Comments on: Union tries to organize IBM workers

By: JG

JG — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:09:50 +0000

And….it makes no difference to me if IBM workers unionize or not.

What is needed is for IBM management to wake up and do the right thing.

It is not just AIG management that is thinking only of bonus dollars.

By: JG

JG — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:48:42 +0000

Furthermore, this has nothing to do with keeping your skills up and competitive. It is assumed you will do that. This has only to do with $$$.

The truth is IBM is hiring kids fresh out of school in most cases that do not
have the skills or system knowledge that you have.

And it will be tough to compete because these countries manipulate monetary policy, taxes, import/export rules, and in many cases provide a substantial
investment in education.

Just for the record, I have never been employed or laid off by IBM. However this is especially a time when Americans should invest in America. And IBM is showing its true colors.

By: JG

JG — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:28:52 +0000

Overall, I’d have to say I have never been more ashamed of American business management than I have been lately. From greed on wallstreet to an overall
reluctance for American business to invest in America.

I tip my hat to Paul Otellini, CEO at Intel, for trying to invest more in America. Where have our values gone?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:14:17 +0000

They love China too: sold them laptop brand Think Pad.

By: JG

JG — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:06:31 +0000

IBM is Anti-American….They should be banned from participating in any USA
infrastructure projects. If they like India so much move there.

By: BJ

BJ — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:23:44 +0000

I have worked for IBM for many years. Too many years. It sucks, the management makes it suck, they suck, they are not trustworthy and do not deserve much respect. The entire place needs to unionize.

By: DCK

DCK — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:43:20 +0000

As a European, I’ve the feeling that outside Europe, the me-myself-and-I way off thinking is your culture. If I have a job, if I have money, If I’am the best and so on, there is no problem. But one day, you are not the best anymore as we all on a certain day will be beaten by a younger and better one because we become old, or we got a ill (like I do), or we got family trouble, or the economy is hitting us hard by people who played a little to much with our money on the stock exchange without taking responsibilities for the Society. If this is the world I live today in, a world were everything is possible for the best only, I think, this world is realy realy sick. The point is that the Union has a social role in the world to protect also the weak people and people in trouble and to regulate and controle that social and human rules are applied. Ofcourse you can destroy and eliminate the Unions and just let survive the fittest and strongest like the animals in the nature but I’m human. If being human may not be accepted anymore, then, perhaps, we are on the basis of World War III were the fittest will survive. Planet Earth is in big danger. We can’t ignore the scientific facts. The time is there to change the system. The current monetary system is not working anymore. Like we have hospitals for ill people, we need Unions for people in troubles to protect them and to get them back on track. I know, Europe is a social part in the world. But I think we will survive and not I will survive.

By: JD

JD — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:27:55 +0000

The comment #8 by Rolando was absolutely correct. As an IBMer myself, I am exactly as loyal to IBM as IBM is to me. As soon as it becomes more profitable for me to work somewhere else, I will leave IBM. As soon as it becomes more profitable for IBM not to employ me, they will terminate me. I can’t say which will happen first, and that’s okay. We are “At Will” employees, and that gives freedom and discretion to both the employers and the employees.

As an employee, husband and father, I have a responsibility to maintain my skills, certification, licenses and my professional networks to stay employed and employable. I own that. We all do. We don’t need a union to babysit us. No offense to union members, but I think unions are for people who can’t take care of themselves or want something for nothing. Good luck to all the IBM employees let go over the next few days.

By: HGH

HGH — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:20:57 +0000

The January 23, 2009 round of layoffs has already started. Several people in my organization were told today they had to look for other jobs. Sheesh, we just had a resource action in October 2008 and I thought our organization was ok for a while. I have been at IBM for 27 years and have never seen anything like this. To have resource actions hit twice in the same organization within two and a half months is causing near hysteria within IBM. For those of us who are still employed, it is nearly impossible to get work done. All I can do is put on blinders and try to focus on my job.

My management told me that the resource action in October 2008 was to clean house for 2009 due to a US market which was not anticipated to expand. People are scratching their heads over this round of resource actions since IBM reported record earnings this week. IBM globally is doing well. With that said, the rumor I have heard is that headcount in the US is moving to developing marketplaces overseas. The total worldwide employee count may remain the same.

Let’s face it. IBM is a global company and with the US economy in the ditch, they are going to go where the economy is expected to grow. Employees who are resourced have an option to take jobs overseas but the question is whether IBM will pay moving and living (which I highly doubt).

I just wish we could have a little stability so we could focus on getting driving revenue in the US marketplace.

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:49:58 +0000

Comment #8 by Rolando is spot on. intelligent people will never (willingly ascribe to blackmail as leverage. Unions are a contrivance trying to hold back the ocean (the markets) which incidentally rise in good times and fall in bad. Companies that are rigid because of unions will underperform the agile when times are good, and will die when times are bad and they cannot (or will not, eh, Detroit?) adjust. BTW, commenter # 3 BulgarWheat, I guess you didn’t detect commenter # 2 is not a native english speaker. Aside that, did you get the point? Curse the darlness or light a candle?