Sunday, February 20, 2011

Unions

The recent developments in Wisconsin i think requires a bit of attention. Wisconsin is proposing a bill that will remove some of the collective bargaining ability of the Public Unions for the state.  Along with a change to Pensions which many are funded solely by the state government and a reduction in Health Benefits.  This is in response to closing a $167 million budget gap, and the estimate is quoted as being the equivalent to a 8% pay cut for government employees.  This is the solution brought forth as opposed to laying off 8% of Public Sector Employees to reach the same target savings.

Prior to this i haven't considered my own opinion on unions so i decided to do a little reading and research here at work on my lunch break.  I ended at the conclusion that unions had run their useful course in terms of winning the war of workers rights.  With the passage of Federal and State minimum wage laws, child labor laws and workers safety regulations.  But at this point the unions have become their own worse enemies with their stranglehold on many industries in the US.  Unionized employees on average earn 28% more then their nonunion counterparts, which is great but it begs the question if this wage disparity is forcing the non unionized workers wages lower because of this. 

From the business perspective on unions, they force the business into union contracts that limit the flexibility in response to market conditions.  Along with the higher average wages paid out to the unions the bossiness is then forced to raise costs of goods or face closing down completely.  It also leaves the Business in some instances to seek production facilities outside of the US Borders.

Knowing this i cant support Unions for their stranglehold on many business and state governments, but also on the hold it has on the employees that are forced into a union and to pay into the monthly union dues.  Over the next few years i think we will see more instances of state governments putting more pressure on public sector employees and unions in order to cut costs on their yearly budgets.

42 comments:

Anon said...

you are so right. love to read your storys, go on with more :)

D. said...

I never realized this

Brendan said...

wow i never realized this either

mtn said...

excellent entry. thanks. waiting for more!

christopher said...

wow my mind was just blown

Blog Master Flex said...

Unions are not a good thing anymore. Look at what assembly line workers were getting paid in GMC and Chevy warehouses. $50/hr and full benefits for operating simple machinery and piecing together cars. All because they lobbied hard.

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Dr. Grim said...

true, there is not much use of unions anymore...

Erasmus said...

I tend to think unions *were* useful, but in the modern world, they really don't seem needed. And being forced into a union if you work at a certain place feels very wrong to me.

Sidewayz said...

Funny how these Unions cry foul about the bill not being democratic but the Unions deny the right for a employee to not join a union if they dont want to.

Sidewayz said...

not many things that i cant stand more then hypocrites, ignorant, and apathetic people.

Patti D. said...

very interesting read.

Dr.Thrax said...

honestly, unions should be dissolved. They represent a lack of faith in the government to regulate working conditions. They were meant to establish standards of safety primarily.

Tom's Life Strategies said...

Well written, never really took the time to think about stuff like this untill now :)

Fighter said...

Good post and nice-looking blog! Keep posting

Anonymous said...

this has answered a lot of my questions.

Anonymous said...

unions are fine until assholes run them and the workers get lazy

T3CH said...

Yeah, I agree with that, look what they changed into.

Anonymous said...

I'm torn on this...my wife is in a union and it secures her job.

Meltedsnowgirl said...

The AWU has totally fucked the Car industry with their increasing demands for more money. I have no problems with certain unions but when they start to be greedy fucktards it's time to step in. The AutoWorkers Union is one.

Nurses, Teachers, and other employees that need unions, are ok.

UrbanPirate said...

Never really realized this! Thanks.

B said...

As a folk music listener I have been exposed to lots of Union songs. From my understanding they are the good guys.

Zoupic Music said...

you're so right wow

bearsic said...

wow i can't believe how much i think thats true.

Jeremy said...

Conspiracy! Haha

I'm glad I read this so I can realize what's going on now.

JDeebs said...

Why do we have unions again?

Lewis Chan said...

so true

Eternal said...

You're right about that. The unions have turned into a bunch of users and abusers. Thanks for the insight.

Tasos said...

you've got a point there...

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John said...

I've never really been a fan of unions, but great work on the blog, keep it up!

Mike42194 said...

My friend Jake is in Wisconsin, he says it is in the craphole now /:

Matt said...

Yeah, unions can still do good in the private sector, but public sector unions are just a leech on the system. Great post; I love your blog, and I can't wait to see more!

llllollllll said...

interesting ideas.

SKS FKF said...

Unions definitely have their costs, but if you have to choose during a time of great debt and economic strife between giving the people who funded your campaign a tax break and giving teachers a pay cut, which is more honorable?

AllenTesch said...

Good of you to realize this. A lot of people just buy the union hype at face value

Jim said...

At what point do you abandon workers in favor of business?

Sidewayz said...

@Jim At the point that Workers Unions drive bussinesses out of the country causing the loss of jobs in general for both union and non union employees. The issue with bussiness and manufacturing in the US is the ratio of labor costs vs the cost of purchasing equipment. Most of the time its much more feasible to purchase automated machinery and hire less workers due to the cost of employing workers. While countries such as China and India the cost of labor is so low it is feasible to hire more workers as opposed to automated machines.

Jim said...

@Sidewayz Only because China and India have sweatshops! Europe is very friendly toward unionized labor and it seems to be getting along just fine.

Rachel Neilson said...

This bill is retarded.

Mike Yang said...

Rather be equally rich than equally poor...

Chris C. said...

You have a couple of good points there.

Unknown said...

I read about this in the Wall Street Journal. Definitely a controversial issue. Thank you for sharing!

Jung said...

Free market leads to imbalance. It's hard to have equality and free market.