Are labor unions still needed?

Question

I work for a large union contractor(boilermakers, pipefitters, laborers, millwrights, ironworkers, teamsters, etc.). These people seem to think they deserve the world on a silver platter because they are union. Unions were first enacted to improve hellish working conditions, I would say that in the U.S.A. today conditions are no where close to where they were in the late 1800's early 1900's.

Answer 1

NO


all they do now is muck up the works and cause a bunch of stupid rules and regulations.



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Answer 2

Yes, a hundred years ago where the workers were oppressed. We have so many laws, like the minimum wage (which is trying to get risen) and suing companies for work-related injuries. Unions have made companies apply more of their concern on the workers.

Today, it's no where companies are being oppressed. I think they have outlived their usefulness. I think the unions have gone overboard. It seems like now they do is ask for more and more stuff. No wonder there are a bunch layoffs in GM and Ford. Those unions have demanded too many high wages and pensions causing more burden for companies to raise prices for their products, reducing profits. And no wonder there has been and will be a decline in memberships, at least in the private sector. Also, I believe that unions is one of the causes for OUTSOURCING.

Look, even without labor unions, companies still have to care about the workers' welfare. If they don't then productivity would go down, therefore profits would decline. They need to listen to their employees' concerns because they bring out IDEAS to make the company even more EFFICIENT. As wages are concerned, workers should be FORTUNATE that they have a JOB where they can earn some money. If a worker does not like the pay, then he/she should get another job. Having a job is better than having no job. Remember, you spend with the money you have, not the money you might want or wish to have at a later time because it is a matter of WHERE the personal finance is being spent.

Answer 3

The reason there are no more hellish working conditions is because of those unions. It also keeps laborers from potential abuse as well. Many labors go to school to know their trade and because of that they expect to be treated accordingly. Lawers and Dr's are respected and paid for what they know. I feel that many laborers are the same way. The only difference is the info they know. Being educated in their field is for their safety as well as yours. You certainly would''t want plumbers and esp. electricians not knowing what they were doing. Or Some random person working on electricity b/c they could kill you or themselves. Unions make sure that the trade they work, all workers or equally trained so everyone has and knows the same skills. Therefore, when they are requesting pay, it it to meet their education. Not to mention how the economy is raising and minimum wage is not. This allows people in these trades from being impoverished, b/c they have the education to back them. YES! Unions are necessary! I hope this was helpful.

Answer 4

I think that being union doesn't make you special. I know in my job (retail sales), that we get some union men in here and they think that their poop doesn't stink. I am in a union, and I get the newsletter and it's basically a paper bragging about how they're ripping the employers off.... not really, but you know what I mean. Our union contract ends in February and rumor has it that we will be getting a HUGE raise when they bargain for us.... like $5 an hour or more (which is HUGE for a retail sales rep).

I think that union is here now to help people bargain for pay and positions that they would otherwise not know how to bargain for. I know I couldn't go to my boss and ask for a $5 an hour raise without him laughing in my face. My union will negotiate that for me because there are strength in numbers when you are apart of a union. I think that they have good basic ideas. Not all union members think their poo doesn't stink. I sure don't. In fact, I'm thankful that I have those people behind me so that I can get the raises that I DESERVE that I wouldn't get otherwise.

I get a raise every six months.... for as long as I am in this union. You can't get that with a non-bargained company.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

I totally agree with you. Labor unions have long outlived their usefulness. Once it was a very important part of the labor system; creating safe working environments at deserved pay. But now there are enough labor laws in place that unions are no longer needed and have become more of a hinderance.

Now unions consist of spoiled leaders demanding more pay, more benefits, more time off, etc. When I hear about the teachers going on strike in areas where they already make 80K salary for 9 months of the year, I realize how much they act like the world owes them everything. Yes, teacher's deserve high pay, but where do you draw the line?

Answer 6

NO. They serve only the lazy and illiterate, and foreigners. Contracts fill union rep pockets, and sell out the common man. Too many very qualified individuals are passed over for raises, and promotions, because they do not know the 'right people'. Raises based on performance are a thing of the past. All unions do is take dues from your pocket, when that cash could help your family.

Answer 7

I belonged to a Hotel Restaurant union, all it meant to me was...no voice of my own, no thoughts of my own, and hard earned money out of my pocket to pay the union Representatives salary. The wages sucked, so did the benefits. I know of the union that I belonged to, and I am dead set against it, I cannot say the same for other unions as I have not experienced them. I just know that Hotel unions are not for me. I would rather deal with the managers myself than have to have a union Representative with me. I don't like to be spoken for.

Answer 8

I believe that the unions now a days are very behind the times. They need too be rewritten. I think they have gotten way out of control and are not helping the working man as they were intended to. My opinion is.. what they are made up of today is not what we need to get a decent wage and the respect we deserve.

Answer 9

Some would argue that if they went away, working conditions would soon devolve back to where they were.
Others argue that unions are bloated and corrupt, serving only to garner their leaders a giant paycheck while doing little for their several members, except for pricing them out of the market. They spend giant piles of money to lobby legislators to "level the playing field" by effectively taking away the consumers choice of cheaper products. All in the name of saving American jobs.

Answer 10

Check out the conditions in a Chinese coal mine, then answer the question yourself.