Green jobs require a commitment to a green environment and green education.

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if we were a green city that replaced its aging water mains that leak 50%

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if we were a green city that replaced its aging sewar mains that leak 50% and have huge over-flow problems polluting our waterways...SOME OF THOSE JOBS AND BUSINESSES CAN ACTUALLY TURN SEWAGE AND CARBON BASED WASTE AND CONVERT IT TO FUEL AND ENERGY.

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if we were a green city that was 10% forested with canopy trees in every urban, suburban and downtown community

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if our lakes and waterways were clean enough for commercial fishing to return and fish farms to be considered.

Here is another idea...is there any reason why there shouldnt be Buffalo Ranchers somewhere in Erie County/Western NY and Buffalo meat not a WNY delicacy?

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if every business and every home in Buffalo conserved its energy useage by installing a heat pump.

IF WE HAD A REAL GRASS ROOTS GREEN MOVEMENT, THEN IS THERE ANY REASON WITH ALL OUR VARIOUS FORMS OF ENERGY GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION THAT ALL OUR LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESSES SHOULD NOT HAVE A CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN POWER GENERATION, DISTRIBUTION, CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT.

Its important because little things create big things and very simply if our community is thinking about these issues then we will have creative solutions for these issues and best practices and many of those creative solutions will become growing businesses with a growing employee base and a growing customer base.

Green jobs require a commitment to a green environment and green education.

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if we were a green city that replaced its aging water mains that leak 50%

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if we were a green city that replaced its aging sewar mains that leak 50% and have huge over-flow problems polluting our waterways...SOME OF THOSE JOBS AND BUSINESSES CAN ACTUALLY TURN SEWAGE AND CARBON BASED WASTE AND CONVERT IT TO FUEL AND ENERGY.

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if we were a green city that was 10% forested with canopy trees in every urban, suburban and downtown community

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if our lakes and waterways were clean enough for commercial fishing to return and fish farms to be considered.

Here is another idea...is there any reason why there shouldnt be Buffalo Ranchers somewhere in Erie County/Western NY and Buffalo meat not a WNY delicacy?

Think about it this way....how many businesses and jobs could be created if every business and every home in Buffalo conserved its energy useage by installing a heat pump.

IF WE HAD A REAL GRASS ROOTS GREEN MOVEMENT, THEN IS THERE ANY REASON WITH ALL OUR VARIOUS FORMS OF ENERGY GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION THAT ALL OUR LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESSES SHOULD NOT HAVE A CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN POWER GENERATION, DISTRIBUTION, CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT.

Its important because little things create big things and very simply if our community is thinking about these issues then we will have creative solutions for these issues and best practices and many of those creative solutions will become growing businesses with a growing employee base and a growing customer base.

PS even simple things like repaving our streets and sidewalks are now coming with environmentally friendly solutions that allow water to pass thru the road/sidewalk to the ground below instead of the storm sewar allowing trees to grow.

Fellow Buffalonians we will soon have Buffalo Creek Casino Revenue and if we do not have plans to invest it in our community ... in such a way that will grow our economy for all then it will disappear into a general budget drained by reduced state aid from albany, growing political patronage and government, increasing union demands for less work and more compensation, etc.

Think about how much money the tax payers would save if we were paying true market wages for jobs performed by some of the unions. Think about how much our water and other utility bills would be reduced if the labor was more concerned about performance instead of seniority. Think about how many jobs were lost in major manufacturing because the unions refused to accept concessions on the pay, benefits, and pensions even though the company was struggling against foreign competition. Think about how much better off we would be if we didn't have the unions and corporations lobbying the same government officials to further their individual agendas. Think about where American industry would be if the unions and corporations were able to work together to stave off foreign competition and were able to retain jobs in America instead of sending them overseas. This would have required concessions on both sides, but instead both sides retain an adversarial relationship that still impedes progress and competition to this day. Think about how much better off we would be if the government workers were actually in service to the constituents that they serve instead of seeing them as a hindrance. Think about where our taxes would be if we weren't paying out welfare to thousands of unemployed laborers who put their faith in the unions and expected their manufacturing jobs to return. Think about it this way, we would be better off if we had workers who were more concerned about their own advancement and contributions than they were about their position in the collective. Something is wrong when the primary concerns of the workers is to do just enough to stay on the payroll, everything beyond a minimum is grieved to the company or renegotiated as a collective. I was part of a local union and the advice that I received from my uncle, on the first day of my employment was. "shut up and don't do more than the people around you, stick around long enough to gain tenure, and you will be set for life." He still can't believe that I left that job even though he has been unemployed for almost a decade. He still believes that one day the union is going to get him his job back, and he won't take anything else until that day comes.

The unions aren't necessary for Green Job creation, they are a hindrance to it. We need free-thinking entrepreneurs and innovators who can make a difference, not a huddled mass of over-entitled collectivists looking for the next gravy train to hop on. The unions will cripple new industry just like they did the old industries. Yes, I concede that they were formed for a reason, but they became drunk on the influence and the power and lost sight of the bigger picture. Now the unions are more concerned with preserving the unions than they are about doing anything for the greater good of the community.

Lose the union mentality, create a motivated and educated workforce that is able to embrace the ideals of the Green movement and the new technologies, and then maybe Buffalo will have a chance at an economic turn around. Until then we will be stuck with the same lethargic and uneducated workforce and the lack of opportunity for our children.

