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Perhaps if we called unions "Chambers of Labor" nobody would be against them. Chambers of Commerce are essentially unions for business owners. They collect and spend money the same way unions do.
Except if I don't want to go to Home Depot because of their crappy self-checkouts or prices etc. I can vote with my wallet and go to Lowes, ACE etc.
If I don't want to take the city bus because the driver is making 100k a year and the property taxes on my 100k house are 5k a year.....my other option for public transit is.....none.
Realize, unions are around for a very good and real reason. However, when they become powerfully entrenched with politicians in a single party system like many of the major metropolitan parts of this country....they become a monolithic monopoly.
If you question any of that look how the BLM movement, things like requiring body cameras etc. has fared in some parts of the country vs. others.
Except if I don't want to go to Home Depot because of their crappy self-checkouts or prices etc. I can vote with my wallet and go to Lowes, ACE etc.
If I don't want to take the city bus because the driver is making 100k a year and the property taxes on my 100k house are 5k a year.....my other option for public transit is.....none.
Realize, unions are around for a very good and real reason. However, when they become powerfully entrenched with politicians in a single party system like many of the major metropolitan parts of this country....they become a monolithic monopoly.
If you question any of that look how the BLM movement, things like requiring body cameras etc. has fared in some parts of the country vs. others.
Most labor that is unionized is in professions where management and consumers have different expectations. Unions are the buffer that allows labor to meet consumer’s expectation before the expectations of management.
Home depot doesn't have to give you any quality because management knows your experience at his competitors business will not be much different. Chambers of Commerce makes sure that they are not really competing with each other.
If you don't like a bus driver making $100G a year, then take your life in your own hands and use Uber. How would you like it if a bus driver sees you running for the bus, but management will fire him if he is three minutes of his schedule?
Schools are bad not because of teachers but because their management won't kick bad kids out of school and lose per pupil money.
Do you want an auto worker who sees something wrong or unsafe but don't stop the assembly line because they are afraid to lose their job?
Pretty telling how they still protect the public unions but not the private ones. The common denominator is whom is giving them enough votes and cash and the corporations trumped the private unions.
P.S. Did you know Biden and Gore supported or outright signed NAFTA too?
I think most DO know the history but, this is NOT 1940 anymore.
The unions did GREAT work, "back in the day".
NON public unions have declined DRASTICALLY of the pat 40 years because the WORKER found out how corrupt the unions are.
The problem is they have becomes as corrupt as the politician they pay off.
The Teamsters, I should have known.
I was in a union and the great brotherhood of teamsters BROKE OUR PICKET LINES.
We even picketed the teamsters national headquarters after that.
They weren't to happy to have press report how the were NOT such great "brothers" of other unions as they claimed.
I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but it is up to the discretion of other unions as to whether they will or will not cross a picket line. It's a messy legal matter, but here's a quick summary from the NLRB
Quote:
The NLRA protects the right to strike or picket a primary employer - an employer with whom a union has a labor dispute. But it also seeks to keep neutral employers from being dragged into the fray. Thus, it is unlawful for a union to coerce a neutral employer to force it to cease doing business with a primary employer. That is only one aspect, however, of a complex legal picture.
A secondary striking union can liable for a lawsuit by their customers and contractors. Members that honor a picket line (wildcat strike) that their union does not officially support could be liable for disciplinary action by their union. On the flipside, a person cannot be required to cross a picket line if they believe they could be physically harmed.
If I were a non-union teacher, I would be sure to deduct the dues being extorted from my paycheck as a form of tax.
Oh, but you would be more than happy to keep receiving the benefits that the union negotiates on your behalf. How much do you think these dues are anyway.
I don't understand why unions need to be a giant machine that takes the worker's money. Can't workers just get together on their own from time to time and address important issues with the employer? I was part of a union once (not by choice). It just took my money each paycheck and had a layer of "officers" who never responded to you and never did anything but make concessions to the employer and then tell us we needed to make them or the employer would go broke.
Unions have to represent all employees. If you file a grievance and it can't be resolved the union has to hire an attorney for you. Unions can't operate without dues paying members. Oh, and if your union isn't representing you properly then run for the board of directors, or volunteer to be a shop steward
"does not know the history of this country"
I think most DO know the history but, this is NOT 1940 anymore.
The unions did GREAT work, "back in the day".
NON public unions have declined DRASTICALLY of the pat 40 years because the WORKER found out how corrupt the unions are.
The problem is they have becomes as corrupt as the politician they pay off.
The Teamsters, I should have known.
I was in a union and the great brotherhood of teamsters BROKE OUR PICKET LINES.
We even picketed the teamsters national headquarters after that.
They weren't to happy to have press report how the were NOT such great "brothers" of other unions as they claimed.
Unions still do great work, they collectively bargain for wage increases and improved working conditions that never would happen without their influence.
And private sector unions did not decrease because workers found out how corrupt they were, that's absolute nonsense. Union membership has been decreasing because of the hollowing out of the manufacturing base, the fact that the government has enacted laws governing work place safety which the unions used to enforce, and flat wages which leaves employees with less income with which to pay union dues.
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