Question about Unions

What are your thoughts on the unions we have in todays America. Do you guys feel as though they are outdated and do not have a place in todays country, or are they still needed? What benefits do they provide to us and how do they harm us?

I think that unions are a bad thing. They divide the worker. They give the worker a false sense of security. They have the worker chasing his tail. Unions are also almost always unreasonable. They want the best outcome,not the fair outcome. Unions work for their client so a Teachers Union works for the teacher,not the student. Often Teachers Unions work against the student in the interest of pushing for better working conditions for teachers. Unions are a bad thing.

I am a socialist and i think that unions have done some good things but at the end of the day.a union is the invention of the capitalist. It is a toll that is used to divide the worker into many many smaller groups. That is what it is for. It is also something that the capitalist has fooled the worker into fighting for.

Unions will not be needed under socialism.

Ironically I am a Capitalist and I too think unions serve no useful purpose. They cost their members too much money. They provide a false sense of security and they insure that worker productivity is at its lowest for the highest salary possible. Translating into higher cost for consumers.

reply to post by Jbones


There was a time when they were definitely needed, but I,m not sure they are a necessity now. They certainly held the u.k. Economy back in the 60's and 70's. Nowadays, particularly in the current economic environment, we hear very little from them....

thanks for you input guys, also do you think that because we are becoming so technologically advanced that man power isn't as much in need as before, affecting the unions?

Originally posted by Jbones
What are your thoughts on the unions we have in todays America. Do you guys feel as though they are outdated and do not have a place in todays country, or are they still needed? What benefits do they provide to us and how do they harm us?

most unions are good and they are the only defense against bad management and poor company operations. I have worked both union and non union. I actually saw a dock supervisor tell a man who had just hurt his bak to go home and call in Moanday to see if he had a job!

benefits, source of work through contractors; insurance, health and welfare benefits... and more important somebody who knows the business or construction industry if your unfamiliar with it.

some of my experiences are.. working at Hershey Foods where they had a bad asbestoes problem throughout the plant. I was doing "glovr-bag removal" over top of vats containing 10,000 gallons choclate. the milk room and wharehouse had little piles of stalagmites growing off the floor...

worked 18 months in anuke plant that had a radioactive asbestoes problem. The public utility (PECO) did not want us to mix use respirators and when we couldn't get the proper gear the only cover we had was from the union rep.

Unions are a double-edged sorwd. They can cut both ways. I had been in the Laborers International working on pipelines and when I was in ALaska I checked my book in at the local union office and was told that I was on the f or g list? I asked why and they put me even below their new hires... SI I told them to get screwed.

I have my own small business working on foreclosures.

sorry double post
.