The Impact of Unions

[TrailerParkTed]

In my industry, union labor was paid significantly more than management, but likewise, management pay had to at least be relevant. There even was a time when some management teams tried to organize. Everyone got a pay raise and those leading the union effort all got fired.
I'm not against good pay for blue collar work, although I would like to tie it to good ol' supply and demand, not union bullying where the good, the bad and the ugly is all protected the same.
My gripe is with what I see as a cancer in a business organization. Wrestle hire/fire from management, and force bargaining on anything that's not agreed upon in the contract, which effectively means freezing operations to a standard.
I strongly believe that elected government should set the detailed rules on employment that are clear and apply to all, in which case there would be no need for unions. Businesses must have the flexibility to hire and fire based on need and competence, and management should always be in charge of guiding the ship forward, not the mechanic in the engine room.

What caused unions in the first place? I am guilty of begging the SEIU in Oakland to rescue the Latin-Mexican and Chinese slaves. They went months with no pay. Politicians take bribes-donations, they overlook a lot. Child labor coming back in Iowa and Midwest meat packing. Free Market working again?

And it’s happening again because business need’s flexible workers?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-packing-plant-child-labor-fines/11304311002/


https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireS...ath-poultry-plant-shows-child-labor-101687399

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Janitors-sue-supermarkets-Workers-claim-rules-2827431.php

 

[VicBee]

".... to tie it to good ol' supply and demand ........"

"..... strongly believe that elected government should set the detailed rules on employment ...."

Huh?

Explanation for the slower guys .. employment should always be a function of supply and demand.

Rules of employment are the responsibility of elected government, no need for unions.

 

[VicBee]

What caused unions in the first place? I am guilty of begging the SEIU in Oakland to rescue the Latin-Mexican and Chinese slaves. They went months with no pay. Politicians take bribes-donations, they overlook a lot. Child labor coming back in Iowa and Midwest meat packing. Free Market working again?

And it’s happening again because business need’s flexible workers?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-packing-plant-child-labor-fines/11304311002/


https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireS...ath-poultry-plant-shows-child-labor-101687399

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Janitors-sue-supermarkets-Workers-claim-rules-2827431.php

We elect our leaders who are accountable to The People. Unions are a failure of government to carry on their duties as intended by those who elected them.

 

[deaddog]

We elect our leaders who are accountable to The People. Unions are a failure of government to carry on their duties as intended by those who elected them.

This is getting political but the candidates who run for office are financed by the wealthy.
The elected leaders are responsible to those who paid to get them elected.
The People only think they have a choice. It's an illusion!

 

[SunTrader]

Explanation for the slower guys .. employment should always be a function of supply and demand.

Rules of employment are the responsibility of elected government, no need for unions.

Soooo tie it to supply and demand but have gubmint decide what that is.

Run for office, they need more folks that speak out of both sides of their mouths.

 

[VicBee]

This is getting political but the candidates who run for office are financed by the wealthy.
The elected leaders are responsible to those who paid to get them elected.
The People only think they have a choice. It's an illusion!

That sounds like an America problem.

 

[newwurldmn]

What caused unions in the first place? I am guilty of begging the SEIU in Oakland to rescue the Latin-Mexican and Chinese slaves. They went months with no pay. Politicians take bribes-donations, they overlook a lot. Child labor coming back in Iowa and Midwest meat packing. Free Market working again?

And it’s happening again because business need’s flexible workers?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-packing-plant-child-labor-fines/11304311002/


https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireS...ath-poultry-plant-shows-child-labor-101687399

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Janitors-sue-supermarkets-Workers-claim-rules-2827431.php

violation of labor laws in the first case.

government laws which the public should challenge. No union is going to protect those kids unless it means an existing union member is being undercut.

 

[murray t turtle]

Have you worked as Cop or Fireman that you speak so "knowingly" about?

Tesla or Amazon for that matter?

%%
LOL + good;
not that cops or 1st responders should strike. State gov simply calls in state highway patrol or state police if they try to do that.
Bankruptcy is a good way to bust a greedy union, no wonder Andrew carnegie hated unions .
Looks like Dave ramsey was right /never depend on a company [or union] pension plan;
do 10-15% personal Roth , back door Roth or Regular IRA.
May need to do a investigation of union pension;
WFC already got caught overcharging police union + huge settlement for police pension

 

[TheDawn]

Unions were only effective in countering the "externalities" sometimes posed by laissez-faire free market capitalism such as exploitation of child labour, destruction of workers' welfare in the quest for minimizing cost but once these externalities are resolved or mitigated to a satisfactory level, the usefulness of unions are really limited. And not only that, unions are now becoming a barrier of trade almost hindering the working of the market economy and suppression of quality and innovation for mediocrity. But this is not limited to just unions, any measures such as government regulations, environmental measures and etc. adopted to counter any externalities not being able to be resolved or resolved effectively by the mechanisms of the market economy all have the same limitation as unions; their effectiveness is only limited to the point of resolving and mitigating the externalities not resolvable by the mechanism of the market economy. Beyond that, they become a hindrance.

 

[TheDawn]

I have the same experience although I did find that my salary increases were kind of tied to the union agreements. Usually a little better but I doubt the company would have paid us as well if not for the union negotiations.

I think the quality of the union and specifically the quality of the union bosses also play a large role in determining the effectiveness and usefulness of the unions as well.