Professional and/or skilled labor is in short supply, and those who have any job skills at all are in great demand. In this environment, unions are just an extra tax on labor.

Does this mean that all jobs are permanent? No!! Companies can be seasonal and/or out of favor in the world economy, and they necessarily have to contract as well as expand in order to adapt. So a worker has to be sufficiently flexible to find another job when necessary…or to sell his service directly to the customer (i.e. work for himself).

But in America today, jobs are not “given” or “created” by unions: they are just another unproductive bureaucracy gumming up the wheels of progress and diverting workers’ pay to all kinds of mischievous projects and destructive politics.

In Kansas, we have “right to work.” As a result, two national unions were recently unsuccessful in taking over the workforce of a major common carrier here. Reason? The company had already given its employees a much better deal than the union proposed to give them: the union wanted to remove privileges that senior employees earned over the years and make all of the workforce like cattle with everyone getting the same pay and benefits regardless of skills or seniority…and force the company collect union dues from everyone. The workforce rightly concluded that the union was not needed…despite all the political interference by the NLRB and the usual suspects to demonize the company and “fix” the election.

I’d agree with them too … if human beings were strictly rational all the time and the laws governing abuse of one’s workforce worked perfectly. Sadly neither condition is true. Some corporations will go for short term gain over long term prosperity. Some laws will go unenforced due to corruption, oversight, or pressure not to report wrongs done.

With that in mind, it’s somewhat difficult to tell workers that they can’t organize to bargain collectively. That said, there aren’t enough protections in place for people that want to opt out of their union. There has to be some way to balance that.

KKR manages all three national funds, so the problem doesn’t lie with KKR, either.

For a second, I thought it said “KKK”. The Klan managing national funds, my how times have changed.

Coffee hasn’t kicked in, yet.

Of course, some people feel that the definition of greed is someone making more than they do.

There are plenty of solutions out there. If you are man enough to take advantage of them. For those who want someone else to look out for them, there’s always unions.

If you weren’t being paid what you felt you were worth, why were you sticking around?
Perhaps you really were being paid what you were worth, that’s why you couldn’t find anyone else willing to employ you.

As someone who’s been there and made it back, there is always hope. I guarentee it to you. Things will get better.

hillbillyjim on July 10, 2008 at 12:30 AM

Lost the blockquote somehow. Should be:

My union supports political candidates that I don’t like either.

So what.

Then my reply: You are the one paying to support candidates you don’t like. If you don’t mind doing so, then so what indeed. It is repugnant to me.

The millions of workers in this country currently enjoying union wages and job protection might take issue with that statement.

If by job protection, you mean job security, you are sadly mistaken. How many union workers do you think have had to find work elsewhere when overreaching union contract demands forced the companies they worked for into bankruptcy or overseas?

If by job protection, you mean protection from getting fired, most couldn’t care less. Most folks are fine with workers who can’t or don’t do their jobs properly being shown the door.

As for “union wages”, that’s a good one. A job is worth what it is worth in the marketplace. If you start artificially raising wages, whether through union contracts or minimum wage regulations, then the marketplace is skewed and the cost of this is borne elsewhere, usually in job losses.

And yet the vast majority of those employed in the US manage without unions- usually with better chances for advancement. The unfair conditions that led to unions are long gone now that there are employment laws regarding overtime, working conditions, etc.

Unfortunately, the unions have such a stranglehold on certain industries that it’s difficult to find a job that isn’t union. The result is increasing offshore labor and poor productivity thanks to the fact that employers can’t easily get rid of unproductive employees or reward good employees.

Hollowpoint on July 9, 2008 at 10:56 PM

And your proof of those claims?

We’d like to see that.

Nobody here says that unions don’t have their problems. They exist. Some are corrupt and mismanaged. I can think of several corporations that have and are currently experiencing the same woes.

But to say that unions are obsolete today doesn’t reflect the reality of millions of American union workers who depend on the strength of their union contracts to pay fair wages that enable those workers to contribute to our economy.

