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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Why Do We Need Unions?

Michigan has now become the 24th state to give workers the right to work without having to join a union. The event provoked more than vigorous debate. State police had to be on duty to guarantee the safety and the ability of Michigan legislators to actually go vote on the measure.

So what is the controversy all about? I agree with folks on the left about the real issue. It's not about right to work. It's about unions themselves. Why do we have them? Why do we need them? What public purpose do they serve?

There's no mystery here. A union is an attempt to monopolize the supply of labor to an employer or group of employers. Like all monopolies, unions try to restrict supply and get a price (in this case a wage) above the free market level.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

banish unions now...

thomas augustus littleton said...

Unions are clearly an evil, but a necessary evil to keep the rich from completely exploiting and dominating the working man like they always have and always will without a counterbalancing force to keep them in check. The government is no help. They help the rich and screw the working man, by passing trade agreements such as N.A.F.T.A and subsequent, traitorous agreements that leave us without good jobs and exploit poor workers in other nations. The ultra rich and corporate leaders are no friend of the other 95% of us; they stay rich at our expense. Unions are bad, but not as evil, treacherous and greedy as America's corporate leaders.

Anonymous said...

thomas augustus littleton : So, what do you base your lies on? Big words but that's about it.

Anonymous said...

Unions were good and necessary, as TAL says, but now they are in bed with the rich and the government, which has turned them into anything but an esquire for the working man.

Get rid of them now.

thomas augustus littleton said...

11:46,
You can refer to Ross Perot's 20 year old charts and FULFILLED predictions about the dire effects of NAFTA and other traitorous trade agreements on America's economy and the American worker.

It is insane or insidious to suggest that any powerful group doesn't need an equally powerful counterbalence to their ambition, greed and domination.

You can refer to American history to see that hundreds of thousands gave their lives to put an end to slavery. Since slavery is no longer an option, exploiting the world's free workforce is the next best tactic to feed their greed.

You can refer to world history to see that the rich and powerful have always enslaved or exploited the rest of the population.
Of course the rest of us need a countebalence to the rich and powerful.