Economic News Affecting St. John's

[statbass]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

So, now we know Statbass is a dentist...? lol

Not a dentist... good guess though.

[Marty_Mcfly]

A Law school would do MUN wonders. They've already sucked about 60% of Nova Scotia's secondary school students in to moving here, providing an opportunity to do law here would maybe draw a few more?

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by statbass

The Telegram
Feb 25, 2013
Author: Unknown



http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Loca...f-law-school/1

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

WOW! That would be awesome.

Yes, this would be awesome... if they did it a couple of years ago. I am currently looking into law, and have a couple of applications sent in, I am disappointed that this is only happening now.

That said, Lakehead in Thunder Bay and Thompson Rivers in Kamloops have both added law schools in the last 2 years. There is no reason MUN couldn't or shouldn't have a law school, especially since there are only 2 currently in Atlantic Canada.

[jeddy1989]

This isn't really economic but it's nice

New Radiation Technology for Cancer Centre

The Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Center received a boost today from Newfoundland Power. $350,000 was donated through the Power of Life foundation to the cancer care centre to go towards a brand new TrueBeam STx radiation machine. The province is one of three in the country that has this new technology, which will ensure better cancer care.

Jocelyn Perry, VP of Finance forn Newfoundland Power made the presentation at the Cancer Centre today...

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...31391&latest=1

[jeddy1989]

New Maps for Petroleum Exploration

The Department of Natural Resources is trying out a new way to identify areas for petroleum exploration. The department has released a series of maps of the province's west coast through the Offshore Geoscience Data Program. The maps are high resolution aeromagnetic maps of the west coast, and cover a portion of offshore western Newfoundland and the adjacent onshore area. The hope is that the maps will increase geological understanding of the island and generate interest within the industry.

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...31504&latest=1

[statbass]

VOCM
March 2, 2013
Author: Unknown

Professor of Economics, and as of last month, Senior Policy Adviser for this budget cycle with the provincial government, Wade Locke addressed the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association this morning in St. John's. Locke gave a presentation called "An Economic Perspective on Newfoundland and Labrador" in which Locke gave insight as to how the province is doing on many different fronts. Despite what some may believe, Locke says the future is still bright for Newfoundland and Labrador regardless of a looming $1.6 billion deficit. But the economist says there are two things the province needs to look at when moving forward. We are an aging population and Locke says because of that, medical costs for the province will skyrocket in the coming years, putting an even greater strain on the province's finances. The median age of working people is 45, and he says it costs $2500 to treat a person of that age. In twenty years, Locke predicts that figure to double. The second factor is labour challenges. Locke says with numerous resource projects on the horizon, the province will have to import labour because there are not enough workers here to fill the positions needed for mega-projects like Muskrat Falls. But he says we are a have province now, and will continue to be one for the next twenty years, given the revenues coming in from natural resources.

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...31556&latest=1

[SignalHillHiker]

More than 20, I hope.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

More than 20, I hope.

Me too!!!

[jeddy1989]

GOOD!!!

Big Deal for Multi-Media Company

A Mount Pearl-based multi-media production company has made a deal with the producers of The Walking Dead. Best Boy Entertainment has acquired copyright and production rights to "They Never Left", an action ghost thriller. The company plans on producing up to three films a year in the categories of low-budget horror, thriller, action and sci-fi - They Never Left would be the first in that series. Circle of Confusion of Los Angeles will provide Best Boy with American scripts, while the Mount Pearl company looks for Canadian material.

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...31720&latest=1

[statbass]

VOCM, March 11, 2013

The sentiment on the picket line at St. John's International is that six months is too long. Striking airport workers held a silent vigil inside the airport this afternoon to mark the 6-month mark. PSAC and CUPE flags were flying high today as 85 striking airport workers marched from their picket line to the airport, each with black material wrapped around their arms as a sign of mourning. One striker's sign read "black equals the death of fair wages." The strikers were joined in the silent vigil by NDP MHA's George Murphy and Gerry Rogers, MP Jack Harris - all of whom fly through Gander- Liberal MHA Eddie Joyce, CUPE President Wayne Lucas and Federation of Labour President Lana Payne.
...

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...31893&latest=1

[statbass]

VOCM, March 11, 2013.

Another one - I think this may have been posted in the SJ project thread as well.

The first piece of steel has been cut for the Hebron living quarters. Two modules will be built in the province while the a third, the DES, will be constructed outside Newfoundland and Labrador after government and ExxonMobil reached a deal to end a dispute over its construction -- a decision that cost the company $150-million. The engineering and fabrication of the topsides will be done at Metal World in Torbay, a project of NEAL and the Cahill Group of Companies. The module will weigh about three thousand tonnes, and be about 49 metres long, 20 metres wide, and seven floors high. President Fred Cahill says the work will be spread throughout the province. Cahill says enginnering is happening in Torbay and Argentia with final assembly set for Bull Arm. The Hebron field is about 350 kilometres southeast of St. John's, and holds an estimated 700 million barrels of oil. First oil is expected to be produced by the end of 2017.

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...31894&latest=1

[Trevor3]

Originally Posted by statbass

VOCM, March 11, 2013



http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?...31893&latest=1

I really think that it is in the workers best interests to cut their losses and go back to work. They obviously aren't as necessary to the airport's operations as they believed and the airport is getting along just fine without them. The only people that are hurting are the strikers and their families. The simple fact is, they probably won't recover what they've lost by striking before they retire. It's sad to think that families had to go through Christmas without/on reduced incomes. They aren't going to get the pay raise they want and they are really only hurting themselves by staying out this long.

[Townie709]

I agree 100%. The strike is pointless and just plain annoying now. The workers are only hurting themselves at this point.

