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I was a president for an International Typographical Union local then a VP for a Communications
Workers of America local.
Without unions, workers are at the mercy of benevolent dictator bosses. There are no guarantees of
job equity, overtime rules, salary increases, or benefits, except as promised by wishy-washy
employee handbooks, which are written by and for the boss.
Union contracts are written by union reps, based on member’s suggestions. The give-and-take
between management and the union must follow rigid federal rules -- and everyone benefits.
Unfortunately, unions like the Teamsters and United Auto workers have given them all a bad name. In
the U.S., we have been pushing away our rights as workers. Less than 25% of our labor force is
unionized, and it’s “anything goes” with employers (especially in my “right-to-work”
state, Nevada). When do we wake up and smell the coffee on what we have lost? |
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I am for this, but only if the bosses ARE greedy and mean! If they aren't, (which they shouldn't be)
then there is no need for a union. |
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It's a safety net against the greed that can happen. With people united things change a lot quicker |
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Unions were very necessary years ago during the industrial revolution. The revolution is over,
Unions should be too.
I'm not sure what its like in other countries. But here in America no one is forced to be an
employee. If you don't like the risks of being employed, take on the risks of becoming an employer. |
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Unions are paid by the companies. I was in unions, and they only stuck up for the companies. Union
leaders are nothing but paid cheer leaders. When workers go on strike, do the union heads still get
paid? You bet they do. You will never make up for lost wages. Think about how much your union dues
are compared to your pay check. |
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Union leaders can be just as unscrupulous and greedy as some executives, but to make matters worse,
some also have a tendency to moralize, judge and employ pressure tactics against their members to
make sure that they all fall into line, The other problem is that many union leaders are so far to
the left of the political spectrum and are so vocal when it comes to voicing their opinions, that
there is absolutely no way that they can truly represent the views of union members. For example,
the local leader of the union that I belong to ran as a Communist candidate in the last election.
Whenever I get a mass e-mail from him about his newest demands from our employer, I can't help but
think that perhaps his goal has less to do with getting us all a salary increase, and more with
Marxist notions of class conflict.
Some unions also tend to have more of an interest in taking part in fruitless political battles that
have nothing to do with the needs of their membership. Years ago, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
was one of the major issues that dominated many labour, professional and student unions, even though
it had no bearing on the lives of the vast majority of members. |
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I am not sure which side I should be writing this on.I have worked in industry for 20 years and
believe me, the most sublime management manipulates trade unions for their own benefit. That is the
game. To get someone to do what you want them to do whilst thinking it is what they want to do. In
an ideal world, both management and union would be working towards the same aim, but quite often the
workforce can be spoilt and ignorant, and the management whilst certainlt spoilt, can be greedy.I
have seen the game played out a million times by multi national companies, I now work for a company
where their is no trade union, and it doesn't prevent any bad management that I have seen prevented
by trade unionism. Where I was always a believer in trade unions, the union is only as strong as the
committees that run them, and generally speaking, the management are quick to promote the
troublemakers, and only willing to play the game with the monkeys. To the point of the debate which
is workers need trade unions to protect them, I believe where the likes of the strikes in
Grangemouth in Scotland recently win no public sympathy it is because the trade unions have already
been defeated most places and the public have no sympathy as they have already lost the rights to
which these men are striking for. The truth is we do need trade unions to protect us, but we also
need them to protect us from ourselves. Realistically trade unions are no more than a comfort
blanket for workers, and a tool of management. Their power stretches no further than that. |
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There was a time when the unions provided a necessary check against the unbalance of big business.
Now, good businesses understand that an employee that is reasonably happy with their job will be
productive employee. Employees are also looking to attract the best employees by providing a good
place to work. Not all employers behave this way, but no one is forced to work at a company that
treats them poorly. |
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I'm in two minds about this one. On the one hand, I can see that Reagan and Fatch's hatchet job on
the unions led to corporate profits taking a seemingly ever larger share of our economies, while
wages and salaries fail to keep pace. Undoubtedly this had something to do with the breaking of
union power.
On the other, I find the whole union business, with its associated strikes, pickets and jeers at
"scabs" to be repulsive. I just wouldn't be attracted to it at all, even if I recognise that, at
some level, it's probably beneficial for society as a whole.
I think that, in the modern world, an employee should express discontent by walking out and working
elsewhere. The best worker protection is the knowledge that you can walk out the door on Monday and
have another, perhaps better, job by Friday. If the economy isn't dynamic enough to make that
possible, then that's the problem that should be addressed. |
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It was originally a way to protect workers, today workers are protected under the law and unions
have turned into greedy criminal organizations that use workers to line their own pockets.
The world would be better off without unions, they're just not necessary today. |
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05 May 2008 20:03
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