Trade Unions - Your thoughts?

[yetgdhfgh]

Trade Unions - Your thoughts?

What are your thoughts on Trade Unions?

I used to belong to the Communication Workers Union that took care of Postal workers in Britain and i have gone out on strike many occasion but that was years ago but i wonder in this day and age what are peoples thoughts about unions?

Is trade unions a good thing or something that is anachronism that belongs in the past?



A song that used to sum up trade unions in the seventies.

[INVASMANIXOXOXO]

Mixed feelings, they cause inefficiencies in the market but union members seem to do overall better than the average worker... But then of course there is the argument that they kill jobs. Mixed feelings on right to work as well cold blooded capitalist and I agree with right to work on principle but of course corporations just wield it as a tool to bully unions. Union jobs might seem super kush/cush but its not always the case the opposing party will enforce the contract to a T and create an adversarial/hostile and IMO counterproductive environment at times... For example the company right now workers have voted down union before and we are well compensated good benefits etc and there is a sense of collaboration/friendliness between the company and the workers... but when I was younger I worked at a non union company that basically maintained that status through exploiting RLA and treated employees like dogshit... Like most things its not black or white unfortunately, I would probably give a slight edge to hooray for unions though... they preserve the American dream.

[vindicatorx]

you mean a labor union? I think for the most part they were started with good intentions that are now no longer the goal of them. I see them incite horrible work practices encourage laziness, and give nothing back.

[Dezerte]

Important for maintaining some kind of balance of power between employers and employees, and also protecting the free market from the "race to the bottom"-problem.

[Deletedaccount1]

I think they're not very important anymore.

[cparle87]

Important for maintaining some kind of balance of power between employers and employees, and also protecting the free market from the "race to the bottom"-problem.

What is the "race to the bottom" problem?

[Varvara Spiros Gelashvili]

What is the "race to the bottom" problem?

If wages are to low and inflation is left unchecked people at the bottom are completely fucked. People can't do everything because job availability and aptitude are major factors.

[JohnBrown1917]

Those who oppose them can't be trusted.

[schwarzkopf]

Optional trade unions give workers an ability to counter the power that their employers have.

They are an important part of any modern civilised country.

[Wilian]

Organized union is the only way working class can be represtend by in a corporation for protection against abuse.

[Daws]

Typically there necessary when your work force has no rights. After they get you the laws all employees should have it's typical straight down hill and into massive abuse of power as they become second rate politicians who are twice as corrupt as there regular politician brethren. Long term you do not want them, short term there needed to get in place workers rights.

[Wyrt]

They are necessary for workers to have any power. That's not to say that everything they do is good, but they're needed for things like good wages and working conditions. It's not really that surprising that wage stagnation coincided with the weakening of unions in the US.

[Mormolyce]

Trade unions are an attempt by empolyees to gain collective bargaining power, a power which larger employers have by default. It's an important counterbalance to corporate power.

Sometimes they suck and do terrible things, and the opposite side of that fight like to use that to undermine the concept. But the simple fact of the matter is, areas with weak unions or strong anti-union sentiment tend to be those where workers get fucked by their employers and have little recourse against them.

It doesn't just affect unionised industries either, it creates a culture and a perception in the workplace that it's all one-sided. All the jobs I've had have been corporate and we don't have unions, but I still hear about what conditions are like in similar roles in the US and I think to myself, there's no way I'd put up with shit from my employer like that.

So yeah, I don't personally benefit from them in any way, nor do I really trust them to always do the right thing or use their power responsibly. But they are a necessity.

[Lochton]

We're talking labour personal unions (as in, the union to protect workers rights), right? And not trade unions (as in, co-agreement on vocational skills and profit).

[Independent voter]

I have family who belong to various unions.

Illegal immigration has hurt trade unions in the US. Why hire a union plumber when you can hire an illegal immigrant for a fraction of the cost?

It's unique to the US but we have over 12 million illegal immigrants.

The big union jobs today are connected to the government somehow where there are laws that say on a big government job you have to hire 50% union people. Often government employees are unionized.

That private prison thing? Unions hate private prisons because they're non union, it's were all the negative press about private prisons comes from.

[Templar 331]

I'm part of a trade union and it's awesome. You don't have someone breathing down your neck threatening to fire you if you don't weld faster. And a fast weld is a shitty weld. The only ways you can get fired are safety violation and attendance, which happens more than you'd think. It's one of the best paying jobs in the area. I have health benefits. The company contributes to my 401k and my HSA account every year.

[Allybeboba]

Need more of them because they support workers’ rights. However, like anything else they can and have become corrupt. Just look at how much the unions have given to politicians. Union worker money shouldn’t be going to the political coffers.

Cheers

[Ghostpanther]

My only experience from them is working at a closed union shop for Cummins Engine Co. and as a Supervisor who had to deal with a union where I worked at a different place. Both cases, they were a pain in the ass and a waste of time.

[Zelk]

Only real place where the working class have a voice. Always protect unions, always support them.

[Fencers]

Crucial to modern society. Especially societies in which one has to labor- obvs.