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Unions are monopolies and I don’t see how the current system makes sense. Workers should be able to organize and choose to strike, but others should be able to

Unions are monopolies and I don’t see how the current system makes sense. Workers should be able to organize and choose to strike, but others should be able to work and compete with unions without joining them. Oh and break up the biggest corporations so there is more competition for them too. And then let it all just work itself out.

moshegramovsky 2y ago
A union is a business formed by workers who collectively negotiate an exclusive contract to provide labor to another business. In this case, both the union and the port take advantage of certain strategic advantages granted to them by geography. The port has an advantage because it's in a fixed location with favorable features like a good harbor and nearby rail lines. The union has an advantage because the port needs workers who live close. It's perfectly natural to form these types of agreements - the port is a business trying to captures the market for people shipping goods to the area, and the union is a business trying to provide the labor required to do so. When you say that others should be able to work and compete with unions without joining them, that's a moral position, not a legal position. (And, to be clear, it's not a bad position at all!) The legal position is that the contract will be exclusive, and both parties are agreeing to it. Labor unions exist because people don't get what they deserve. They get what they negotiate.
johnnyanmac 2y ago
>And then let it all just work itself out. Monopolies are the endgoal of "work itself out". Conway's Game of Life demonstrates this elegantly (and there's so many visualizations of it to fit your fancy). >Workers should be able to organize and choose to strike, but others should be able to work and compete with unions without joining them. due to the prisoner's dilemma this never really works out. You really need almost everyone behind a union to make it work.

moshegramovsky 2y ago

A union is a business formed by workers who collectively negotiate an exclusive contract to provide labor to another business. In this case, both the union and the port take advantage of certain strategic advantages granted to them by geography. The port has an advantage because it's in a fixed location with favorable features like a good harbor and nearby rail lines. The union has an advantage because the port needs workers who live close. It's perfectly natural to form these types of agreements - the port is a business trying to captures the market for people shipping goods to the area, and the union is a business trying to provide the labor required to do so. When you say that others should be able to work and compete with unions without joining them, that's a moral position, not a legal position. (And, to be clear, it's not a bad position at all!) The legal position is that the contract will be exclusive, and both parties are agreeing to it. Labor unions exist because people don't get what they deserve. They get what they negotiate.

johnnyanmac 2y ago

>And then let it all just work itself out. Monopolies are the endgoal of "work itself out". Conway's Game of Life demonstrates this elegantly (and there's so many visualizations of it to fit your fancy). >Workers should be able to organize and choose to strike, but others should be able to work and compete with unions without joining them. due to the prisoner's dilemma this never really works out. You really need almost everyone behind a union to make it work.