Navigator

And you have just made the point for why unions need to go. Actually, that is too harsh; unions were necessary at one time and some still are, but when their rules begin to interfere with productivity, they need to be restrained.

Carol Kelly

I agree with you. There was a time in America when unions were necessary, but that was long ago and far away in the past. They became money grubbing dictators on a small scale that grew larger and larger. Unionizing teachers, nurses, etc. was a big mistake. No one should have to pay someone else for the privilege of working while the union heads only organize and strike putting people out of work and the union leaders get rich, rich, richer. They’ve been a thorn in many sides.

debeda

Well said, Carol.

Auntie Lulu

As a woman I worked under a Teamster Union. I can tell you, it was the MEN who filled all the union's leadership roles that really made out. Every two years or so, they would switch jobs with one another--just so that no one could say the same guy was in there for decades on end. Frankly, it was as though they just patted us on the head, and told us (women) to be good children and behave, and they would make all the decisions regarding our welfare. Talk about total BS!

Seth

Sure, early unions supposedly got "oppressed" workers a fairer deal, depending upon which history one reads, I for one am inclined to believe they did, but that was then and this is now.

Today's unions use an "us against them" approach with employers, fighting for wages and/or benefits employers can barely afford so they have an excuse to raise dues. Public sector unions milk the taxpayer for much higher compensation and benefits packages than taxpayers with the same jobs in the private sector receive and work much harder for.

More than a few jobs have moved offshore because unions took most of the profits out of a business.

Teachers' unions are forever demanding more money for their members, yet the quality of education is declining just as quickly.

The MTA, New York City's Metropolitan T***sit Authority, is fully unionized and uses union contractors for subway repairs and upgrades. Ask any regular N.Y. "straphanger" (subway rider) how that's been working out lately....

Seth

Now 64, I have been working and supporting myself since I was 16 years old. I have worked in several industries, never belonged to a union and never failed to end up with promotions and raises because management determined, via my work performance, that I was an asset.

At the same time, the lazy, complacent (all I wanna know is what I have to know to fulfill my job description and put in my 40 hours and go home) and less dependable rarely saw more than cost of living raises.

Unfortunately, unions protect the lazy, complacent and undependable as "part of the service."

If you busted your ass and sacrificed for years to build a business, would you be "more than happy" to take on a parasitic union as an unofficial business partner?

Stratman911

If you're a Trump supporter, you have no place commenting on someone else's sexual improprieties ... He's bragged about his on tape

cbpat1

It seems to me the country is booming just fine without high union participation. Why should people be forced by law to join a union if they don’t want to? There should not be a law requiring people to join a union, that’s not freedom of choice. The states with right to work laws are doing better than the states without it, so why would you want to abolish it? Seems kind of backwards to me.

Michael Rich Loc: Lapine Oregon

Creepy Joe. Will you v**e for him?

Stratman911

I'll v**e for anyone except Trump ... When it comes to Trump I'd sooner v**e for Donald Duck than Trump

Michael Rich Loc: Lapine Oregon

Where will you v**e, Disney Land?

Seth

Donald Duck would make a better president than any of the freaks in the Democratic Party primaries line-up.

Not that it matters, though. That pitiful sideshow the Dems are putting on will only produce a finalist freak who will lose badly to Trump. 😁

Seth

I am John Galt

Have to disagree with you - strongly! The unions definitely had their place in the early to, perhaps, mid-20th century. However, from the 70's forward, from my perspective the unions were one of the major catalysts to manufacturing moving off-shore. I recall the case of a US manufacturer of tires (I think it was either Continental or Goodrich) that had manufacturing in Ohio through the 70s. Almost every year the union would demand higher wages. It got to the point where management explained that if the cost of labor went any higher, they would have to move manufacturing to Asia. The union thought it was a bluff - it wasn't. Those plants closed down and production went to Japan (now, of course, it is in China).
Delphi was manufacturing a number of automotive electronics in Kokomo for decades. Of course, we all remember the carousel of strikes the UAW would rotate among the Big Three. Delphi decided to move the lower tech electronics -radios, to a newly constructed plant in Mexico. Thanks to the UAW, they were paying the guys who sweep the floors over $25 / hour - and that was in the mid-70s. While Delphi kept (and still has) the higher tech products (ignition systems) built in Indiana, the rest is history.
By the way, from the point of view who has had family teaching in public schools, the teachers' union (typically the NEA) is totally useless - except for collecting members' dues.
If you want to keep America great and make it greater, and continue to have manufacturing return to the US (what we call re-shoring), pay a fair wage with decent benefits, REASONABLE pension plans and keep the unions out of it.

Seth