Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Caterpillar racks up huge profits while Electro-Motive lockout continues

In the midst of an ugly labour dispute with workers at its London, Ont. subsidiary Electro-Motive, U.S. construction and mining equipment giant Caterpillar is still racking up big profits.

The Illinois-based company announced Thursday that fourth-quarter earnings jumped 60 per cent. Caterpillar reported net income of $1.55 billion (all figures U.S.), or $2.32 per share, up from $968 million, or $1.47 per share last year.

Caterpillar locked out 500 workers at Electro-Motive after they rejected a contract offer that would have cut average wages at the plant from $35 per hour to $16.50 per hour.

The latest earnings release shows that Caterpillar had its best year-over-year profit increase since 1947, said Mike Moffatt, an economist at the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey School of Business.

“This isn’t a situation like the auto manufacturers a few years ago where they were asking for concessions because the survival of the company was at stake. Caterpillar is earning a lot of money,” said Moffatt.

The concessions Caterpillar is trying to get from its workers would make little difference to the company’s bottom line, Moffatt said.

“In the larger Caterpillar picture, Electro-Motive is just so small. The difference they’re talking about with their workers is about $20 million to $30 million. For Caterpillar, that would be like you or I looking between the couch cushions and finding a quarter,” said Moffatt.

Original Article
Source: Star 
Author: Josh Rubin 

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