# The Plight of Tubbs Snowshoes



## thetrailboss (Feb 17, 2005)

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/02/17/founded_in_ne_exported_to_china/

(Sigh) We talked about this a few months ago...what a real sad story.  Your comments?


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## bvibert (Feb 17, 2005)

Very sad...   Not only just this story, but the whole big picture...


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## ctenidae (Feb 17, 2005)

Sad, but it's the way of the world, and partially our own fault. There are a million other factors, but very simply, we all expect a raise every year. If everyone gets 5% more every year, that's 5% more money in the economy (not accounting for inflation caused by the extra money in the economy). More money leads to higher prices. Higher prices leads to desires for more money, which leads to, you guessed it, higher prices. It doesn't take long before labor costs get too high to maintain, and cheaper sources of labor have to be found. The unions did it to the car business and most of the rest of manufacturing. The unions absolutely served a purpose, adn were a good thing, but these days I think they're outdated, and exist soley to purpetuate themselves.
The world's changing. Our economy is changing. We have to be prepared to change with it. The good news is, there's been a bit of a pull back in job exporting (mostly in the tech fields), but it won't last- it's an adjustment to too-rapid movement as companies try to figure out how to do it right. K2's right, though- their competition moves to China, there's no other choice. You adapt and compete, or you go out of business. Last I checked, business is in the business of doing business, not losing money.


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## bvibert (Feb 17, 2005)

ctenidae said:
			
		

> The unions absolutely served a purpose, adn were a good thing, but these days I think they're outdated, and exist soley to purpetuate themselves.



I've thought that for a long time now...


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## riverc0il (Feb 17, 2005)

part of the problem with unions is the people that need them the least, have them the most.  the people that really need unions are exploited workers working minimum wage or forced to go under the radar to scrape by on a few bucks to raise a family.  the big union jobs now pay upper middle class dollars and squeeze business for every penny.

i am NOT anti-union, in a matter of fact i think there is not enough of a labor movement any more.  rather i think unions, as ctenidae put it so well "exist soley to purpetuate themselves" and grow the wealth of it's paying members instead of growing the labor movement (what movement actually).

though i disagree that expecting a raise every year should put company's out of business.  you acquire skills and knowledge through your years with a company and should be rewarded for your commitment which should mean better productivity and performance compared to joe shmoe off the street.  also, they need to keep the pay at level with experience lest the worker take their knowledge somewhere else and the compnay actually wastes more money training someone from scratch rather than paying a little extra to hold on to someone.


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## TeleGrrrl (Feb 17, 2005)

What a sad story. More jobs lost to the over competitive Chinese market. What will make the situation better?? Break up the unions? RiverCoil makes sone vaild points in stating the people who really need the support of a union (minimum wage workers) are not represented by one. Now more out of work VT'rs will be dependent on state assistance in order to survive, driving taxes up to meet their needs...viscious cycle...


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