Purp
Active Member
Ding ding ding. Certainly the equation isn't quite so simple, but the further down the rabbit hole you go the more damning it is for unions. Also, economic policy at the federal level is equally, if not more, to blame for a lot of the demise you've described, but nothing you've said is inaccurate.The Colonel said:Yes, steel, airline, and auto were built on the backs of union labor, but those industries in America have also failed on the backs of union labor. Have there been any industries that have had a higher rate of bankruptcy / bailouts / restructuring?
They have failed to adapt to the global economy. Unions once had their place to ensure employers couldn't take advantage of their employees and put them in harm's way.
Those days are long gone. We could get away with inflated wages for years as everyone else in the world was still buried in ashes. We were the only option and became fat and happy.
We are now getting our butts kicked by highly flexible, adaptable, and hungry corporations and individuals.
Unions were a competing labor market force for corporations in their infancy; today the purpose they once served can't be justified by their expense so they rely on government protection for survival. I'm pro-union when labor market forces create them, but I'm anti-union when government influence sustains them.