Quote:
Originally Posted by Civicsman
There was a time, not too long ago, when I thought unions might have outlived their usefulness. Relatively enlightened, civilized management and relatively benign government might have made them obsolete.
Now I think unions are on the edge of the largest resurgence in my lifetime. Governments (state, mostly, at the moment) are simply being bought outright by really big corporate money, and are passing laws designed to push the middle class closer to the bottom, and make sure everyone that is there, stays there. Coupled with the state of the economy, this is the recipe for a new awakening to the reasons unions came to exist in the first place.
"Union bosses", in the way in was meant, are not optimal, but not all unions have those cushy jobs with lack of accountability. It might be useful to learn a little bit about what working life was like before there were unions, and the benefits that unions brought to all of us.
I can say this: If I worked at Wal-Mart, I'd likely be better compensated and happier if I had union representation, "union bosses" and all.
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Private unions, of employees of private companies, offer collective bargaining strengths to their members, and therefore may have a contributing factor in making up for areas of potential abuse that the government has not corrected.
Trade unions, of employees of private companies, fit a similar place, and can be a factor in improving work conditions and other standards that may not be legislated.
Public employee unions are a scourge on the economy, contribute nothing to the society, and cater only to the lowest of base values against the values of the society that pays for them, to the benefit of government employees who have both the legislature to protect them from unfair employment factors, and unions to overwhelm the government employers.
This last group is not only offers the least improvement to society, but also seems to be the most likely lately to abuse their political capacity to install weak kneed legislators who are installed to do the public employees union's bidding.
I believe it is very important to keep in mind the difference between unions for employees of private companies, and unions for employees of the government.