why is it that a lot of people don't like union jobs?

Question

why would anyone turn down higher wages, better benefits, safer working conditions, and job security. it just doesn't make sense.

Answer 1

Rigidity, union dues, corruption, politics, and bureaucracy.

Unions have a very mixed history. Yes, they've helped boost wages for blue collar americans and provided safer working standards.

They've also hobbled American industry with numerous work rules designed to protect union labor at the expense of competitiveness.

I've got a good buddy who is a union employee. All the time there are things that need doing down at his shop, that he can easily do, but is forbidden to by union rules, because it's not in his job classification.

Unions also have a history of corruption and affiliations with organized crime. Union leaders often force dues paying members to support political causes or candidates they would not support on their own.

Answer 2

In many industries, that just isn't the case anymore. Unions do not improve job security- if anything, they decrease it. Just ask the UAW. Government regulations now take care of safe working conditions. As for higher wages and improved benefits, not really. Yes, they do in some cases provide better wages for those that can keep their jobs. But more often the companies just move overseas and everybody's wages drop to $0. Companies are eliminating benefits at a very fast rate. So unions aren't helping there.

If unions did what you said they do, I think most people would be more accepting. But you clearly have an outdated view of unions that does not reflect the current reality. Modern labor unions do not provide workers with any of the things you cited.

Answer 3

Umm the union is not higher wages, better benefits, safer working conditions down here. The other people get more money and the Union down here does not play by the rules. Things have been reported and nothing done. The union also sold the social numbers to non americans so they could work. Some Unions will do great things, but not all of them are for the people who are working.

Answer 4

Actually the problem is the unions are partly achronistic. They were formed at a time when there were large factories, and job options and opportunities for promotion were rare.

At their worst unions were corrupt, forcing companies to employ people who did no work (literally) asking for pay rises above anything that could be justified by inflation or productivity increases. They can be racist and sexist.

While I am a support unions and workers rights, often unions have stifled companies and work opportunities. Unions have no managed to move into new areas even where they are badly needed. They haven't adopted new technology (why do I need a shop steward when the union could operate a web site and a call centre).

Unions still exist in certain industries and areas where they are able to deliver these things. But most people now get higher wages by study, hard work and promotion.

Work safety is one of the main issues, and they play a great preventative role. But the fear of legal action can also have an impact as well (when unions formed, their was no legal recourse).

Sorry, I sound very anti-union. But unfortunately unions have been irrelevant to my working life, and attempts to work with and talk to unions and left wing organisations has convinced me that change in unwanted by those who run unions.

I am also convinced that the strong unions are in areas that really do need unions, so all power to them.

Answer 5

I see A LOT of people who don't understand the difference between Industry Unions (teachers, pilots, autoworkers, etc) and Craft Unions (Ironworkers, Boilermakers, Electricians, etc). They lump all unions together and ignorantly complain.

I can't say I completely agree with all industries needing Union Representation, but they have that right. There are some rather large industries, such as Industrial Construction, that really depend on Unions.

It's the nature of the industry to be feast & starve for the workers; the jobs are just so huge that a company can't have a consistent line up of the build/refit work stage. If a company were to keep all of the workers "on the books" all year, they would drown in costs. Union Signatory companies voluntarily use the Hiring Halls for a basically unlimited pool of trained, tested, and certified workers to draw from when needed. In our area, the Union Contractors can bid the larger jobs and have a healthier/more consistent bottom line than the non-union companies. There are little to no hiring and training costs for Union Contractors; whereas the non-union companies have to hire, train, & certify all their employees at a pretty hefty cost.

Answer 6

In the beginning, unions were needed to help protect the worker. Now, the unions have gone two far. They have forced business to pay higher wages then what is deserved for a particular job and give that person better health insurance too. The bottom line is that the cost of the item being manufactured is so hight that foriegn countries can now manufature that same item for a lot less and sell it in our country. Sooooooo the union job is no longer in existance. So...Unions are killing America. Why should we pay a grocery Bagger $35.00 per hour and give him binifits. He never had to to to school or collage to lern it. Anyone (Almost) can do that job. Just like saying "Would you like to super size that sir"....It is easy labor and easy labor should not make the same money per hour as a college grad.
Argggggggg.. YOU want more money....get the education in the field that you are most qualified and you can generate enormus bucks for the employer. Then YOU WILL BE EMPORTANT ENOUPH SO THAT THEY WANT TO PAY YOU MORE. GOT IT???

Answer 7

they probably don't like the idea of incompetent workers having more job security simply because of seniority. They also likely don't like that the union tells them when they can work and when they cant, thus preventing them from really shining and getting ahead of all the other slack-asses that are only employed because they are protected by the union. OR maybe they don't like being told what to think and the employer always being portrayed as some evil bad guy and they likely grow tired of the "them and us" mentality that unions create resulting in unhappy working conditions OR maybe they realize that organized labor is what has caused so many economic problems and such high unemployment rates in North America...just a few thoughts

Answer 8

Where I worked , lots of people applied to the unions but could not get in (very selective)
And inside the union , several of the more productive people were not happy about getting the same pay as the super slackers .
Although there are many positives to the union ,
The lockstep pay that rarely allows incentives for more productive workers , can be a big source of irritation . (except for the slackers that laugh at the guys that really work and call them dumb)

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Answer 9

If you have a beef with someone else in the union they will not mediate in most cases.

Some people think for what you pay in union wages you don't get your money's worth.

Many are under the impression that there is a lot of dirty money in unions. (Money used to influence decisions and buy politicians)

Lastly, that I can think of, Union means you play by union rules, not your own. Walk out means everybody (for example).

Answer 10

I think alot of people that don't like unions never worked for one or if they did, don't like paying dues! I've been a union worker for 10 years and sometimes the politics gets annoying, but I wouldn't work without one