Add It Up:Joblessness
January 28, 2008 at 5:00 am by Andisheh Nouraee in Add it upU.S. unemployment rate in November 2007: 4.7 percent
U.S. unemployment rate in December 2007: 5.0 percent
Months since such a large increase in unemployment was recorded in single month: 73
Months since the 9/11 attacks: 74
Georgia’s December 2007 unemployment rate: 4.6 percent
Unemployed persons in Georgia: 236,454
Approximate weekly unemployment insurance benefit for someone laid off from full-time job paying $10/hour: $138
Portion of that $138 owed in state and federal income taxes: $22
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Georgia Department of Labor, National Employment Law Project
January 28th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Yes, that is a shame, and not counted on ones who’s unemployment benefits have expired. But most of the southern states are anti-union. That part alone keeps decent wages down. And most southern states are for the GOP, who hate unions.
Someday, hopefully, the people who are receiving such low wages will wake up. They, and they alone, have the ability to change things in their area.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Yes, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the south were as unionized as Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania where traditional union jobs (manufacturing, sklled trades, transportation) are so plentiful these days.
I wonder why union membership has fallen so dramatically over the years, especially in those economic and geographical areas where membership is often compulsory?
In the auto industry Mercedes, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Saturn, BMW, Kia and Hyundai have flocked to the South, while Ford and GM shuttered their assembly plants here in Atlanta. Same workers, schools, taxes, cost of living, etc. Part of the GM problem was bad product, but Ford built the Taurus, one of the top selling cars of all time here in Hapeville, so why close it down? It was old and inefficient, so changes are hampered by union clauses and cost problems. Profit was continually negotiated out of the company by the UAW over a 30 year period, so there were no reserves or credit available to modernize. Pensions were mandated, rather than self-investing, and their cost became overwhelming. The same situation killed the steel industry in Birmingham when the inflexibility prevented modernization to compete with Japanese “mini mills” in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Those jobs routinely paid line level workers $ 50k/year in the late 70’s. I rememebr layoffs that would put 2,000 men out of work at a time. Unemployment in the USA was around 14%, Birmingham was well over 20%.
I lived in Birmingham when the Mercedes plant was opened and only moved to ATL four years ago. I know a LOT of people who work for Mercedes over a long period of time, as well as the people who brought the plant to Alabama. Mercedes in Alabama is now union shop (IAW) with optional union membership due to Alabama’s right-to-work status. Second year workers earn about $ 48,000 per year (before overtime or production bonuses), plus benefits, cheap vehicles ($ 400/month for a Mercedes SUV) and a training trip to Germany. This puts them on par with union workers in other auto manufacturing plants in the US and Germany, factor in cost of living with quality of life and they are far ahead of a similar wage in Detroit. The UAW has been unable to organize Mercedes and the IAW came in later because the employees were paid and treated well from the very beginning. Is that becasue they want to keep out the union or becasue they are a smart employer? Probably a little of both. I think the unions played a role in both.
I thought low wages attracted jobs, shouldn’t that boost employment in GA?
I am not totally anti-union, but they are no magic bullet and they have significant .