I was briefly Union member once in California. We made only slightly more than miminum wage, had to pay for our own uniforms, and donated our time to be trained in the union office. I suspect when contract negotiations between the union and the company took place, it really was a matter of union officials getting a little extra side money from the company before they would recommend union members vote in favor of a token wage or benefit change. The union dues where not cheap, especially given the low wages and limited benefits.
I have heard other cases where the union was strong, too strong in fact, and as a result caused the company to be not competative. This ultimately led to loss of jobs.
Many large companies certainly use unscrupulous tactics on workers. We have seen labor price fixing schemes recently in Sillicon Valley, for example. This is why it is critical that business regulation not get out of hand so small businesses will be remain a viable source of employment and innovation. This will help provide competition for labor against these large companies. In a free market system, resources are most effectively allocated to the lowest cost producer. When it come to labor, the lowest cost is not necessarily the lowest price. A particularly productive employee can command a premium wage when there are many employment alternatives for him. In addition, the ability to make a premium wage encourages greater worker productivity.
Few people outside business and too many inside business really appreciate the power of the free market system. When a large business attempts to gain an advantage by interfering with the free market, they are undermining our system as either compensation for management weakness or for greed. This is one area, maintaining free markets, where effective government policy can be a overall net positive on our capitalistic system.
