4 ms·
> their entire purpose is to form a cartel in order to extract rent from the buyers of labor. Wow. I find this take to be so twisted as to be laughable. A uni
by Pfhreak 6y ago
> their entire purpose is to form a cartel in order to extract rent from the buyers of labor.
Wow. I find this take to be so twisted as to be laughable.
A union's entire purpose is to advocate for the needs and desires of the members of said union. That could be for basic safety or fairness. For instance, coal mine owners used to knowingly incorrectly weigh coal carts, paying workers less than they agreed to pay them. Workers were being cheated, subjected to brutal conditions, and they had no power to ensure that the mine operators treated them reasonably well.
It's, quite frankly, shocking that someone would say a union's purpose is to extract rent given the abuses of labor within the past century.
- missedthecue 6y ago"A union's entire purpose is to advocate for the needs and desires of the members of said union." If this is truly their purpose, as you purport it to be, there is no reason why they shouldn't be subject to anti-trust rules. Why is there only one UAW? Why is there only one Teamsters? Why is there only one ILWU? Because having a monopoly on the sale of labor allows for effective cartelization. Three competing auto worker unions could act as effective intermediaries just the same as one. Of course, we both know full and well that the "intermediary" and "level playing field" excuses are laughable diversions.
- Pfhreak 6y agoYou might be broken if this is your world view.