Labor union is good for America?

Question

read this http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/organized_labor

Answer 1

Unions had their time and that time has passed. When they started they did a lot of good, but now they just end up costing their own members their jobs.

We don't need unions we just need the threat of unions to keep employers honest.

Answer 2

As a union member I guess I should add my opinion to this.... I work in the construction trade in a right to work state,I worked non union for about 10 years before joining the union and I will never go back. In the union I get a guaranteed wage at every job I work, I get insurance and retirement that follows me from job to job, I get overtime,vacation, safety inspectors on the job, etc. In the construction trade you're always working yourself out of a job, so these things are important. Another benefit of the union, when a job ends, the union has another one lined for me the next day ( or next week if I want a little time off), no looking for another job, no collecting unemployment, no large gaps without income. From a workers point of view the union has been very good to me.....,For the contractors, using union labor provides a ready pool of trained craftsmen to man the job. One call to the hall and the next day you have an experienced crew ready to work. No going thru 20 losers to find one guy that knows what he's doing. Unions offer apprentiship training ( college credited in most cases) to insure knowledgable craftsmen on the job. Would you want to live or work in a building that was plumbed or wired by someone that didn't know what he was doing?, trust me, it happens more often than you think.....for the small service company the union gives your employees insurance and benefits out of their dues, saving you a bit of change that is better put in your business. The union also has lawyers available to members and contractors if neccessary (not free, but available)......I will agree that some unions hurt themselves with short-sighted policies, but for the most part, the union is a good thing. Unions need to wake up to the fact that a new way of doing business is at hand and adjust accordingly, but thier existence is more important today than ever..........And I know there are labor laws to guarantee certain protections for workers but the laws and enforcement are so weak it's laughable( at least in the construction trade). They're basically useless.Only the collective bargaining power of a union looks out the working man. Who else is going to do it, politicians?

Answer 3

Those people who think that the need and/or usefullness of labor unions only need to look back in history to see that we are again moving toward the abuses of(on) the American worker.The pro-big business,anti-labor faction of society has taken away many many benefits that the labor movement worked so hard to bargain for the working class.Overtime pay,the 40 hour work week,health care and retirement plans have been pillaged by poor manangement and greed.If you doubt my assertions,think of Enron or the United States steel industry.Our government,while telling the public that they are helping the lower and middle class wage-earners,has in fact passed many legislative action designed to hinder the very people they claim to help.Laws have been passed allowing for permanent replacement workers during labor strikes,although the companies involved have agreed to and signed contracts with unions allowing for strikes(which are undertaken as a last resort).Laws have been passed severly restricting the ability of the workers to peacefully picket,a direct violation of our first amendment rights.
While it is true that there have been abuses by some labor union officials,those abuses are almost always result in in prosecution by the local and federal governments(and justifiably so).And it is also true that some workers abuse the system and their union protects them from being fired or disciplined.But who is to blame in those situations?The union for asking for those conditions or the company for agreeing to them?
If business management were to suddenly treat their employees in the manner they wish to be treated,then unions would in fact be obsolete.But,since the reality is that the American working class is under fire from its own employers,labor unions are not only good for America,but necessary to insure that the working class has a voice in the workplace.The next time that you celebrate Labor Day,remember that it was a holiday initiated by labor union leaders to honor the labor movement,not by your employer's generosity in giving you the day off.

Answer 4

infrequently. You do comprehend that position is in user-friendly words consistent with communism? contained in the developed international, the in user-friendly words countries that hae no longer or do no longer have exertions unions are those less than communist regimes. the reason being glaring. exertions unions mean that workers and administration exercising consultation and performance less than enforceable contracts arrived at by technique of bargaining in a free marketplace. Communism replaces contracts with arbitrary decrees exceeded down from some imperative authority. those who worry the flexibility of a free marketplace oppose exertions unions -- and that usuallly ability those who help a communistic gadget.

Answer 5

I have been in the Teamsters for well over 30 years. I have worked both, union and non union jobs, and I'll take a union job any time over a non union. My Teamster retirement will follow me where ever I go. I am damn proud to be a Teamster, and I fear for the younger people getting started now. My dad was a union man, one of the last things he said to me before he died was to stay union. There was a lot of blood shed starting these unions, but it vastly improved working conditions for the regular Joe. God bless the unions, and God bless America!!!!!

Answer 6

We alredy have one union, it is located in Washington DC.
They are doing their best to make sure everyone "not involved" in government, defense industrys or upper management of corporations will have a minimum of health and economic means to support themselves.
to insure that group gets just enough eduction to support the need for a service industry labor force, with the ones selected on a merit basis, with a little leeway for those of good familys, into the higher eductional fields.
To make sure our military is run like a well managed corproation by making sure it has access to all our youths and compulsory service both in military or civil infrastructure for at least two years.
The union is lowering the difference between Canadain , US and Mexicos currencys and by the greater Andes coaliton keeping ther prices in line with our ability to pay for foods and minerals.
They, the Union, are the ones you elected and the bureaucrats they hired, have been writing and voting for every bill that is needed to insure your future as good union employees.

Answer 7

No just politicans and then only 1/2 of them
If the unions got behind getting the illegal alien invaders out of the USA
Wages go up
Jobs open up
Union membership would go up
instead they encourge illegals and keep wages lower and jobs down

Answer 8

as long as there is democracy and the freedom to assemble, there will always be unions. I guess some Americans want to take our basic freedoms away and replace them with more milion dollar corporate crooks.

Answer 9

They exist so the lazy, under-achiever can make the same pay as the hard working, over-achiever.