Union Myths

I just read this article by Thomas Sowell and felt compelled to share it. Mr. Sowell hit this one out of the park in my opinion. I hope those who have chosen to blindly support Public Sector Unions and their members will take the time to read this. With any luck these folks may reach a moment of clarity.

The biggest myth about labor unions is that unions are for the workers. Unions are for unions, just as corporations are for corporations and politicians are for politicians.

Nothing shows the utter cynicism of the unions and the politicians who do their bidding like the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act" that the Obama administration tried to push through Congress. Employees' free choice as to whether or not to join a union is precisely what that legislation would destroy.

Why would this administration and the unions want to take away secret ballot elections that exist under current laws? In the absence of the secret ballot the union organizers simply need to "collect" enough signatures to reach a majority. Why? I suppose they want to know who to target, threaten and intimidate.

The actions of union mobs in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere give us a free home demonstration of how little they respect the rights of those who disagree with them and how much they rely on harassment and threats to get what they want.

It takes world-class chutzpah to call circumventing secret ballots the "Employee Free Choice Act." To unions, workers are just the raw material used to create union power, just as iron ore is the raw material used by U.S. Steel and bauxite is the raw material used by the Aluminum Company of America.

Here is a key point that relates to the blatant siphoning of money by the unions.

The most fundamental fact about labor unions is that they do not create any wealth. They are one of a growing number of institutions which specialize in siphoning off wealth created by others, whether those others are businesses or the taxpayers.

There are limits to how long unions can siphon off money from businesses, without facing serious economic repercussions.

Now for a bit of little known union history. Please learn from history all you red shirt supporters. History is now.

The most famous labor union leader, the legendary John L. Lewis, head of the United Mine Workers from 1920 to 1960, secured rising wages and job benefits for the coal miners, far beyond what they could have gotten out of a free market based on supply and demand.

But there is no free lunch.

An economist at the University of Chicago called John L. Lewis "the world's greatest oil salesman." His strikes that interrupted the supply of coal, as well as the resulting wage increases that raised its price, caused many individuals and businesses to switch from using coal to using oil, leading to reduced employment of coal miners. The higher wage rates also led coal companies to replace many miners with machines.

The net result was a huge decline in employment in the coal mining industry, leaving many mining towns virtually ghost towns by the 1960s. There is no free lunch.

Indeed! Please apply this history lessen across the manufacturing realm of the once great US. I live in Cleveland and can attest to the demise of the US steel industry and Domestic auto production. Those jobs will never return. The glory years are over for the private sector unions. No more napping on the job and loading crate engines into your buddies car from the back dock.

So, what's left? What union sector seems to be untouched by all of the problems faced by their private sector brothers and sisters? If you said Public Sector Unions, you're correct. Our ever so humble PUBLIC SERVANTS. Yes the same ones paid directly from your tax contributions. GOVERNMENT workers.

While oil could replace coal, while U.S. Steel dropped from number one in the world to number ten, and Toyota could replace General Motors as the world's leading producer of cars, government is a monopoly. Nobody is likely to replace the federal or state bureaucracies, no matter how much money the unions drain from the taxpayers.

That is why government unions continue to thrive while private sector unions decline. Taxpayers provide their free lunch.

To all of you public sector union members and supporters...Would like White or Wheat, Cookie or a Cracker? Your welcome!!

Thank you Thomas Sowell for painting such a beautiful picture that does not require special rose colored glasses to view..


townhall.com...

OH BOY, Unions are soooo great. Let's see.......
LUINA had to close it's Lansing location due to corruption, now, my husbands retirement benefits may be gone..
miss one month of union dues, due to not working for 6 months and have to pay 150.00 re-instatement....
Yep, been great for us...

Greetings,

I have been in both management and the labor side.

I have never seen a company or public entity that had a union that didn't deserve it.

People unionize to protect themselves.

There are good unions and not so good unions just like there are good companies and not so good companies.

Generally speaking good companies treat their employees in such a way that a union is not necessary.

reply to post by chiefsmom


Sorry to hear about your troubles with LiUNA. The corruption in Michigan is just the tip of the Iceberg for the BOSSES that have lead their flock astray decades ago.

reply to post by GeorgeH


That's missing the point though, all unions are bad because they make prices go up. That's the point.

