A serious question: Why do you support unions?
Granted, the union had its place in the 20s and 30s, but today it only helps the lazy, IMHO.
So, for those of you who work harder in your position than those around you, I have this question. Why would you support unions and collective bargaining? Considering that your wages are brought down by the lazy guy or gal who does the same thing that you do, why would you go for it.
Because of WI, I bring in the example of the teachers union. Here is a group of people of varying commitment and skill....anyone who has ever attended public school could not deny that with a straight face. WHY would a good teacher who should be getting raises based on merit be good with seeing a lazy teacher coasting due to Tenure, putting forth 10% of the effort of the newer teacher and earning far more money based SOLELY on seniority?
I worked in a union shop where I LITERALLY put out 50% of the production in my position. The other 3 employees with the same job combined to put out as much as I did. They made the same wages as I did, they got the same benefits as I did, and their job was more secure than mine because they had been there 1-3 years longer than I had.
In another job, two of us put out more production than the other 9 workers...it was not union. Within 6 months of working there (other other hard worker had been there two years), he was the highest paid employee in that position and I was the second highest. WE WERE PAID FOR OUR EFFORT.
This is the difference between union and non-union shops.
So, why on earth would a hard working person support unions????
Ken...actually the biggest reason why so many jobs have gone overseas is BECAUSE of unions. Take the auto industry. They claimed that they could not afford labor in America...and they were right...because of unions. Because unions forced them to pay a broom jockey $40/hr. And when times went bad, the unions would not back off and would have rode them into the ground had we not bailed them out...WHICH WAS STUPID!
Doug...actually employers can offer more to employees if they are not required to over-pay entry level positions. For example, the health insurance that I provide my employees is EXCELLENT coverage. A very good friend of mine runs a union shop and tried to get his union to accept the same plan and they fought him. It was better than what he provided but would have cost him less, and the union would not touch it. Unions KILL an employers ability to reward effort, to take advantage of an improved situation if it does not fit the union's little package....even if it benefits the employees. Their reasoning? They felt that they could not trust the management...Were you by and chance in on that decision???
justagrandma....check your numbers. You are telling part of the story. Wages in non-union businesses have gone down...and wages in union businesses have not. This is true, but the connection that you are not making is that the reason that the percentage of the workforce in unions has gone down is because the unions have driven the unionized businesses out of business. If you take into account the job losses, wages have gone down MUCH MORE in union shops due to job losses than in the private sector.
Vern...the trouble with looking at the complaints on here is that ONLY complaints get talked about. If my 612 employees posted on here, you would see many more stories of compassion and caring from a boss. If those business owners that I network with had their employees post on here, you would get a LOT of stories of caring and compassion. But people tend to be whiners. You want evidence, ask someone who had 20 great transactions and 1 pain in the butt how their day went and the FIRST one that they talk about is the pain in the butt 99% of the time.
Few employers are crooks. Hell, many considered retirement when the economy was falling, but they did not want to cost their employees jobs. Personally, I have taken a 75% cut in my salary in order NOT to layoff for the first time in over 40 years.
Lance...a good employee is VERY MUCH like a good tenant in your rental. You do pretty much anything that you can to keep them. So if you don't want to "get screwed" by your employer...be a great employee.
Top Source...I have worked in both and have many friends who have worked in both...and friends who have owned both. I find that the ONLY people who benefit from unions are lazy workers. Those good workers who love unions, as far as I can tell, are deceived by the lies told by union bosses.
Fried Kitten...Your points are valid...in a VERY SMALL MINORITY of businesses. Granted you have rightfully pointed to a couple of the largest employers in the world. But they are still two corporations and make up a very small fraction of the pie as a whole. And the fact is that we NEED McDonalds and we NEED WalMart. They provide an important part of the business eco-system if you will
Look at it this way. In my area there are a couple of builders who build between 700 and 2000 homes per year...each...depending on the housing market. Some people would say that they build terrible homes. They say "How can you build 2000 quality homes in a year?" others say "How can you build 2000 homes per year if it is not a well oiled machine?"
The reality of these builders is this...they provide a needed commodity. There are people who have maximum size as their primary need in a home. These builders build a good shell of a home with low budget carpet, paint and appliances. So people ar