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We now have OSHA, federal safety standards, labor laws, and an entire industry of attorneys who will work on contingency if you feel that your employer has slighted you in any way. The protections that the unions fought for are now in place. They have rendered themselves virtually obsolete.
For example, if a union wants to try and organize your employees, you can do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to dissuade your employees from joining. They can hammer your employees 24/7 until they agree to sign up, but you can't put the same effort into talking them out of it.
The government handcuffs the employer when it comes to unions. There is very little that an employer can do in reaction to an attempted union takeover. That's wrong. The terms of employment between myself and an employee is just that - between myself and an employee, and if they want to talk to a union rep while off the clock, that's fine, but I should have the freedom to terminate them if I find out about it. As it stands now, I wouldn't be able to do that. That is pretty ridiculous.
That makes as much sense as saying we don't need our guns because we already have our freedom
OSHA? federal safety standards? labor laws? You really think those aren't next on the hit list once the unions are gone? And those lawyers working pro bono won't be any help if they don't have a case
It's because we DO need unions. I'm not saying unions are perfect but you're vastly underestimating the rights they have won for you. The right wing obviously loves investors and NOT workers.
rubbish. both of my grandfathers were union, so i know what the unions have done for the country, but that is in the past. what they are doing today is killing business with hardline work rules, and forcing employers to keep lazy non working employees on the payroll. the union membership also tends to vote against their own interests. by that i mean when the union membership is presented with a contract that the union leadership admits will cause job losses, the membership votes for the contract anyway, and then they grumble that jobs were lost, EVEN THOUGH they were told that would happen. the conservatives like FREEDOM. we dont mind private sector unions, as long as they dont kill business, but public sector unions need to be abolished.
If unions were voluntary, I'd have no problem with them. However, in many places you are forced to join the union in order to get a job in the field in which you wish to work. I don't feel that being forced to do anything in order to obtain a job is a good thing.
But it doesn't work if allow you people to opt out. If union membership is voluntary, then employers can cut side deals--i.e. basically bribe--with individual workers to undercut the union's position. Letting some people not join the union means the people who do want to join lose that right.
I think part of the problem is so many Americans are extreme individualists, and have a hard time grasping the ideas of solidarity and collective action. The idea of working together with others to achieve the best for everyone is just something most Americans do not understand very well.
There used to be clauses that stated if an employee died on the job, the company could withhold any pay due to the family. Those are the times when we needed unions. We do not need them today. Having a good, quality work environment is a competitive advantage today to the point where unions are not needed.
That must be why fast-food workers are striking for more pay; the quality work environment with a competitive advantage.
Look, we do not live in Communist China where workers are locked into sweat shops, and housed on the company property. If a worker/s feel "exploited", they are free to leave and get another job.
Now if you are talking about the old days where safety was not a concern for business, then I would agree that unions were helpful in turning the tide. However in todays economy, unions can be the death knell to American companies.
That has always been the excuse for low pay and poor working conditions -- just leave. In the real world it is difficult to just leave (or fire your insurance company) especially if you aren't young.
But it doesn't work if allow you people to opt out. If union membership is voluntary, then employers can cut side deals--i.e. basically bribe--with individual workers to undercut the union's position. Letting some people not join the union means the people who do want to join lose that right.
I think part of the problem is so many Americans are extreme individualists, and have a hard time grasping the ideas of solidarity and collective action. The idea of working together with others to achieve the best for everyone is just something most Americans do not understand very well.
More than that, it creates an incentive to opt out. You don't have to pay dues but get the same gains that the union won. "Right to work," are just laws that are designed to kill unions and take away their funding.
rubbish. both of my grandfathers were union, so i know what the unions have done for the country, but that is in the past. what they are doing today is killing business with hardline work rules, and forcing employers to keep lazy non working employees on the payroll. the union membership also tends to vote against their own interests. by that i mean when the union membership is presented with a contract that the union leadership admits will cause job losses, the membership votes for the contract anyway, and then they grumble that jobs were lost, EVEN THOUGH they were told that would happen. the conservatives like FREEDOM. we dont mind private sector unions, as long as they dont kill business, but public sector unions need to be abolished.
Union contracts are mutually agreed. If the rules are killing business, why does management agree to the contract?
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