The principle is simple. Pay the workers well and they will buy the services and products that drive this country’s economy. Companies make profits, shareholders are happy, and people get to improve their standard of living.

Everyone wins.

You have a point. It’s important to remember that unions are a blessing and a curse. They can be a counterweight to corporate power to ensure safety, fair wages, etc. However, they can also become a problem themselves with bloated salaries, political support with dues $, and fights for the survival of the union itself (e.g., auto unions branching into healthcare to gain members).

And, they have contributed to the losses of American jobs. If unions demand x dollars in wages & benefits for a certain job, and someone in another country will do it for 1/4 of the $, what do you think the owners and shareholders of the company are going to do?

Make no mistake, unions are STILL an unfortunate, yet necessary balance to some of today’s corporate greed. Left unchecked, some companies may or WILL take advantage of their employees in order to fatten the wallets of the officers and shareholders of the company, regardless of what the outcome is for the people who depend on that bi-weekly paycheck to pay the bills.

To think otherwise is naive and foolish.

Et tu Brute on July 9, 2008 at 10:42 PM

And yet the vast majority of those employed in the US manage without unions- usually with better chances for advancement. The unfair conditions that led to unions are long gone now that there are employment laws regarding overtime, working conditions, etc.

Unfortunately, the unions have such a stranglehold on certain industries that it’s difficult to find a job that isn’t union. The result is increasing offshore labor and poor productivity thanks to the fact that employers can’t easily get rid of unproductive employees or reward good employees.

unions are a dinosaur in todays economic world..

The millions of workers in this country currently enjoying union wages and job protection might take issue with that statement.

Make no mistake, unions are STILL an unfortunate, yet necessary balance to some of today’s corporate greed. Left unchecked, some companies may or WILL take advantage of their employees in order to fatten the wallets of the officers and shareholders of the company, regardless of what the outcome is for the people who depend on that bi-weekly paycheck to pay the bills.

To think otherwise is naive and foolish.

Sorry I’m not as much a man as you.

Markvike on July 9, 2008 at 9:46 PM

Don’t be sorry. Just stop feeling sorry for yourself and whining on the Internet like a teenage girl because you got dumped and have some personal problems. Or at least take it somewhere appropriate, because this ain’t it.

Guess what- there’s a support group for people who’ve been through this sort of thing, and it’s called “everybody”. Be a man and work through it.

You’re now getting paid wages that are the norm for your career? You really need a union to get paid what the “norm” is? Does not compute.

Hollowpoint on July 9, 2008 at 10:02 PM

Yes, we did.

The company hid behind various excuses not to pay workers what they deserved.

There is a big difference between private sector wages and government mandated wages.

I’m now getting paid wages and benefits that are the norm for my career. Without the union, we were getting the shaft.
Et tu Brute on July 9, 2008 at 9:48 PM

You’re now getting paid wages that are the norm for your career? You really need a union to get paid what the “norm” is? Does not compute.

and this after living in Michigan for 10 years too..

unions are a dinosaur in todays economic world.. why to you think people are fleeing in droves Michigan and Ohio to other states for jobs?

in Lansing a GM plant went on strike and no one cared because everyone was hurting.. it did feel good to drive by and yell, ‘Get to work, pig-nuts.’ when I was out of a job..

and every job I had was comparable to the union job too..

their time has come and gone..

Markvike on July 9, 2008 at 8:31 PM

whatever issues you have.. this is NOT the forum to discuss about it.. find a friend, family, pastor or elder from a local church.. talk to them..

the person to person contact goes a long way..

not the person to computer to computer to person..

Why should this be the case?

My union supports political candidates that I don’t like either.

So what.

I’m now getting paid wages and benefits that are the norm for my career. Without the union, we were getting the shaft. Vastly underpaid with no contract, while the principles of the company raked in massive salaries and unprecedented profits. On our backs.

Fair? I think not.

If you think that union voting is unfair, you need to do something about it and stop whining.

In my opinion, of course.