Labor Day and Unions: Making America Work

Compared with the majority of working Americans, Those in unions are in the upper middle class. Our government is catering to them for votes at our expense.

That narrative is attractive but it misses in some critical details. For example, Sputnik wasn't a "184 pound steel ball of science," but was made of an aluminum-magnesium-titanium alloy. That sounds like nitpicking, but it isn't--a steel satellite doesn't work. Ditto for the idea that high-paid union workers fund the middle class with their paychecks. Economically, that's not true, it isn't a universal gain for everyone--the higher union wages are paid by the rest of us, and come at our expense. Now it's fine and great when people contribute to a cause and reap a share in the bounty; the problem is when monopolies (unions) take more than they should. That drives the price of goods up for other people. And, it drives companies out of state, out of the country, and out of business. So, unions can do good things, but let's not forget the costs when they get greedy.

What no pro-union person ever really gets is that companies cannot give raises just because the union demands them. Companies can only give raises if they have more money. And they can only get more money if productivity is increased. In other words workers can only get raises if they increase their productivity. They can't get raises from strikes, or walking picket lines, or boycotts, or minimum wage legislation, or any other legislation by politician, or from presidential decrees, or even by storming headquarters and forcing management to agree to a pay raise. None of these put more mone in a company's till. If workers demand and get more money than the company has to give, then the company goes out of business, like GM. Or else it moves to another country, like so many companies we've seen. This all seems fairly elimentary. But I have never seen any evidence that any union leader or union supporter gets it.

The American Unions for the most part can take credit for their part in lifting American Labors from the Sweat Shops of the past. The wages, working conditions, safety,and other basic human needs were not considered by the Owners of Large businesses and Corperations.They should be given credit for raising the working standards America Labor This is 2010 and the Unions are not what they were, they are part and parcel of the problems facing America, Big Government, Big Business, Big Unions. Yes, there is greed every where. This nations needs to get back to where it was when, Business, Unions worked together to make us stong and proud with less Government interefence and reglations. America, business and labor working together can make "Made in America" the standard that all the world again. Stop Big Government. If Management and Labor work together ther is nothing they can't do.

I was once in a union many years ago and dropped out after a few years. The union heads decided that some of the benefits our group of workers had could be traded for other 'things' they wanted from management. Eventually the work place became droll and unfriendly and I left shortly thereafter. I believe that unions were necessary in the early industrial days because of worker abuse, but I don't see their relevance today. If they are now so self sufficient, why is it that many of the large unions have retirement plans that may have to be bailed out by the american tax payer?

All the teachers union seeks is higher and higher wages for incompetent teachers and to heck with educating our children. Seldom do unions work for the good of our nation. They are ONLY concerned about their power and political influence. Their motto, ME FIRST AND ONLY ME or US FIRST AND ONLY US

I hate unions and I know why. I saw them ruin a once vibrant manufacturing economy in New England. Marching hand in hand with Democrat legislatures they drove out the very jobs that made New England a manufacturing powerhouse. Now they wnat to blame those that they savaged for the results of their own greed and shortsightedness. No more. We know who you are and we know what you did. Your days are numbered as surely as those of your bought and paid for flunky Obama. We saw what you did to California and we aren't having any of it. We are going to sit back and watch you fight it out with your retirees. You made the promises now you keep them without sticking your dirty hands in our pockets.

I truly can believe that ms75c is labeling unions as communist. Without unions there would be no public schools. Maybe you should learn more about American history then Communism. Union maybe their own worst enemy, but without them the workforce and work place would be a total dictatorship. why shouldn't a employee have a voice in the workplace ? Americans have to wake up to reality. we have to start to regain our unity as a country. Unions are not bad for our country. Greed is. we have been taught at an early age, that as an American we have rights. Its we unite and help all our citizens learn how to use them.

Thank you for the article. So true! I just read an article bemoaning the fact that more Americans of my age (baby boomers) are "forced" to work longer than they should because they lack the retirement funds to actually retire. Not me, I'm a member of a union that looked out for my needs way before I came along and when I joined, I started on a road to "future" prosperity. I have, thru union negotiated pensions, way more than the $10K that 36% of those that ought to have been able to retire but can't. And I mean, way more! Why? Because I belong to a union that "looked" into the future and saw a need! On this Labor Day, I'm relaxing, tinkering on my vehicles (because I want to) and working (in this bad economy) because I belong to a good, ah! great union....IBEW Local 357.

Productivity in 2010 and the future is not about unions. Of course we are talking about the number of employed as well. Despite and communistic origins of the the unions, or the concept of unions, there was a time, prior to our employment laws that they protected employees (workers is a communist term) from explotation. That is not the case today, in fact it has been "not the case" for quite some time. Unions errode the employee work ethic, as most of us remember as the quality of our cars went down leading to the big surge of imports in the early 80's. The cost of goods goes up because the unions have insuinuated big "benefits" that drive up the cost of labor, thus artifically increase the cost of goods. When this happenes American made looses value and costs more than cheap imports. As unions and governemnt regulation drive the cost of labor up, companies also made of individuals, must seek more friendly ground, even if its overseas. In response to the unions shutting down employment opportunities by their own greed, instead of backing off, they, like our President, double down. Unions have contributed to the overall poor performance of our government run public school system. And, when that system is placed into competition or what some of us would call "market discipline", the unions and the politicians that are in their back pockets scream that the conservatives are stealing money from your kid's schools. Well, maybe they want money to go to the school instead of the NEA. Maybe the American people need to discover their own excellence again, an excellence that was in all areas of American life, unique, and diverse, without having to have "diversity" and with equal opportunity and individual liberty. Remember this labor day, we are not workers for the state, we are Americans, and we must take back our jobs from those who under the guise of "representation" are really practicing "confiscation".