[Discuss] [OT] unions

[invalid at pizzashack.org (Derek Martin)]

On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 03:57:10PM -0400, Tom Metro wrote:
> I think capitalism is at its best when you hit upon the right set of
> rules that result in self-regulating systems. From an abstract, academic
> perspective, the aspect of unions that feels wrong is that they are
> effectively a monopoly for labor.
[...]

Excellent analysis, IMO.  I was sorely tempted to chime in earlier
with anecdotes from the employment history of my family, where 3 of
the 5 members of my family have been involved with labor unions for
large portions of their working career (my mother was 100% employed at
unionized shops) and the bad consequences of dealing with the union
have by far outweighed the good (though there were some good
consequences).  But this gets at the crux of the WHY that was the
case; the anecdotes themselves are basically not interesting and not
relevant.  My own conclusion about unions has been that they are a
positive force for workers, until they reach a tipping point (which
they invariably do, it seems), after which they become too powerful
and behave more like a cancer, ultimately becoming a negative force
working against both business, and ultimately (perhaps not
intentionally) the laborers they purport to represent (cf. the
American auto industry).

I also agree with gaf that the public sector labor unions are the
most detrimental, based on my anecdotal experience.  If my company
were to unionize, I would most likely seek alternative employment.

-- 
Derek D. Martin    http://www.pizzashack.org/   GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02
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