Quote:
Originally Posted by bow
In keeping with the spirited debate on this subject, I have to disagree with that statement. Unions are needed more today than most any time in their history. All you have to do is look at the anti-union posts in these threads to see why. Most of you that make the posts will not see it this way, but they are elitest views and views that helped fan the labor movement.
You simply advocate lower wages based on education and the type of work that is being done. Alot of you say that if you don't better yourself through education then you do not deserve to be anything more than on the roles of the working poor. So many people are getting educations today that a simple batchelors degree is loosing its luster and the employers are seeking people with masters and Phd's. A batchelors degree used to be a ticket to a better paying job, now it gets most people there very own cubicle on an open concept floor.
Unions will always fight the elitests views. They will fight upper managements arguments that they are paid too much while they get obscene wages at the expense of the union workers. People shout out about the global economy and market values of a job. If that is the case, then make these claims for across the board. Bring CEO's and white collar jobs salaries into the global economy and market value. Base them on what they make in Japan, India, Pakistan and other nations. After all, you are basing labors prices on those countries pay scales.
Economists and government officials are starting to see the need for a more organized labor force. They are looking at the long term effects that lower wages are going to have on the US economy and it is starting to wake them up. Once again the US is starting to take the lead in this area. Labor unions are once again growing, growing in the retail, service and white collar entry level. In a perfect world there would be no need for a union. But in the never ending drive for more profits, bigger bonuses and a greater divide between rich and poor, the union is needed. Unions are not out to destroy companies, everyone would lose if that were the case. A person on a good union wage is one less person that is considered the working poor and one less person that needs welfare assistance that comes out of my pocket.
So argue your case, a debate is a wonderful right of all Americans. Just try not to be so elitest about it, that is the one thing that surely raises the hackles of any hard working American.
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I am in a union now. Did you know that I can't get a promotion without first testing for it? It doesn't matter how hard I work because your reward isn't based on merit, it is based on how well you tested(with open interpretations of the answers by a committee). So sometimes I see people who test well but don't know jack about the job at hand get a promotion. Other times I see someone who gives 120% everyday but test poorly and they get rated poorly. (I am lucky in that I work hard and I test well).
The union also makes it hard to get rid of any dead weight. We have people here that barely do a thing and they get a paycheck just like the person who worked a 60 hour week. Management doesn't even try to document these people because the Union fights so hard for them. It SUCKS.
I know this isn't how most unions operate but my experience is my experience. So I can say that I am biased against the union to a certain extent. They take my money to protect the person playing solitaire on their computer and not making their deadlines. They take my money to support some worthless candidate in politics. I deal with the negative side everyday.
Now the positives are that if I do my job and do an honest days work, I won't be fired. I know in this economic downturn, they may not hire anyone and I might be asked to do a little more work, I will still have a job. I know that politics will play a limited affect on my job.
These are all huge!
I just want people to know that there are positives and negatives. Unions are not the perfect solution to the problem and the pendulum can swing too far in one direction (as it did with my union). I think that a private company that has a owner can care for their workers and have a great relationship. I think that is much harder in corporations and government where people are a resource and everything is a cookie cutter decision. You can still have that great relationship with a corporation but they are few and far between.