The truth behind IAM 933...

Here in Tucson, the International Association of Machinists, Lodge #933 are on strike from my place of work. They claim that the company is increasing their medical costs and not directly increasing their pay to compensate. They claim that some employees will not be able to pay their rent or buy food after paying for their medical coverage, and that a MAJORITY of them will be below the poverty line due to this increase in medical coverage.

I am here to tell you all that THEY ARE WRONG!

The IAM #933 are striking for selfish reasons, and are the personification as to why I believe unions have completely served their purpose and are only hurting industry at this point in history. Every 3 years we have a potential strike because the union thinks that the company is giving the employees the shaft. First lets talk about the previous deal:

4.2% increase in pay over 3 years

That's it! No changes to medical coverage, no changes to anything, and one minor loop hole about overtime (see later). This was acceptable. The new deal:

9% increase in pay over 3 years
Increase in medical premiums
No more automatic double time on Sundays

According to the union PR machine, the 9% is an insult and the union would never accept such a pitiful increase in pay. YOU ACCEPTED IT BEFORE! I know for a FACT, that the real reason for the strike was due to the change in double pay on Sundays. In the previous contract, there was verbage that stated that if you worked on Sunday that you automatically got double time, reguardless of your current hours. So you could work 2 x 8 hour days, and then then 12 hours on Sunday to get your pay. While I think this is outrageous, and patently stupid, it gets worse. Work 4 x 10 hour days (40 hours) then take Friday and Saturday off, then come in on Sunday and work 8-10 hours and they get charged at time and a half (for overtime) and an additional times two for it being Sunday. It makes working Sunday equivalant to a 3/4 weeks pay! Is there anyone out there that does not think this is patently rediculous!!?!

Finally, I know for a fact that the lowest member of IAM #933 makes as much as I did when I started. While I won't go into details, it is FAR from the poverty line, and considering the low cost of living in Tucson, it is a very, very good starting pay. In the end, I hope the company does not cave into the demands. Actually I hope the cave into the medical demands just to prove that the union is being greedy and its members won't work without a stupid loophole.

So I hope everyone in Tucson reads this. I hope people start asking questions, and I REALLY hope that people will learn the truth behind this strike and instead of looking at me like I am a giant cold sore, will look at the picketers and realize how greedy and stupid they are being.

Game On!

Top 10 lists...

Many of my friends have listed a top 10 (or 100) movies of all time. Unfortunately, I have missed a great number of movies in my adolescent and teenage years, so I must go a slightly different route...

I am going to make a list of my Top 10 TV episodes of all time. I might eventually expand it to 50 or 100, but for now it is my Top 10. I welcome comments and suggestions. Be warned there be spoilers ahead!

10) Babylon 5; Z'ha'dum - If you never watched Babylon 5 you won't understand why this episode is HUGE. The lead character gets a visit from his wife (assumed dead) while sleeping with his current girlfriend. Both the station commander and head of security disappear. The greatest enemy of our time surrounds our stronghold. A meeting with the leaders of the enemy for the first time. I can go on, but this episode was what hooked me for 2 more seasons and forced me to pay more attention to the previous episodes.

9) CSI - Identity Crisis - I know I have two CSI episodes on here, but they are both great for different reasons. In this episode Grissom faces off with his nemesis; the one that got away. The episode makes you wonder if what you are looking at is true or if Grissom is just slowly going insane... I really enjoyed this episode.

8) CSI - Play with Fire - In this episode there is a few injuries and one that causes one of the main characters to be hospitalized. I liked this episode the best because of the response of people after 'the event' and the attention to detail they made to how 'the event' happened. I jump just a little each time I see this episode, even when I know it's coming.

7) Star Trek: The Next Generation; The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1 - I have to admit that this episode would be much lower on the list (probably out of the top 10) if I had to include the part 2 of this episode as well. But seeing Patrick Stewart in the Borg makeup gives me shivers even today. This is the first ever episode that I screamed at my TV over when I saw Locutus for the first time. I think that this episode is why First Contact is the best of the newer Star Trek movies, and has a lot to do with why I am a Star Trek fan today.

6) Battlestar Galactica; Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2 - This episode is a changing of the guard, and that is all I can really say without spoiling it all. Just watch this episode.

5) Buffy, The Vampire Slayer; Once More With Feeling - Go ahead. Get those laughs out of your system. This is the 'singing' episode and it is very well done. I did not watch it when it was on TV, but this episode is one that I will watch and day I need a pick me up. The songs are well done and clever, and stand well on their own. (I even have a few in my iPod) When taken in context of the rest of that season, and the events of the previous season, this easily cracks the top 5 of my list. I will need to watch all these again to make sure I like this order. Of these episodes this is one that might actually move up from 5th the more I watch it.

4) Lost; Two for the Road - See, I assumed that Michael was not 'right' in the head. I assumed that he was hiding something. But I did not see THAT coming. This episode was a regular really good episode with THAT at the end. While a number of Lost episodes will make it on my list (if I expand it to 50 or 100), this one stands just a little above the rest in my mind.

3) Firefly; Serenity - Firefly is the best TV series ever. No ifs, ands or buts. This episode started it all, and in addition to portraying the story and characters it was witty, and a classic Joss episode. All of the actors delivered a perfect performance, and I can find no flaws with this episode. FOX really screwed up not showing this episode first, as I am of the opinion that this show would STILL be on the air if they had not screwed it up.

2) M*A*S*H; Abyssinia, Henry - If you are a M*A*S*H fan like I am, you will know that there are a number of emotional episodes, others that are slap-knee funny, and others that are just filler. This episode is the departure of the base commander. He was one of the guys, and a father figure to more than a few of the younger enlistees. While much of what M*A*S*H is about is anti-war propaganda, this was the first time in my life that I thought a friend of mine could die in a war. I know its silly, but this episode still registers with me even today

1) Star Trek Deep Space Nine; In The Pale Moonlight - In TV, characters die, they leave the show, they have good days and they have bad days, but rarely on TV does a good character go EVIL. Everyone knew that Garak was a shady character, but Sisko was this pure, loyal, worshiped character who could do no wrong, or at least no EVIL. But not only does he turn EVIL and commits to murder for the greater good, he at the end of the episode expresses no remorse and the greater good has been served. I was floored when I watched this episode. I saw it live, and couldn't wait until tomorrow when I could see it again, and when I bought the DVDs it was the first episode that I really wanted to watch again. There is no other episode that I like to watch over this episode. At least not yet... =)

Currently just missing the list: Firefly; Objects in Space

Game On!