Wh does the 5 most competitive economies have an average union membership rate of 55.1%?

Question

http://www.newunionism.net/library/member%20contributions/news/Unionism%20and%20Economic%20Performance.htm

cognitive_dissonance - the report you cite is totally subjective.

Answer 1

Unions--though not a "magic bullet" serve valuable functions in an industrial economy. In the broadest sense, they act as a check on management power--and, hence, onpotential abuse or shortsighted policies.

One way this plays out is with regard to wages and benefits. Unions, of course, press for high levels of both--but in so doing, they place presure on management to maximize efficiency--and NOT towaste money (e.g. on things like the $100 + severance package the president of Citibank will receive despite stepping down because of his role in costing the firm billions in the mortgage mess).

In addition, well-paid workers have more to spend--money that goes into the economy, increasing demand and economic growth. Pressure on issues like health and safety end up REDUCING both employer costs and costs to taxpayers and consumers.

There is ample historical evidence to show the value of unions. In the South, from the end of the Civil War until the World War 2 era, the region was marked by anti-union practices, low wages--and slow economic growth. The greatest gains in the South came with legal changes andunions that raised wages, living standards, and stimulated modernization and economic growth. Further, the periods of greatest economic growth correlate closely with periods in which unions were strongest--not jst in the United States, but in all developed countries.

The immediate rejoiner from the right-wing will be that "unions are socialist" and " but what about the growth in the last 15 years?" The answer to the first is that it is simply wrong. SOME unions have advocated socialism--most do not and never have. The AFL, for example, has been strongly pro-capitaist since its early years over a century ago. As to economic growth--most of the gains have come NOT from domestic growth, but from increased revenuses in foreign operations of domestic companies. The actual domestic growth--and real wages--have been flat. The economic benefits have gone almost entirely to the wealthiest 10% of the American population--while the rest of us have benefitted not at all--and, with the collapse of health and pension benefits, millions have lost ground.

We are overdue for a new union mmovement in the United States--and we had better hope it is forthcoming if we want theUnited States to remain competative in the world markets.

Answer 2

Unions don't destroy the economy (after all, the government can intervene in strikes and lock-outs in order to prevent damage to the economy), but the reason these countries have Triple A (not Triple AAA, that would be AAA AAA AAA) is because THEY aren't fraught with corruption like Spain and Greece, or dug themselves into a heap of debt to China by unnecessarily invading Iraq and Vietnam (the Afghanistan invasion was more justified). But, unions actually help on the credit rating. By ensuring that people earn more, the people can afford paying higher taxes, say 40%, without having any less money in total than an American. The tax income can then be used to pay off debt, helping the credit rating.

Answer 3

Because while corporatists want to blame all of the economical ills on taxes and unions, they forget the reality that if retaining more of what you make improves the economy, so does earning more because of unions!

Yes unions are a thing of the past, because only reducing everyone's wages to 50 cents a day will allow our manufacturers to compete with communists.

Answer 4

And let's not forget what the unions did to the auto industry and the clothing industry.

And still folks ***** that manufacturing jobs are moving over seas. Big surprise. And when's the last time a business moved to Denmark or Sweden? If you were a business would you be a union shop? Would you consent to pay your workers more than they're worth? Give them a salary in excess of the value they add to the product you produce? Betcha wouldn't.

Answer 5

This article cites http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm as a source. On that source's 2007-2008 list, the U.S. is the number 1 "competitive economy".


Uhh its the same report cited in your link, just a different year!

Answer 6

Because we can't get union membership to zero. It's a legal right to unionize here in US.

Answer 7

Unions are a thing of the past. They need to be abolished. Unions are drawing down the economy immeasurably. They are also causing the US to be left behind in the world economy. Most other countries do not have unions, and they are leading the world in production.

Answer 8

Its the company's who hire us, and pay us. Then the union mafia steps in and says that if you want to work here then you will pay us. Union membership in the US is 12% and falling and I am glad to see it. Just look at what the steel workers union did for the steel workers in Pittsburgh, OOPS there are none. Unions had their time and place. They are not needed now.

Answer 9

If this number is accurate then it safe to say that paying people the wages they deserve is the best way to increase production and retain quality workers .

Answer 10

we could all be like switzerland and mass produce chocolate. Look at the size of the top 5 countries, they are merely specks on the global map.