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I keep hearing and reading (especially on here) how unions are bad and should be gone. Me thinks the people who believe this are one's who wish they had a union job. I can't be far off on this. Why are unions so terrible?
Companies are not able to compete in the global marketplace.
Labor costs are much higher than other countries.
Boeing just lost airplane bids to a China company. GE is buying airplanes from China, not Boeing.
And how would we EVER be able to compete with China on labor costs anyway? They get 50 cents per day and we have a minimum wage of, what is it now, $7 something an hour?
And how would we EVER be able to compete with China on labor costs anyway? They get 50 cents per day and we have a minimum wage of, what is it now, $7 something an hour?
Kentuckydad95..I don't know what to tell you.
US workers are not going to come out on top or even in the middle in this new global workplace.
The same work can be done in another country for a fraction of the cost.
Our only saving grace that I can see is oil spiking to the point where mfg + shipping equates to making it here. Then that hurts us at the pump.
Nevermind China..companies are now in Vietnam and Malaysia because workers in those countries are even cheaper than China
I keep hearing and reading (especially on here) how unions are bad and should be gone. Me thinks the people who believe this are one's who wish they had a union job. I can't be far off on this. Why are unions so terrible?
Labor is the highest cost that businesses have to deal with. Unions basically set their own pay, which is really high (go figure). This is not about jobs going over seas, there isnt much that can be done about that. Service work makes up something like 70% of jobs in America, which cant be outsourced. If you want to really know how much unions affect the economy than look at California, or General Motors. It is unsustainable.
I am pro-union most of the time (in private industry)
I think some of the public workers unions and the auto unions have given unions in general a bad name.
My buddy works in a coca cola bottling plant and is union. Does a guy working there not deserve $15 an hour with benefits offered?
I do not think that is outrageous at all. The media only publicizes the things the Unions do when tax dollars are involved, or the union is stepping out of line
I am pro-union most of the time (in private industry)
I think some of the public workers unions and the auto unions have given unions in general a bad name.
My buddy works in a coca cola bottling plant and is union. Does a guy working there not deserve $15 an hour with benefits offered?
I do not think that is outrageous at all. The media only publicizes the things the Unions do when tax dollars are involved, or the union is stepping out of line
I am only pro union when there is a trade involved. Sorry, that doesnt include your buddy. I will point out that the majority of union workers are not in the private industry. Thats right, they are government employees. So the people in charge of law are pro union? No wonder the unions are so powerful. I dont want to get rid of them, i just think some laws need to be put up so that they are less influencing. Unions funding political campaigns in ridiculous and shouldnt be allowed. They only exist to protect their employees from unfair treatment. What happens when they are the ones being unfair?
and it isnt just union wages, but the benefits that the union leaders demand for their members. at one time the unions had their place, they made the work place safer, they got decent benefits for their members, etc. but they did that working with the companies that the membership worked for so that the extra costs were not burdensome to the companies, so that the companies would survive and keep jobs available.
the problem though is that the corruption in the union leadership as the mafia got involved with the unions, and got the work rules changed to make it quite difficult to get rid of workers that just milk the clock and provide no benefit to the company. they also made it difficult for the company to save money by requiring that light bulbs for instance have to be changed by someone from the electricians unions rather than someone who needs a light bulb changed before they can get back to doing their own job.
I agree with what the other anti-union posters have said. Note that I also do not wish to work for a unionized company or trade.
I once applied at AT&T's call center and they told me I would have the option to join the telecom union and pay dues but that I did not have to join and would still reap any rewards from their negotiations. It makes no sense to pay dues if I'm going to get whatever they negotiate anyway. However, that being said, I don't agree with the concept of a union anyway. People should be paid based on their value to the company. Don't do a good job? You don't get a raise. If the company can't afford something, they won't pay it, and only workers who are willing to work for that set wage will work there. People set the wage at which they're comfortable working, if they don't like what the company is offering, they are free to walk away. We do not need a union telling companies what they *should* be doing.
Unions are very essential for workers and our whole society, I don't want to imagine what would happen without them.
Anyway, the question is not how could we compete with China regarding the price - there are many other factors that might be of importance. What about quality? What about productiveness? (With the right equipment like robots, American workers could do more work in an hour than Chinese do on a day), What about technology leadership and research? If we can't be cheaper, we just must be better.
As maschuette said, most jobs nowadays are in service. Banking or insurance jobs are unlikely to be outsourced. The road worker or construction worker also has a very safe job, unless they want to import whole skyscrapers or interstates from China.
Anything related to food will also never by made in China, as long it has to be fresh.
I don't think the guy from McDonalds or the road worker will lose his job when organized in a union, it may be just the corporation will earn less money.
And don't forget unions are not all about money. Safe jobs, good working atmosphere, respect of labor law and conditions and safety at workplace often count more than $.25 more per an hour.
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