention. No rational union member can argue that "automation" or modernization is "BAD" -- yet this is the theme of their walkout.

Don't forget the facsimile or FAX machine which was viewed in awe...

 

[grsthegreat]

Whats a fax machine..ll i think only you old people know what that is

 

[CalG]

Since the topic header included "toilet paper", I was refreshing the roll just today, and noted that the bundle wrapper included the phrase "Longer lasting"/ Hmm... Longer than what?
And just how long is tp expected to last anyway? I expect it to last less than 10 seconds , but only AFTER it has fulfilled it's design function!

 

[ponytug]

Whats a fax machine..ll i think only you old people know what that is

Hmmm... visit Japan?

Fax machines are practically revered as honored ancestors there, and most government agencies require them;

Phasing out faxes faces fierce resistance from Japan's bureaucrats

After a government task force issued a notice telling ministries to abandon their fax machines, it was inundated with about 400 responses from officials.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Did you know that 2024 was the first year that the Japanese government allowed data to be submitted on something other than floppy disks, which stopped production in 2011?

Japan's government finally says goodbye to floppy disks

The use of the floppy disk, which was still used in some government agencies in Japan, has now been scrapped.

www.bbc.com

All the best,

Peter

 

[CalG]

Hmmm... visit Japan?

Fax machines are practically revered as honored ancestors there, and most government agencies require them;

Phasing out faxes faces fierce resistance from Japan's bureaucrats

After a government task force issued a notice telling ministries to abandon their fax machines, it was inundated with about 400 responses from officials.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Did you know that 2024 was the first year that the Japanese government allowed data to be submitted on something other than floppy disks, which stopped production in 2011?

Japan's government finally says goodbye to floppy disks

The use of the floppy disk, which was still used in some government agencies in Japan, has now been scrapped.

www.bbc.com

All the best,

Peter

What is the percentage of "old people" in Japan?

Might lead the world in that population.

 

[LHF2019]

As a dairy Farmer we worked 7 days a week with a short day starting at 5:00 AM and ending at 8:00 PM so I have no sympathy for someone working 80 hrs week. Highly doubt dock workers did more manual labor or operated equipment that was much more dangerous than farm equipment.

I had to do a quick calculation because a guy was bragging about working 72 hours a week after I told him I pulled a 56 hour day. He didn't get it. Had to tell him that was straight hours. Factory work and field work. never went home and never slept. That's when I decided it was time to start evaluate what I was doing. I completely forgot when I milked. Wish I hadn't. He would have come up 30 hours short of a "normal" dairy farm week.

When I was Cummins there were 2 others that were from farming backgrounds. One had a hard time walking and in his 60's. All the whining and complaining about the hours, having to work on a Saturday, the changing of start time because something broke came from everybody else. Every time I heard whining I would just tell them you know where the door is. I remember well the days turning on the barn lights in the morning only to find a water cup stuck and ran all night. You knew then it was going to be a bad day. You don't get to turn them off and somebody else goig to take care of it.

What size dairy?

 

[lman]

Hear, hear for the dairy farmer! I was one back when I had a strong back and a weak mind. As I got older I better understood why we sold everything when me and my five brothers left the farm. I also gained an appreciation for the good life we had growing up. I do not see how that could be recreated anywhere but a working farm.

The farm is still there and mom still lives there by herself at 90 years old but she has constant visitors from us all.

My sister's family still milk cows. They have to milk about 1,500 to keep ahead though. It's not even close to how it was when I worked for dairy farmers when I was a kid. The cows do still have 4 teats though.

 

[lman]

Don't forget the facsimile or FAX machine which was viewed in awe...

Yes I remember getting the first mug shot over fax at the Police Dept. I thought we made the big time. It was slightly better than just a physical description if you looked hard enough. That was back when we arrested somebody, the perps information was typed on a 3x5 card and put in the file.