Why Are Conservatives so Anti-Union?

Question

Whats wrong with a group of people forming an organization, and negotiating a price within the free market with their product. Labor?

Every other vendor or supplier does it. They form cartels, industry groups, etc.... and bargain as organized entities. Labor is a commodity like anything else.

So what's your beef?

If they were called "Labor Incorporated" would you hate them any less?

Or is yours just an innate hatred for American workers.

Ruth - I own my own business and have employees. It's a P.C. so unions are not involved. But I do have to deal with them as suppliers and contractors. Most of the workers are illegals.

Answer 1

Because they support the wealthy owners who refuse to be fair but given the opportunity, they will join the union every time.

Answer 2

They are anachronistic, and the need for them has long passed. They prevent employers from adapting to changes in the market and changes in technology. They do not serve their members well.

Labor may be a commodity, but unions are an anchor. That's why, given a choice, many people opt out of unions, to the point of voting against unionization of their shops.

As for "hatred" of workers, what is it called when the workers have no choice in many "union shop" states whether they want to join the union or not, when laws are made to prevent informing the worker they can opt out of supporting union political activity, when unions force open ballot votes under the baleful eyes of union thugs, etc? Doesn't sound worker friendly to me, just union friendly.

Having experience with unions, I would have seen them fight to keep drunks and druggies employed, and give up safety grievances to keep them. The line-workers hate that kind of stuff.

Last, but not least, is the intellectual dishonesty in the implication that the worker or the union owns the job. They don't. They didn't create it, they didn't build the factory, they didn't design the part, they didn't put together the business plan, they didn't seek loans to build the factory or hire the worker. They don't own it, they have no right to it.

Answer 3

All conservatives are not anti-union. I'm a conservative and all that means is that I believe that we should be governed by a set of laws that are acquired through vote. I was an operating engineer and a teamsters for quite a few years and still have my withdrawal cards.

Many conservatives are business owners and business owners hate unions because if forces them to follow a set of rules laid down in the contracts with the various union. If a company that is union provide unfair practices to some the the workers then it affects all of the workers and a strike or slowdown may be called. Most people in management look upon themselves as aristocracy and want to be able to dictate to the serfs. Indeed, with our economy the way it is and the disappearance of the middle class we all will soon be those economic slaves that the companies all want.

So, you need to redefine conservatives. The majority of conservatives that you are talking about are business owners and managers. To be honest, I think that the businesses that have moved the technology, manufacturing and services overseas, as well as those who hire illegal aliens, are committing treason to this country and should be dealt with appropriately.

One last thought on unions. The workers are pretty good but the BA's are crooks. I never meet any of the BA's that didn't take bribes from the companies and I've know quite a few.

Answer 4

I know a lot of conservatives in unions. The problem with unions is the worker can be lazy and know he can file a grievance if his boss gets on his butt. So quality goes down. Then a worker who does a job any moron can do has to get paid a certain amount. So what you start getting is a low quality job at a high price. So companies start moving out of the country to keep from going under. Unions were great a hundred years ago to protect the American worker for sub standard conditions and pay. But now it's costing Americans there jobs. So labor unions are free to discuss their pay, but what's the point if the job is over seas?

Answer 5

We are not anti-union. We would just like to have the same voice in a union as liberals do, and have a right to our opinion as well. I don't think any company has a right to take advantage of their workers, so I am for having a union, but in all the unions I have ever seen in any job, especially in construction, the union always caves to the employer, for their own benefit, meaning making money off the employee, with dues they demand be paid. Too many times I have seen the Union leader take bribes, and make decisions about issues without the consent of the employees. I think a Conservative should be in charge of a Union, and then let's see what happens. Not all owners of companies are Conservative. Please remember that. In fact, most owners of companies, are liberal, Hollywood actors are mostly liberal, and the richest people in Congress are LIBERAL, Have a go at Diane Feinstein will you? She is a liberal Congress woman from California, makes the taxpayer's pay for her limo-driver, while she is nearly the richest woman in America. Talk to her about Unions, why don't ya?

Answer 6

All unions and co-ops start out good, but as the saying goes, "power corrupts, and absolute power, corrupts absolutely". For one thing they take dues from all members but regradless of the political views of members, the leader decides who they make a financial donation to. There often are "closed shops" where you must belong to the union to work there, which is a violation of freedom. And there has been as much strong arm violence by labor against non-union people as there has been the other way. A friend of mine saw his father's sawmill and truck garage burnt, and mill dam dynamited because a local teamster boss was unhappy they didn't get a kickback for hauling supplies onto Griffis Air Force base, Oct. 8, 1945, and because of the teamster's connection with the Rome, NY fire department, they stopped at the city line, about 500' from the fire and wouldn't help. (He was a democrat until then). They were then blacklisted from any government related jobs around that area for several decades until that union boss moved to CA. That said, I have worked for mass transit outfits that got government contracts, treated employees like crap and got rid of any employees who dared suggest they unionize for fair treatment, like not blaming the employees when auditors found they had been driving more than the legal limit of hours everyday. As if the driver had any vote in the matter. I have seen dairy cooperatives start out as good but then you have the president making a salary of $75,000 plus another $75,000 annual expenses, and then holding simultanous office with additional pay and expense account, and the farmer wonders why he barely gets a big enough milk check to stay in business? Meanwhile people paying $2 a gallon for milk blame the farmer's greed, as if it were like oil that flowed out of the ground.

Answer 7

From my point of view unions are nothing more than Mafia thugs. I do believe that before the creation of labor laws they served a valuable purpose but now they are just making a buck and lining a pocket. My father was a non union truck driver and when the teamsters went on strike he had bolling balls dropped through his windshield from overpasses. Shots were fired at him and other truckers. When the grocery stores went on strike in Ca. people who could not afford to miss work were made to stay out by the union or cross the line and loose their job when the strike was over.

Answer 8

I am a socially conservative and in principle, I am pro union. Unfortunately, the union of nowadays is nothing like labor was in the past. Most union officials never even work in the fields they represent. The union is to the labor movement as Stalinism is to communism.

It is failed. I support workers rights and believe in workers of the world uniting, but if you think Hoffa Jr. is going to bring a proletariat paradise, no. The modern day union has been infected with bourgeois sentiment.

That is my beef.

Answer 9

I prefer no union because I would rather get ahead on my own merits instead of getting paid the same as the lazy jerk next to me. I was in a union, so I know how it works.

Unions are good for people who don't have much self confidence. The union bosses tell you how to vote and they negotiate your pay.

Answer 10

We don't hate unions. Unions are tools, just like a hammer or computer. They can be used for good or evil. Unions are supposed to balance the power of management. However, many unions abuse their powers and engage in extortion. They force workers to join that don't want to. They force workers to pay dues that don't want to. They give those dues exclusively to the Democratic party, whether the members want to or not. Not all unions engage in these behaviors, but many do.

Conservatives believe in freedom. This means freedom from unions too. You should be free to participate in a union, and management should be free to fire you for joining a union. Neither side should have an unfair advantage, and neither side should be allowed to abuse its members.

Conservatives don't hate unions, but we recognize that many of them are too powerful and abusive. And obviously we don't hate American workers, since that's who we are.

Get past your blind hatred, and maybe you'll see that we have good and logical reasons for distrusting unions that are too powerful and often corrupt.