Onto reality: Over 80% of jobs in America are service sector jobs. Do services generate wealth? Do service sector employees still get robbed by their employers (thinking of Wal-Mart)?

The decline of manufacturing jobs and the decline of private unions is nearly identical. Union members get paid more, have more benefits and more time off then non-union members. It's all part of collective bargaining. The demand and desire for these things are what causes strikes. As employment stops becoming a major business with hundreds of workers and starts becoming seperate pockets of a few dozen workers the ability to unionize diminishes. A business owner will almost always take more money for themselves than to concede to the demands of their employees. This is why prices rise when employees unionize. Business owners would rather rip-off customers and blame their employees then take a pay cut.

Yet another reason for the wealth disparity in this country. Every worker has the right to be represented by a union if they feel the need to. Every worker has this right.

Something else that may be a myth about some unions: If you are a supervisor you cannot have union representation, you are no longer a worker. Read about the IWW and AFGE.

reply to post by jibeho


Obviously what you are saying is true. Simply look at where firms within the US are moving their facilities to and where the non-US firms are building facilities. They building them/moving them to union states like Illinois or Wisconsin? No, they are moving to right to work states like South Carolina. Why is it that every year the UAW goes down south and attempts to unionize the workers in these auto plants and they get rejected? They get rejected because the workers want a healthy company and realize that the union will extort the competetiveness out of the firm.

Used to be that the vast majority of the Boeing airplanes were built in Washington. No more. Boeing has slowly moved those jobs to the Kansas and the Carolinas. Why? Boeing specifically sited the unions for the reason to move the jobs.

Time for a bump in light of the recent decision in Wisconsin.
Plenty of chances were offered in WI

I love being in a union. I get paid very well, i pay 5$ to see the doctor and dentist and optometrist. I get 13,000$/year contributed to my pension, my schooling was paid for, I got a bachelors degree, but unions are bad. hahaha. If we weren't union, our supervisors/administrators would just use us like 2$ whores and get rid of us after. I pay $95/month in union dues, and I write it off my taxes. My union will provide me with free legal representation if needed (not if I murder someone though). We have our own dues paying members audit the unions' books constantly. I see the non-union contractors come in once in a while and they get treated SO #ty, because they have no ground to stand on. Not everything is picture perfect, but I would much much much rather be in a union than not

Originally posted by sbc650mike
I love being in a union. I get paid very well, i pay 5$ to see the doctor and dentist and optometrist. I get 13,000$/year contributed to my pension, my schooling was paid for, I got a bachelors degree, but unions are bad. hahaha. If we weren't union, our supervisors/administrators would just use us like 2$ whores and get rid of us after. I pay $95/month in union dues, and I write it off my taxes. My union will provide me with free legal representation if needed (not if I murder someone though). We have our own dues paying members audit the unions' books constantly. I see the non-union contractors come in once in a while and they get treated SO #ty, because they have no ground to stand on. Not everything is picture perfect, but I would much much much rather be in a union than not

Congratulations on your indoctrination into the land of permanent mediocrity. A land where over achievers are shunned/silenced and not recognized. A land where lazy Billy is entitled to the same pay raise and benefits as hard working Jimmy. A land that will turn Jimmy into Billy as the circle continues to revolve with each new bright eyed initiate into the doctrine.

Glad your union is working out for you. Please come visit Cleveland, Toledo or Youngstown Ohio and see how your union brothers and sisters are living. Most of them are part of the 1/3 of this nation who earn a permanent welfare check as a primary source of income. Take a visit up to Michigan to study the corruption within LiUNA and talk to members who have lost their pensions due to fraud.

I turned my back on the union years ago when I saw them protect a fellow carpenter who intentionally violated critical building codes and took extreme measures to conceal his violations... That was my epiphany.

Good Luck! The end of the PUBLIC Sector Unions is near.

Weak unions lead to the wholesale exploitation of the poor by the rich.

Anyone who wants to emasculate unions either hasn't thought it through or actually wants to see the wealthy get wealthier at the expense of the rest of society.

Non union staff get shafted right left and centre. There is also the political effect to consider, knowing that a large body of people will take action may stay the hand of the political elite when they are considering trashing pensions, services and working conditions.