SC's most "evil" companies

[monsoon]

Many illegal aliens "afford" these jobs because they are living here separated from their families back at home for months at a time, and they live in over crowded conditions that are many times against the local zoning laws.

Are you saying that Americans, living in the largest economy in the USA, should be forced to live in these type of conditions now?

[Rural King]

The need for unions and what a company can pay is an important factor. If an employer can only pay a certian wage to make a "reasonable profit", thats one thing; its another if the sole purpose of keeping low wages is to make more profits, or due to unfair foreign trade laws that allows a company's competitors to use un-competatively cheap foreign labor sources with less enviromental, health, and safety laws.

MANY employers are being forced to relocate good paying jobs overseas to compete, even if they would like to remain in the US. Thats not a bad thing, its a sign of a bad trade policy.

Many companies show that good wages can be paid and profits still be made. Costco can do it in the service sector, and foreign auto-manufacturers show it can be done in the manufacturing sector. Many of these companies have their employees vote against unions. Why? Because they aren't needed.

Unions have a place in a fair trade environment when employers are unwilling to pay appropriate wages and benefits for work rendered. I think its that simple.

The current problem is two fold. Unfair trade policies pushed by many corporations, and by a demand to drive up share-holder value and/or profits by any means, ie holding down wages and benefits and outsourcing.

Something is wrong when states, regions, cities, and towns root for a foreign firm to set up a non-union factory in their town more than a domestic one, because the jobs will be better in all regards in many foreign plants than domestic ones. Their is just a different mind-set in what many American corporations are operating under compared to their first-world counterparts in Asia and Europe.

There are also poorly ran unions, who do demand to much and won't negotiate in times of need of their empoyer. So the problem can be on both sides of the equation.

IMO though their is a need for unions in the modern US economic environment, but more so we need better trade laws, which is a even greater problem for the US worker.

This is much more concise then my first post. LOL

[waccamatt]

Nice balanced post, rural.

[digital_sandlapper]

I know this string may have died down, perhaps because the transit strike did. I just wanted to reply since I just joined, and couldn't last year when it was brought up . . .

I lived in Hartsville for 7 years in the late 80s to 1994. I witnessed its renaissance first-hand, and even sat on a city sub-committee to help. I worked for Coker College at the time. Wal-Mart came to town during this time, locating on the outskirts of town. It stayed there for approximately 10 years, then leapfrogged to a new location as they often do, to build a "super" one. The prior location still sits abandoned and weedy.

This event had VERY little to do with Hartsville's renaissance. As I pointed out above, the "new and improved" W-M you see now in Hartsville was just a relocation from another site. Hartsville is quite cosmopolitan for its size, mostly due to having both Sonoco, a Fortune 500 corporation, and a thriving liberal arts college (Coker) in its midst. The citizenry of this smart town came together in an iniative fostered by good local government, the Governor's School, the arts community, Sonoco, the downtown development group, Coker, etc., to take the town into a new and prosperous future. The result was the streetscaping, business incentives, flourishing cultural life, re-development of Coker Dept. store site into a YMCA, historic district designations, addition of a Heritage Trust site across from Kalmia Gardens (and its development taking off), and capturing the coveted "All-America City" title, to name but a few.

So, Wal-Mart deserves no credit for this. All small towns of a decent size get a Wally-Mart, regardless. If a catalyst has to be named, then perhaps it was Sonoco's smart investment in the then booming grocery sack business, and/or the arrival of the Governor's School. But not the discount mass merchandiser down the street . . .

Just wanted to set the record straight on that--didn't mean to get off subject so. Hey, I agree: its B&C that's the most evil in the state. Let's not get back into arguing over labor unions, outsourcing, etc. Let's leave that to another thread . . Very good debate, though.

[Spartan]

That post is appreciated. I also appreciate having a local view in this matter

[digital_sandlapper]

With the news that B&C is DARING to close a S.C. institution, the Pavilion, their far-and-away Number 1 ranking as the most evil S.C. company is ASSURED!

They just can't do this--The Pavilion is not theirs, but belongs to all South Carolinians (and visitors from all over). This is the straw that has broken the camel's back!