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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (21367)	1/15/1999 2:27:00 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Respond to of 152472

Meanwhile, a judge thinks he is the best person to manage employees. Talk about outrageous arrogance! He, from his monopolistic bully pulpit, tells Microsoft and people who work for them how they should run their lives and what agreements they should reach. Surely if temporary workers at Microsoft don't like what they are offered, they won't work for Microsoft. Judges here have gone way overboard in telling people how to run their lives too! It seems to be an international disease. Of course that's what you get in a democracy where people vote themselves rich at other people's expense. dailynews.yahoo.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- A federal judge scolded Microsoft over new contract language requiring temporary workers to waive any awards from a pending lawsuit over the software giant's employment practices. US District Judge John Coughenour called the hearing in a case over the company's "permatemp" workers after a newspaper reported a new clause in Microsoft's standard contracts requiring they waive any payments or compensation a court might order as a result of the litigation. As Microsoft attorney James Oswald began to defend the contract language, Coughenour cut him off and then abruptly ended the hearing after just 10 minutes, saying he wanted to "give the lawyers an opportunity to suggest to their client that they do the right thing." "I thought I might hear that this was done by somebody without advice of counsel," Coughenour said. "I thought I might hear that even if counsel was involved, that upon reflection and with 20-20 hindsight some might perceive this as being outrageously arrogant." He ordered lawyers to return 26 January with an update. Microsoft classifies about 6,000 workers at its main Redmond campus as temporary; a third of the local work force. They are paid by employment agencies. In litigation dating to 1992, the contract workers, many of whom have worked in Microsoft offices for years, are trying to get access to employee stock options and other benefits. Microsoft might have to pay if they win the legal designation of "common law employees" in class-action lawsuits. The waiver clause was added to some contracts in July. Microsoft spokesman Dan Leach said "We'll have to look at all the issues the judge brought up.... We always abide by what the courts tell us to do." --------------------------------------------------------------- Notice how the judge didn't even need to hear what Microsoft had to say. He could simply get on with scolding! Scolding? Surely law is not about scolding! It is about contracts and consequences. Not "I'm the alpha male around here buddy and I'll tell you when you can talk and you can't and I'll tell you and your employees how to run your lives and what you can and can't do, when to walk, when to talk and when to go to the dunny." Look at the money Michael Jordan made from his monopoly. How come people admire him and the courts didn't dictate he accept the same pay rate as ordinary basketball players? How come he doesn't have to meekly say, "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir, anything you say sir, yes we are an evil monopoly and we make millions from it". Bloody hell, as soon as QUALCOMM starts making some real money, that judge is going to be drooling all over we shareholders. Q! has got a monopoly too! Even paying money to the Democrats didn't keep Bernie Schwartz out of trouble. They want more and More and MORE and MORE!!! They want it all. Government monopoly is the monopoly to fear. Do the judges or politicians see that? Nooooo!!!!! Mquarkce PS: Judge Cough-an-hour. What a name. I bet the kids teased him at school and he can't stand geeky technerds. Surely he should just have said - "These clauses appear to me to be illegal. Please go and reconsider them so that we can proceed with this case without a side issue diverting us." No, judge has to play boss man. 70 cents for 1Q seems fine by me!