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The unions had their purpose in the beginning and yes helped the workers but now it's in different story altogether. I've worked for two Union companies and man, the stories I could tell you. Just based on my experience they would go after the new workers and intimidate them to make sure their productivity was as low as the rest of the group. There was plenty of blackmailing! There was also a sense of "what's in it for me" verses for the good of the company.
They have become the very monster they fought against in the first place!
I read somewhere that unions are responsible for the weekend, 8 hour work days, etc. Things that's aren't so profitable to business but improve the common's man life. Were they really necessary though?
YES, All is not perfect, after all, it is who you elect for officers of the particular union. Sometimes, it seems that the company and the union are holding hands. After working for a union company, and retiring after many years, I am convinced that we would not have had the wages or benefits or been treated like human beings, if not for the union.
I was lucky to see both sides, as a union employee, steward and management. Fair is fair and I think that the union is also like your attorney, on your job. When a union rep is not available when management calls you into their office, (or after entering the office things look a little biased) grab a co-worker, for your witness.
I am pretty conservative and I support the right to unionize. It was critically important back to workers back in the early 1900's. And in my opinion, it very likely will be again someday.
However, unions in our day and age have for the most part become shake-down operations (which kickback huge amounts to the Democratic party in return for their unquestioning support), much like the mob with their mandatory "protection" rackets. Many small businesses in areas dominated by the mob being pressed to pay "protection" money would say "protect me from what?" Of course the unspoken answer was that their monthly payments were protecting them from retaliation from the same mob outfits that extracted the payments.
Unions are in most cases the same way these days. Like we saw a few years ago with the unions in Wisconsin, when workers were given the opportunity to not have their union dues automatically taken out of their paychecks by the government, they embraced this and quickly stopped paying these dues altogether. And in states that move from pro-union to "right to work," union membership begins to decline almost immediately.
People should have the right to organize. But what is missing from the left's financially motivated support of unions is they need to also have the right NOT to organize. Unfortunately, unions have developed in a direction where they do not support this kind choice by workers.
Unions were critical back in the early 1900's. And while they are not nearly as important right now, I believe there will come a day when unions will be critical to American workers again. We may not live to see it, but the right to organize must be maintained for citizens in the future.
I am pretty conservative and I support the right to unionize.
I definitely support the right to unionize. People should have freedom to associate with whom they choose, and if they want to get together and have one person negotiate on their behalf, that should be up to them.
I also believe that it should be illegal to force anyone to join a union in order to receive employment in a certain field, state or profession.
Unions WERE absolutely a good thing. They did a lot for the American worker and also for American business.
Unions were responsible for getting most of our labor laws in place, but now that we have those laws, the purpose of the unions have gone the way of the horse and buggy.
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Do you think life would have been better if there was never any labor unions?
