Heard in the Hall

WAY TO GO GOODE!!!

Why waste the money on "hearings," "supoenas," etc. when all you have to do is make all of Philly open shop. Most big cities are.

Open shop means that the builder can hire union people, or not hire union people, and non-union construction workers are overwhelmingly minority.

I've interviewed both myself, and the are remarkably similar in skills, qualifications, and risk of personal issues reoccurring that could interfere with their work.

Closed shop has no place in a competitive economy -- taxpayers save on building costs, minority participation is easy to fulfill, -- the only downside is to the local Democratic party who risks that kick back, ahem, contribution, from the labor unions.

So, to wrap -- cleaner government, less pay to play, more minority participation, less costs to build to taxpayers -- why are we still closed shop again?

Wilson Goode, Jr. and his peers are making a sham bid for minority participation in building trades work. Hire non union, and bingo bango, you immediately compete on cost and have lots of people of color on the job.

It's not hard; don't make it hard. My jobs in Philly reflect the racial composition 1:1 of the area. I don't hire union. It's a freak show, half the time, and a waste. Picket me. I love it. Freaks.

I hire people who want to work, not who want to tell me how I should do my job.

No one ever hires union except the pols who want their donation. This soaks the taxpayer, and makes building public works projects in Philly expensive.

Net: less "affordable housing," fewer new schools with crazy newfangled ideas like central air. This town is a freak show of useless, utterly useless, deluded, sad pols. Uh, W.G., bad news. Your nephew really is a crack dealer. What a complete freak.

Do you want a city or a crap hole? Looks like WG, Jr. votes for crap hole, once again.

Wilson Goode, your nephew really truly was a crack dealer with a gun. Sorry police had to shoot him for refusing to comply, but if you wanted him to get work and not turn to the street corner drug trade, you should have dropped this BS union only hiring.

You are the reason people like him turn to sell crack -- the jobs here are too political because the city is closed shop (union only).

Hire non union = hiring minorities who do the job just fine without having to pay crazy dues and do ridiculous things like go to political rallies and pose as supporters.

Sham. What else is a sham? That the press can't seem to write about it honestly. Interview some contractors, and some politically active observers not wedded to the Dems and their "union no matter how bad" mentality.

New day, same sham.

Why don't most members of these out of control unions live in Philadelphia?

They are hit and run - ruin our economy and quality of life, and then run home to the suburbs.

Make Philadelphia a competitive open-shop and put these unions in their place once and for all!

WHEREAS you only have to hire non union people to hire minorities,

WHEREAS the democrats are only interested in getting that hefty labor political contribution,

WHEREAS closed shop union hiring raises costs for taxpayers on public projects like schools, housing, convention center expansion, new municipal buildings that don't leak etc.,

WHEREAS the federal government thinks it is spending way too much on the block grants that fund affordable housing and urban renewal projects compared to the cost of private construction and is giving cities less money as a result and making them do things in a more cost effective manner as a result

BE IT RESOLVED that the city has to do something different besides try to force the unions to do something they will never do and go around them by making all of Philly OPEN SHOP.

Problem solved. Cost to taxpayers: NOT A DIME.

Dingbats. I SWEAR TO GOD.

Why don't most members of these out of control unions live in Philadelphia?

They are hit and run - ruin our economy and quality of life, and then run home to the suburbs.

Make Philadelphia a competitive open-shop and put these unions in their place once and for all!

Amen. At a John Street rally, you had nothing but a bunch of white guys whose trucks had out of state tags. I said, you people don't even live here. Their response: "JOHN STREET; JOHN STREET; JOHN STREET!"

Boneheads. All those pretty trucks need a crowbar. Stay home and work if you're so great. Why isn't Jersey and Delaware hiring you? There are plenty of corrupt pols you can root for in Jersey. We really don't need you anymore.

OPEN SHOP TODAY.

BE IT RESOLVED that Wilson Goode's relatives need open shop so they'll quit selling drugs and turning tail to run from police.

Ultimate irony: Goode's nephew could have been working a legit job in his trade if Philly was open shop.

Uncle's response? Long, protracted, likely ultimately useless legal proceedings to gain concessions from unions.

Why are we so hog-tied by them? Why do taxpayers have to spend money on hearings to gain concessions from unions?

Come ON.

How many dead black kids who are trained in a trade does it take before their black politicians (and relatives) open shop?

If you people don't think that hiring non union is a powerful force against drugs, you don't know the construction business.

