Do Unions help or hurt Americans?

Unions long ago outlived their usefulness in the USA. What do you think is the main reason for the fact that there are so few strong, large companies employing us these days? Unions started because we needed them, there were lots of immigrants and few jobs so the pay was low, conditions were extremely dangerous, children and woman were seriously exploited. Unions helped to correct all these issues plus more. Unfortunately the unions gained so much power they began making demands that were absolutely ridiculous. this in turn cased the workers to become accustomed to making demands and having those demand meant no matter how absurd they were. As a result Americans became overpaid, less productive and basically lazy and the companies were not able to produce a product of quality at a price that was competitive. Companies wanted to stay in business so they took there businesses to countries where they could make a profit and I admit exploit those people for profit. Certainly these conditions do not exist in our country today. Unions have done more harm to the US than good, they are corrupt, driven by greed and useless today. The unions we have today in no way resemble the original unions that were designed to protect both the employee and employer and generate proud in American made goods. Nothing makes me madder than a bumper sticker that encourages or brags about unions, except maybe a Clinton bumper sticker.

Unions can both help and hurt. They can help by fighting for the rights of workers when it comes to things such as wages and fair treatment. In this day and age where the cost of living is rising faster than salaries, unions can help to negotiate compensations for employee, that will enable them to support themselves with the necessities of life such as decent housing.

They help individual workers by providing them with job stability and better wages, but they hurt the economy by driving prices higher (with said better wages). Overall, I'd say it depends on the unions and what their policies are.