Well said CA Renter. This is a glaring problem in the US. In my view corporate masters and the elite have somehow managed a mass brainwashing. Most Americans look at good union jobs as a negative. CEOs love this and perpetuate it; believe it. I have never been in a union, however its as plain to me as the nose on my face that us “workers” benefit from collective bargaining and also that non-union jobs benefit as well.
Workers will always need to unite to fight for fairnes with the elite. They do not put a human face on workers, you are just numbers, dollars, output.
The US is in a phase where all the hard work done by unions in the 50’s and 60’s is forgotten. Most today think corpoarations simply decided to start providing fair wages and benefits on their own.
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In addition to what Allan said…
I have no problem with unions whatsoever, although I’ve never been in one, but…
If a union is trying to protect jobs that can be shipped to another country (where there are lower wages), by definition most of the gains will be short-term in nature. Because once the disparity between domestic wages (and benefits) and foreign wages gets large enough (and adjusted for differences in productivity), the jobs will start moving and the jig is up.
Look at the US auto industry. Absent an organized, effective global union, almost any job that can be shipped to another country where the task can be performed for less money, and adjusted for productivity and quality, that job will eventually move. That is reality. And if the jobs DON’T move… then the companies that continue to pay the higher-than-market wages will eventually go bust. Again, see the US auto industry. The UAW is reaping what it’s sowed over the last few decades. (File under: Be careful what you wish for.)
That’s the really disturbing part regarding the auto companies. Even if the unions agree to sharp cuts in wages and benefits, the auto companies will still barely survive. And the Japanese auto makers aren’t making any money either. The business is just brutally competitive.
And who’s to blame for that? Consumers are. We are. We want the best car we can buy at the best price. And there’s no room for any wage inflation in that game when you’re dealing with a global market.
So, yes, unions will fight for fairness – as they should – and they’ll get it for a while. Until they price themselves out of the labor market altogether.