My contractor will go and get his guys if they fall of the wagon, and will bring them to work. I've come to my job site and my contractor is SCREAMING at someone to get cleaned up, and tears are STREAMING down the face of the laborers. "You IDIOT, I took a chance on you and you are going to do me like that? Look at you? Is this what you want to be?" Shakes head no. "I need you!" I chime in, "Yes, we need you, seriously. Things really bog down..." "Don't you speak to him until he is worth hearing from you! Are you worth hearing from?" Shakes head yes. "GET BACK TO YOUR JOB then!" I gave him some Alleve, and some hot strong coffee, and a breakfast bar.

If they sell drugs, we don't hire them, though, unless they are truly truly out. If I see them on a corner, screech, I stop dead, and start yelling. "Don't you DARE sell drugs if you work for me, I'll KILL you!" They take off like rabbits. That's intervention, baby. Sell drugs, goodbye. You can't do that if you hire union.

My contractor (and I) LOVE our people. They are great. We're not just going to throw them away or let them throw themselves away. And, unlike Mr. Goode and family, we're not going to choose to be blind. Blind to the risk of drugs and alcohol to the working class and especially to the minority working class -- it's a daily issue for us non union builders.

Look around and see the 40 drinkers and users, the sellers, the former dealers, and see how many of them are specked with paint and drywall compound. To quote my now clean super laborer, "Them boys be workin' -- FINE-LEE!"

Non union with its freer rules and lower costs lets us do this kind of thing.

Pardon me while I go check on my people, and plan my next project.

I have nothing to add.

Make Philadelphia open shop and the problem is solved. Now you can hire anyone you want.

Under the circumstances, this is the "nicest" think Goode could do. "Not making nice" would be hiring outside unions for city business.

Why the press seems oblivious to this ploy is a little bit too much. The Ink is always too breathily surprised at pass fakes.

Me thinkith you guys probably have more of an idea that hiring non union would immediately result in better minority numbers, and that the unions would not have to have "hearings" to start counting how much minority participation they have.

Waste of time and money in order to pretend to be hard on pet democratic contributors when it's really just a soft underhanded toss -- is that really good journalism? Fair, even, unbiased?

it would take time to make Philly open shop and they need to start CC construction soon. I dont know why everyone is blaming Goode for this, at least he is trying to do something to change the status quo. While its pretty much standard for "anonymous" posters to post borderline racist information on here it should be noted that Goode's nephew (or whomever) has nothing to do with this. And let's not forget our Governor (he is white BTW) has shown no interest in open shop or minority participation in the unions. He seems to be saying he wants construction to start ASAP no matter what. Let's not forget he and Street stepped in to make the open shop proposal disappear. The truth of the matter is most large non union contractors wouldnt want to be bothered with a large projetc in Philly due to the hassles of dealing with Johnny Doc and Gillespie. Would you waste your time here dealing with pickets and threats and property damage just because the City suddenly said "we are now open shop"? These unions guys wont just disappear if you utter those words.

anonymous,

Did you bother to read Ferrick's pieces on why unions dont make sense in Philly? He has done three of them in recent weeks. If you are going to criticize the paper you should at least pay attention to what they write. When has the Inquirer EVER been pro buildint trades? Do you even read the paper? Based on your comments I am guessing the answer is "no".

"We need jobs" is the response to the drug trade. Ok, then, Mr. Goode, can ya open up the shop to the competition that brings jobs? Might have saved your nephew, and I have a hunch that he wasn't the only kid with technical training in your family who fills in his union down time with street dealing.

Doing the same thing over and over and over again even when it's obvious it's not working: insanity. A ticket to self-immolation.

""We need jobs" is the response to the drug trade. Ok, then, Mr. Goode, can ya open up the shop to the competition that brings jobs? Might have saved your nephew, and I have a hunch that he wasn't the only kid with technical training in your family who fills in his union down time with street dealing."

when did Goode ever say union jobs would end the drug trade? If you are going to have high paying monopolized labor in the city then city residents should get a decent portion of the jobs. Many people out here know how to do the work, they just need to get into the unions. I know its shocking, but there are some minorities that know how to do more than sell drugs. There are black plumbers, carpenters, electricians, etc. You just wont find them at union job sites making $30 an hour.

Problem is city council wants minorities to get the inflated wages that a monopoly within the city gives union workers... and to continue getting campaign contributions from them.

Making the city open shop wouldn't give them those two things. They apparently don't care about the cost of construction and doing business in the city, or the effect it has on the its economy and competitiveness.