Peri Hartman via EV wrote:
there would be fewer workers from longshoremen to rig drivers and,
therefore, the unions would fight hard against it.
EVDL Administrator via EV wrote:
I'm not so sure. After 40 years of union busting, it seems to me that other
than police unions, US unions don't have much remaining power.
They may not have much power, but there are millions of people in this
"powerless" group.
This is a problem throughout the world. It's not limited to truck
drivers, or coal miners, or factory workers or farmers. In a
fast-changing world, what do you do with the displaced workers?
The big-government answer is basically to ignore them, and hope they go
away. The politicians may *talk* about retraining or keeping factories
open or creating jobs; but they aren't actually doing it.
The big-industry answer is to grow, Grow, GROW. If they get bigger, they
say it will create jobs. But the jobs are either low-wage drones/slaves,
or highly-educated positions for a tiny number of young people who
happen to be highly motivated in the fields the company needs.
I think a big reason for the world-wide populist movement is that people
are sick and tired of being ignored and left out by big-government and
big-business's ideas for "progress".
But for better and/or worse, human costs have never stopped progress. They
certainly don't when large, wealthy corporations stand to gain still more
wealth from such progress.
Much as I hate to see people hurt, if human costs stopped progress, we'd
have precious little of the latter.
We can all see the problem, but we're not so good at finding answers.
It seems to me that it's a "sheeple" problem (to borrow a phrase from
Bob Rice). Sheeple think the farmer is their friend; he feeds them,
protects them, and does all their thinking for them. But in fact, he is
*using* them for his own benefit. The sheeple have no freedom, get as
little as possible, are fleeced at every opportunity, and then
slaughtered when it suits the farmer.
Governments and businesses are aimed at creating a monoculture, where
everything and everyone is alike, all across the world. They are
creating a disposable society; use it up, throw it out, buy a new one.
Humans are treated the same way; use *us* up, and throw *us* out;
replacements are cheap and easy to find.
Things won't change until people recognize that they aren't sheep; they
have to stop relying on big government and big business to take care of
them. Educate yourself, make your own jobs, find your own way to live.
Carve out your own ecological niche. Find something you like, and get
*good* at it.
To bring this back around, if a truck driver feels underpaid and cheated
by the company he is working for, he can buy his own truck and become
independent. I know a couple truckers; and they make a better living
this way than working for someone.
If EV trucks become practical, the independents may be among the first
to embrace them. It gives them a competitive edge via fuel and
maintenance savings.
The same could apply to railroad workers. The US rail industry has been
stagnant for decades. Some new innovations could lead to an expolosive
growth, much as the transition from steam to diesel did almost a century
ago.
Think local; think global; but above all, THINK
Lee Hart
--
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
-- Leonard Cohen, from "Anthem"
--
Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com
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