[PoscStudent]

Well the strikers pay probably isn't much different now then if they were working. However, I don't understand why they are on strike. They have been offered a huge raise and will be paid more then others in their field who work with the province, the city and Mount Pearl.

Interesting as well is that there have been some questionable things that have happened at the airport, like the urinals in the men's washroom all breaking, that some think may have been done by the unions. I'm surprised they haven't been legislated back to work, I'm sure in a bigger airport they would have been.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

Well the strikers pay probably isn't much different now then if they were working. However, I don't understand why they are on strike. They have been offered a huge raise and will be paid more then others in their field who work with the province, the city and Mount Pearl.

Interesting as well is that there have been some questionable things that have happened at the airport, like the urinals in the men's washroom all breaking, that some think may have been done by the unions. I'm surprised they haven't been legislated back to work, I'm sure in a bigger airport they would have been.

Yeah, personally I think the union are on their last legs now. After striking for 6 months and airport is still operational - that doesn't bode well for them.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

Well the strikers pay probably isn't much different now then if they were working. However, I don't understand why they are on strike. They have been offered a huge raise and will be paid more then others in their field who work with the province, the city and Mount Pearl.

Interesting as well is that there have been some questionable things that have happened at the airport, like the urinals in the men's washroom all breaking, that some think may have been done by the unions. I'm surprised they haven't been legislated back to work, I'm sure in a bigger airport they would have been.

It's greed. Why not strike until you get paid more than the CEO? The same thing happened during the Metrobus strike.

The union needs to cut its losses here and get back to work before the airport realizes that these workers are necessary.

[Copes]

The union has done its members a huge disservice.

As far as I am concerned, the constant rejecting of good offers is nothing sort of greed and an attempt to justify the existence of the union at all. The days of unions being necessary for the rights of workers are long passed, given the existence of minimum wage standards, employment health and safety standards, etc. etc. No one is dying on train tracks anymore or being paid so little they can't afford to eat.

So now, Unions need to ensure that they always get more. Every round of collective bargaining, they need to get more than the last round, or they appeared to have failed. It's an unsustainable cycle of needing more.

In this case, the union has demanded so much that the Airport simply can't budge and give in. They've tried to be reasonable... they've tried to be more than reasonable, but the union has rejected everything. So what happens? The airport reaches a point where they have no choice but to say "fine, we'll carry on without you." And guess what... they're carrying on just fine. Maybe it's not optimal... maybe there are some dirty bathrooms, but the bottom line is I am willing to bet that the airport is looking at this and saying "wow, we don't need all 85 of them to run this place." They probably need half that number.

I fully expect a round of layoffs to come down the pipe in the next year or two after all this is settled. They won't do it right away, but I'd say their eyes have been opened as to exactly how much excess exists. Maybe that's the solution. Hack the group in half and then offer higher wages to those that stay.

I say fire them all and hire new people who will work for what is fair. Hell, raise the salaries a couple bucks and hire the best of the best. That's capitalism. Supply and demand. If one service worker will only work for $18.00 / hour, but there is someone equally as qualified who will do it for $15.00... you hire the guy willing to work for $15.00. Maybe next time buddy at $18.00 won't overestimate what he's worth.

Standing on a picket line for six months doesn't mean that someone is worth and extra $5.00 an hour all of a sudden. Proving that you're the best at what you do, whatever the job, is what makes you irreplaceable and worth a raise.

I have no time for this strike, I very much dislike MOST unions, and I fully support cutting the lot of them and hire folks who want the work and will appreciate the job they have at the airport.

[BigRedSpecial]

I don't like to get involved in pro/anti union debates normally, but I will say this... While many unions do regularly overstep their bounds, they will always be necessary. A quick look at what's been happening on the federal level over the last few years should show how quickly many of our protections could (and would) be repealed.

For the record, I'm not in a union, and have no desire to be. BUT, I'm glad others are, if only to provide a counter to industry's wishes to return to the glory days of the industrial revolution.

[SignalHillHiker]

Great post, Copes. I definitely agree with your sentiment.

That said, I consider myself generally pro-union and would rather see them reformed (since I am not blind to the very significant disadvantages they come with) than disbanded (since I fear those disadvantages more). My only fear is that we end up like the Americans where, in just a few decades, CEOs have gone from earning dozens of dollars per every one their average worker earns, to earning thousands of dollars per every one their average worker earns. That I don't want to see here.

People on the top deserve to earn more - significantly more - I've no problem with that. But it's lower/middle class income that fuels our economy and makes us a generally nice place to live.

Getting rid of unions, to me, has a danger of playing out like... "I haven't beaten my wife since she got a restraining order. So, obviously, we don't need the restraining order anymore."

[Copes]

Originally Posted by BigRedSpecial

I don't like to get involved in pro/anti union debates normally, but I will say this... While many unions do regularly overstep their bounds, they will always be necessary. A quick look at what's been happening on the federal level over the last few years should show how quickly many of our protections could (and would) be repealed.

For the record, I'm not in a union, and have no desire to be. BUT, I'm glad others are, if only to provide a counter to industry's wishes to return to the glory days of the industrial revolution.

I won't engage you in debate given your desire to avoid it, but let me be clear regarding my opinion. I have no problems with the concept of Unions. I have major issue with their policies, how they are run, how they act, and what they demand from what I have witnessed in recent years when I have been paying attention. I believe in a worker's right to collective bargaining, but I feel that today's unions are largely unreasonable and inefficient and a negative addition to the overall running of a private entity.

But no, I'm not for wiping all of them out and reverting back to the industrial revolution either. That system was more flawed. If only a little.