What follows originally appeared earlier today at TomKnighton.com. I hope everyone comes on over and checks it out.
No, I’m not talking about secession or anything of the sort. I’m talking about a different sort of union, the kind that has managed to all but kill the automotive industry in this nation, and is trying to kill any other business out there that they can get their hands on. You know the kind I’m talking about.
Once upon a time, unions were needed. Management sought to exploit workers, and the unions were the vehicle the workers used to change things. They were, and still are, excellent tools for communication between labor and management to work out differences. Instead of sitting down with every employee, management can sit down with the union leaders who represent them instead and work things out.
Unfortunately, unions have gotten ugly. Today, unions are a force for politics and greed that has rarely been seen before. Laws, passed by union backed politicians, effectively lock employers into having union employees despite the disadvantages. In the automotive industry for example, there are workers pulling in six figure incomes while still working production jobs. It’s also difficult for employers to fire workers who aren’t effective. After all, it’s in the union’s best interest to increase wages and protect workers…they’re the ones paying the bills.
However, the result is what has happened to the American car over the last thirty years. Union wages have helped drive up the cost of the car, while union protection has helped drive down quality. Teachers unions have lobbied for increased teachers pay, while they’ve lobbied against any law that would fire ineffective teachers. How is our educational system doing?
With unions now engaged in politics, they’re going to back politicians who think unions are still great. Those politicians are generally Democrats. This effectively puts Democrat legislators into the pockets of the unions (not that they wouldn’t put themselves there anyways) who structure laws to benefit them.
For example, the recent health care bill taxed so-called “Cadillac” insurance plans…unless they were union plans. One bill before Congress right now that will be the subject of further work later is called DISCLOSE. It’s supposed to add transparency to campaign advertising by requiring a pile of stuff on ads…unless they’re union ads. In fact, just look at the restructuring of ownership for GM an Chrysler. The unions got preference over bond holders, something that should never happen.
The unions have carved out a nice little niche in American politics. Unfortunately, they’re also killing this country.
To be competitive throughout the world, we either need lower prices or higher quality. Mercedes (higher quality) versus Kia (lower price), in a manner of speaking. Unfortunately, we really don’t have either. We’re not cranking out world renowned quality, nor are the prices as competitive as they could be. Again, this is due to unions who seek higher and higher wages without understanding that the money won’t last forever. Much of what happened to GM and Chrysler was a direct result of unions demanding more and more, without really understanding that wages must reflect company health.
Washington politicians, however, seem to think that more unionization is better though. They want to make it easier to unionize a company and make every employee be a member of that union, despite the obvious downside of unions.
Frankly, it would serve them right for the company to close it’s doors permanently the minute they unionize. Unfortunately, it won’t happen. Companies are the livelihood of far to many people who weren’t supporting the unions in the first place, including the owners. No, they’ll slog on…at least until the union kills them.
What’s funny is that union shops don’t really pay all that much more than non-union shops. Non-union companies, however, expect people to work for that wage and to do a good job. In unionized companies, it’s not uncommon to see people just standing around while on the clock. Supervisors are often powerless to do anything about it.
Maybe it’s time we just killed the unions and let individual workers decide what’s best for them.
