Qantas takes a stand

Unions have outlived their usefulness.

Back in the beginning of Industrialization, when workers were treated poorly, paid next to nothing and put their lives on the line each time they went to work, labor unions were necessary. Bosses and management abused workers, not
allowing bathroom breaks, firing if they missed a day or had to leave early, and (in the tragic case of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory) locked them inside during work hours.

We don't have these issues today.

Today, unions ensure terrible teachers remain in the classroom, unqualified workers make obscene amounts of money for talking on their cell phones and surfing the Internet, and union workers enjoy a quick marijuana and beer break before going back to the factory to make your vehicles.

Remember in the early 1980s when the air traffic controllers went on strike? They wanted better working conditions, better pay and a 32-hour work week. The answer was "no way", so when they went on strike, President Ronald Reagan demanded they return to work in 48 hours or they would lose their jobs. About 1% of them returned to work. The rest, as promised, were fired and prohibited from ever working for the federal government again. Good for you, Ronnie!

And now, a major corporation has taken a stand against unreasonable union demands. Qantas, the largest airline in Australia has grounded its entire fleet because of a union strike. Here are some excerpts from their website:

Qantas will stop all domestic and international flights from 5pm (AEDT) on Saturday 29 October until further notice. This is in response to the damaging industrial action by three unions - the Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA), the Australian International Pilots Association (AIPA) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU).

Qantas is providing a full refund for any flights cancelled due to the industrial action. Customers

can also rebook their flights for a later date.

Due to the significant nature of this disruption and the uncertainty as to how long the grounding will last, we are only able to manage customer bookings on a day-by-day basis.

We understand that this will have a significant impact on our customers and apologise for the inconvenience that the damaging union action has caused. We thank you for your understanding and continued support.

Good for Qantas! I am sorry they are losing approximately $2M per day, but taking a stand like this is unfortunately necessary to remind union leaders who ultimately is boss. The people who suffer the most are the union members. The union leaders continue to get paid, and I guarantee that dues will not suffer during this time.

Again, I say, good for Qantas. The next time I go to Australia, I am going to fly Qantas. Assuming I can, of course. Until they can get my business, they will have my respect.