I love how people here like to blame unions for "American jobs leaving the US". These people conveniently seem to forget that there use to be a time in America when there were no unions. This was a time when workers did not have any rights. Workers were made to work 12 hours a day with no over time and for very little pay. No benefits, no paid vacations, no health insurance, no safety regulations, no retirement, no labor rights, nothing. These people also forget that there was a time in America when industry prospered and workers belonged to unions. Things that people take for granted today had to be fought for by unions at one point. With that said, to blame American job losses on unions is economically ignorant to say the least. Manufacturing jobs that have left the US for China left because Chinese factory labor costs $0.60/hour. Yes that’s right, 60 Cents per hour. I do not know of any American worker who is willing to work any job for that rate. Also, they work 12 hours a day with no over time pay, that's 60 hours a week. Furthermore, there are very little fringe benefits, like paid vacations and worker's comp in case of injuries at work, like getting your hand cut off in a machine. So, union or no unions American factories would have shipped off production to China and other such countries. What? did people here want American workers to agree to 12 hour work days with no benefits and $1.00/hour so jobs would not leave?...get serious...no learn what the cost of labor is over in China compared to the US before attacking unions. No, learn what unions actually have fought for and what American workers did not have before unions were formed. The reason why industrial jobs have left the US for China is that labor costs are far cheaper over there than here. The problem is that while white collar jobs could have replaced these lost manufacturing jobs, our government which has a foreign policy which is manipulated for the interests of a few has allowed white collar jobs to also be sent of overseas to India. Millions (and that is not an exaggeration) of American white collar jobs have been sent to India. These jobs should not be allowed to be sent away. If manufacturing is leaving and white collar jobs leave as well you get the situation that we have today. Low paying jobs, with fear of being laid off at any time because the company you work for will ship your job to India at any moment. Blue collar and white collar jobs are leaving, so what are workers to do? That is not free trade, that is bad globalization to benefit the few. Most white collar workers do not belong to unions and so, while there was a time in America in which a single worker could provide for his family, buy a house and a car, now you need two workers per family just to make ends meet. We need white collar jobs to stay in America through legislation and white collar workers to be members of unions to ensure pay is fair. Worker's pay should be a reflection of skill and value created, not just skill or fear of loosing jobs to very low pay in India.

Unions are so 20th century.

Imagine if you were an entrepeneur and you wanted to establish a "green" manufacturing establishment that would create hundreds of good jobs. With all the time, money, effort and hassles it takes to setup such an operation, the last thing you need to worry about is a union organizing drive, colletive bargaining, archaic seniority rules, and strikes.

So what do you do? You build the plant in North Carolina, where there is zero chance of unionization, and the locals are grateful to take the high-paying jobs. Buffalo? Forget about it.

well if you are a fair employer then unions are not necessary but capitalism has this tendency to take advantage of people to benefit the few. Look at any numerable companies around WNY. I will use one that I know of but wont name any names. The company makes a good amount of money, is expanding its orders almost on a weekly basis. But the owner / management is so self centered that many of its employees are just simply walking out. Quitting. They were required by a federal grant to pay X amount of money to employees, they didn't. They only offered raises when someone said they wouldn't take the job because they could make more money at the Mall. They were given no sick time when or vacation for months. they make many thousands of dollars less than people in a comparable job at other companies do. All the while the boss brags and shows off his new convertible and his million dollar home in Clarence. Many of the workers have quit and those that remain are just bidding their time until they can find somewhere else to go. Should these people unionize? They are obviously getting taken advantage or but don't have any real options right now to stay in the area.

This is a custodial job either, these are people with bachelors degrees and actual skill. Unions have their place but at the same time I totally agree that many of them (police, fire, teachers) have gotten too out of touch with reality. Unions deserve to exist, but they also need to compromise. Some of them do and work well (I am thinking about the building inspectors at city hall have been very amiable to the city's situation and in order to save jobs have taken benefits cuts etc. But the fire / police who refuse to do such simple things as take a single health care provider and watch hundred of jobs to get cut from the lower ranks... sad.

Off topic, but I have to agree about the speed of BRO. I use a T3 at work and broadband at home and it is always sloooooow, whether I'm logging in, clicking a story, or giving people single stars.

Off topic, but I have to agree about the speed of BRO. I use a T3 at work and broadband at home and it is always sloooooow, whether I'm logging in, clicking a story, or giving people single stars.

yeah T1 here... same issues. Maybe it is just my lack of computer patience.

two things:

1. non-unionized green jobs may be the last free gift Buffalo will get. It missed the boat on numerous opportunities, include the tech boom that pittsburg, cleveland, minn. capitalized on. The old 'status-quo' mentality held by many in power screwed the city over then, and is doing it now. demand change. demand the end of public service / unionized jobs.

2. i love hearing how many union workers always cry about the greed of the ceo and vps first. it is their only point, and not even a valid one. Unions need to remember that companies are not in business to hire you. It is not your right to be hired. It is your desire and must work hard to achieve it. You buy the best product for the best price. Companies must do the same to stay in business. If someone does more than you for a cheaper price, then he/she should get the job. If you think your boss is unfair, or greedy, or keeps too much money, start your own company. Find 10 others at your job and start your own business, undercut the man, and put him out of business. You just provided a better good for a better price. Stop whining and get to work

simcoe...if you're not gonna be part of the solution find another site to spill your hot air...i havent seen one post by you that is constructive how to better the city of buffalo, just knocking others' post...the real reason nothing gets done in buffalo my friend

ps - there are 6 other posts PRIOR to mine contra to unions...seems like its taking hold

workers types just need to STFU and "work hard" at 9/hr. while the plutocrats continue to make off like bandits with all our money.

It isn't "OUR" money, the profits belong to business owners and investors. The workers are paid to perform a job, if they don't like the pay then they can leave. The business owner has the option of raising pay or finding new workers. No one has the right to work, it is an agreement between worker and company. Too many union workers forget that.

In other words, know your role and shut your mouth.