I have been posting at a community web site for a year now and something just struck me! There is one (retired) union member who is good at defending what the unions have accomplished. There are several of us who are non-unions members that defend the importance of unions. But the three most conservative posters (who pretty much hate Unions) are/were members of Unions.
What is up with that? Something is very wrong with this picture. Why is it left up to non-Union members to defend the Unions from their own members?
Below the fold is a sampling of the anti-union postings from current or former union members... (And, yes, I understand that they may only say they have been union members. That said, I do tend to believe they are telling the truth about their membership.)
There is a big difference between the unions that fought for child safety and 40 hour work week and the unions of today. Today the unions are most concerned with power and politics. I would hire a non union worker over union worker everytime even if the non union worker charged more. Modern unions have breed laziness. I have been in unions and have been management and most are terrible.
In response to a listing of some of the many hard-fought successes of Unions...
I didn't say that any of those things are bad. like I said those things are not from current unions they resulted from different kind of unions.
What unions attempt to do is extort all of a business' profitability away to themselves without risking their own money to invest in the business. If an employee wants to share in the profitability of a corporation, they can buy some stock. But they don't want to do that. They want above-market wages, and the holy grail of the union is the pension because it's the ultimate way to stick it to the man because they still get paid after they retire.
Fact: Almost every unionized industry from steel to airlines to automobiles is having financial problems and teetering on bankruptcy because of the burdensome costs of providing those high wages and pensions.
What unions did was get too greedy and they are hanging themselves.
Not only are private companies having financial problems because of unions, but governments are struggling to pay those pensions, too. Ultimately, it is the taxpayer who has to bear the expense--and that's just the way Democrats want it.
I worked in two union environments and I was a non-union employee in both of them. At both companies there was such an atmosphere of animosity by the employees toward management that was just sickening to be around. At the second one I worked for, one of the employees got a picture of one of the managers and taped it in the urinal and all the employees (male employees) took turns urinating on the picture.
The workers always had a chip on their shoulder and acted like the company owed them something. It's not a good way to do business.
I don't think unions are bad 100% of the time or that union members themselves are 100% bad or lazy. But I've noticed that whenever someone tries to defend unions, they always point to accomplishments like child labor laws and such that happened generations ago. Sure, those are fine things. But that was a long time ago.
And unions have become way too involved in the political process. They have the Democrats in their hip pocket. They use union member's money to support particular political candidates whether the union member wants them to or not.
A business needs the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. Unions severely limit that ability.
Jane you are a perfect example of the nice honest working class democrats, who vote democrat, because their parents did. All those issues you mentioned are issues of 50s' 60s' and 70s'. Therefore they are non issues today. The democratic party of today has nothing to with this anymore! This is not JFK's party.
I am a union member, and I wish I wasn't. They are worthless. MNA that is.
Oh yes I forgot, I get an issue of nursing journal. A $60 issue a month! MNA, the nurses union in Minnesota is sleeping with the enemy for my $60 a month.
Yes, unions dig holes for their members, when they demand retirement with full benefits at age 55, when life expectancy is about 80.
...all of those benefits you thank the union for are available and even better for nurses in non union hospitals.
I would love to retire now, I need a new back, and one new knee too! Good for you! Your ability to retire early is directly related to this rotten capitalism, that you despise so much. It has nothing to do with the union, but if it makes you happy to believe it has, so be it. Who am I to argue?
Like I said! Believe what you want! It's all good!
I'll never make you change your mind, so i will not even try. But it has something to do with global economy and the realities of our times. Like if you believe that any union can make an investor start a clothing company in, say Iowa, think again! Do you really think they'll pay $25 an hour for union workers...? I don't think so! They'll invest in a company in freaking china where labor is dirt cheap. Do you really believe, that a waste management personal deserves $30 an hour and early retirement, without a lick of education? Or that an electrician deserves $45 an hour?
...I did not want to be a member of the union, but I still have to pay them! That is my friend, mafia mentality!
How is it that Unions are doing so poorly in the perception ratings with their own members? I understand that Republicans and Corporations are continually railing against the evil Unions. But how is it that Unions are not able to get a positive message out to their own members? I don't see how non-members can convince these people that Unions have been good for them if their Unions haven't figured out how to communicate their message to their own members.
Unions need to work hard on this. Republicans and Corporations are NOT going to stop their negative message machine, so IMHO it is up to the Unions themselves to convince their own members that the Union is important! Progressives and progressive politicians can echo that message, but we cannot effectively be the messengers!
Any ideas from Union members and their Union officials on how to do a better job?