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The market working is a great thing. The issue is when the market doesn't work. There are many laws granting unions more power than they would otherwise have if
by arohner 15y ago
The market working is a great thing. The issue is when the market doesn't work. There are many laws granting unions more power than they would otherwise have if the market worked.
For example, in some states, if 51% of the employees decide to form a union, the other 49% are forced to become members. Then the union can extract union dues from their paycheck, even if they don't want to.
Unions also destroy meritocracy, replacing raises based on merit with raises based on seniority.
Unions can increase wages far above what would happen if the market worked. At commercial airlines, you'll see some pilots making $200,000, and some making $30,000, for the same job, on the same route, with the same safety. Increasing wages above market prices causes unemployment, because the company is less likely to hire new employees. Without the union, in general you'll see lower wages, but also lower unemployment.
What'd I'd like to see is all laws mentioning the word union to be abolished. No laws protecting unions, and no laws preventing them either. If you can form a club, and raise your wages or working conditions, more power to you.
- jcampbell1 15y agoI agree with your sentiments, but in the US, there are also many laws that restrict the power of unions, particularly government employee unions. There are laws that prevent government employees from striking which drastically limits their bargaining power. Are you sure you want French style transportation strikes in the US, and government employees organizing strikes to get more vacation?
- anamax 15y ago> There are laws that prevent government employees from striking which drastically limits their bargaining power. Ah yes - when's the last three times that said laws were enforced?
- yummyfajitas 15y agoAre you sure you want French style transportation strikes in the US... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_New_York_City_transit_strike http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_New_York_City_transit_stri... So far the MTA is still overpaid and the union is still there. I'd have no objection to government employees striking to get more vacation - provided the agency they work for has the right to fire (for cause) and permanently replace them.
- arohner 15y ago> I'd have no objection to government employees striking to get more vacation - provided the agency they work for has the right to fire (for cause) IMO, in certain kinds of industries, striking should be cause for firing. Imagine the pilots at a commercial airline strike. That causes massive inconvenience for customers (especially that already have tickets!), damage to the brand and long-term revenue.
- yummyfajitas 15y agoIt's not just certain kinds of industries, absenteeism is a cause for firing in virtually any industry. In most states, if you are fired for absenteeism, you won't even be eligible unemployment benefits. Unless of course your absenteeism is blessed by a union.
- omouse 15y agoThere are many laws granting unions more power than they would otherwise have if the market worked. THe employer still has a lot of power. You can be fired at a moment's notice and be forced into poverty. That's waaaaaay more power than a union has! edit: I forgot to mention that a meritocracy doesn't exist. People come from different backgrounds and some have had more (or less) opportunities to improve their skills. Rewarding very skilled people is great, but you should also be rewarding less skilled people by giving them more training (which many companies skimp on...).
- elithrar 15y ago> THe employer still has a lot of power. You can be fired at a moment's notice and be forced into poverty. That's waaaaaay more power than a union has! Forgive my lack of knowledge, but is this just a US thing? It seems that you can be let go (from a permanent position; we'll not talk about contractors/casuals) very easily in the US, without much reasoning. To contrast, here in Australia, a part-time/full-time employee needs to be formally warned (and these need to be documented) three times before being 'fired', and there are many cases where Fair Work (a government body) has helped an employee take an employer to court in cases where the documentation was insufficient. Of course, that's a very high-level overview, but the message I constantly get is that you can be fired for really simple reasons in the US, without much recourse (lest you want to take it on yourself).
- wisty 15y agoExcept, it seems, Woolworths, which just fired a bunch of employees for posting stupid planking photos on facebook. Unless they were casuals. But even causals can be treated, by courts, as full timers; depending on the circumstances.
- tjmc 15y agoDoesn't cover everyone though. Many Aussie employers use casual contracts for what are essentially full time positions.
- lsc 15y agoThis is how it's supposed to work in America, there are certain reasons why I can't fire you; like race. But I can fire you for anything else. But in reality this only holds true at smaller firms. At larger firms, they still need to document, because if I fire you for some random reason (which is legal) you can sue me saying that I really fired you for an illegal reason This really only happens at larger firms, 'cause you could sue me, but you wouldn't get enough money out of the deal to properly pay your lawyer.
- cma 15y agoUnions aren't allowed to perform secondary strikes in the US.