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I have mixed feelings towards unions. I grew up just outside of Flint, MI, so the UAW was a big part of my life (though my parents were not GM workers, so it wa

I have mixed feelings towards unions. I grew up just outside of Flint, MI, so the UAW was a big part of my life (though my parents were not GM workers, so it was not as big a part of my life as it was for my friends). I am in favor of unions in theory, as I tend to think that businesses will take advantage of their workers as much as they think they can, and a union is a great way for workers to protect themselves. But, eventually GM moved all of their factory jobs overseas and the whole Greater Flint area has suffered because of it. Now, I'm not going to lay the blame for this solely at the feet of the UAW, GM is ultimately responsible, but I'm sure the outlandish wages that the UAW had secured for their (unskilled) labor didn't help any. Demanding a living wage is vital, but when you have an unskilled workforce that is comprised entirely of high school graduates (or even dropouts in some cases) that are all making enough money to afford 2 homes, a boat, and enough cars to litter their front yard with them, I can see why a business would start looking at moving those jobs elsewhere. So, I guess I would say that I am a fan of unions, but I believe that, while a unions primary goal should be protecting their workers, they should also be cognizant of the needs of the business(es) to which their workers sell their labor.

throwawaygrey 11y ago
>>> a workforce that is comprised entirely of high school graduates (or even dropouts Interesting. I always wondered why GM made such unapologetically crap cars. This explains a lot.
zanny 11y ago
If a company is not going to pay you a living wage either way, the union did not mean anything. I often decry compromise because it means settling for worse - in the case of Michigan, while it is awful how rampant poverty and unemployment are there now that the union jobs dried up, the alternative was the slow gradual death of reasonable wages like is happening everywhere else. The union bought their workers as much time as they could but nobody will stop the trends of globalization and automation, and as a society we need to do a lot more to handle rampant unemployability than we are now. Unions can only protect the living wage employable in the long term.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  It seems the union did not buy as much time as they could. By ratcheting up wages so fast, they hastened the day that automation was cheaper than labor. Cheaper to go overseas anyway. By overreaching, the situation was made worse, in the sense of "the party's over" happening a decade earlier than it might have.

throwawaygrey 11y ago

>>> a workforce that is comprised entirely of high school graduates (or even dropouts Interesting. I always wondered why GM made such unapologetically crap cars. This explains a lot.

zanny 11y ago

If a company is not going to pay you a living wage either way, the union did not mean anything. I often decry compromise because it means settling for worse - in the case of Michigan, while it is awful how rampant poverty and unemployment are there now that the union jobs dried up, the alternative was the slow gradual death of reasonable wages like is happening everywhere else. The union bought their workers as much time as they could but nobody will stop the trends of globalization and automation, and as a society we need to do a lot more to handle rampant unemployability than we are now. Unions can only protect the living wage employable in the long term.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago
It seems the union did not buy as much time as they could. By ratcheting up wages so fast, they hastened the day that automation was cheaper than labor. Cheaper to go overseas anyway. By overreaching, the situation was made worse, in the sense of "the party's over" happening a decade earlier than it might have.