| Village Idiot Join Date: May 2008 Location: Not In Sterling City Gender:  Posts: 610 Country:  Level up: 17%, 125 Points needed |  |  Employers and employees share a common goal - having a profitable company that can continue to maintain jobs for its employees. While there is tension between employee wages and profitably, the two groups are at least on the same page. When the union enters, it is an interloper. Its goal is to have a profitable union.
Unions have a terrible history of corruption.
Has a labor union ever STOPPED a company from having layoffs? No. Have non-competitive, high union wages caused layoffs? Yes.
A unionized fire safety company in Bryan, Texas is faced with going broke or being sold to another company. 16 jobs are at stake. The buyer says "we'll buy the company, but not unless the union releases the company from the labor contract." This is the only buyer. The union could have released the company from the contract, and then attempted to reorganize the new company (apparently, they weren't confident they'd win the election). Instead, the union said no. The company didn't sell, and it closed. 16 jobs lost, but I guess that's better than the union losing face.
Compare the growth of unionized grocery stores with non-union operations. I remember when there were Safeway stores all over Texas. Now, they've been replaced with non-union operations.
Unions served a purpose when so many employers ran sweatshops. Union membership is down (except in the government sector -- go figure -- those who can do those who can't get a government job). |