3 ms·

Right. Because corporations can't lobby to get legislation passed. I will never understand people that bash unions. They serve an important counterweight in so

Right. Because corporations can't lobby to get legislation passed. I will never understand people that bash unions. They serve an important counterweight in society.

fleitz 14y ago
Certainly employees should be able to freely associate into unions, however like many groups unions have both positive and negative results. Some people feel that the positives outweigh the negatives and some feel the negatives outweigh the positives. I feel that unions have historically been very positive. In more recent years I think they've hindered progress for example in Vancouver up until the 80s it was required that every container was unloaded and reloaded simply to ensure jobs rather than letting consumers enjoy the efficiencies created by gantry cranes and containerized shipping. Like anyone else unions use their power for both good and bad. From the perspective of their members I can understand how reloading containers would be a good thing, but from the perspective of anyone who bought goods that were shipped through the port of Vancouver I would see it as wasteful. I see nothing wrong with bashing unions for the things they do which are destructive to society at large. I'm not sure what I'd think of a person who thought that unions had never done anything bad.
- pgeorgi 14y ago
  "for example in Vancouver up until the 80s it was required that every container was unloaded and reloaded simply to ensure jobs rather than letting consumers enjoy the efficiencies created by gantry cranes and containerized shipping" ... Where one other option would have been to accept the new tech in exchange for paying for education of those who have a useless job due to new technology - ie. employer gives up some of the monetary efficiency benefits for a limited number of years to reduce/reorganize the workforce responsibly. But I guess that would mean the end of the union and its personnel overhead, and the union would have to use its power for such an agreement instead of that unload/reload stunt. I just can't imagine being satisfied with a job that I know is utterly useless and just kept around to keep me working.

Right. Because corporations can't lobby to get legislation passed. I will never understand people that bash unions. They serve an important counterweight in society.

fleitz 14y ago

Certainly employees should be able to freely associate into unions, however like many groups unions have both positive and negative results. Some people feel that the positives outweigh the negatives and some feel the negatives outweigh the positives. I feel that unions have historically been very positive. In more recent years I think they've hindered progress for example in Vancouver up until the 80s it was required that every container was unloaded and reloaded simply to ensure jobs rather than letting consumers enjoy the efficiencies created by gantry cranes and containerized shipping. Like anyone else unions use their power for both good and bad. From the perspective of their members I can understand how reloading containers would be a good thing, but from the perspective of anyone who bought goods that were shipped through the port of Vancouver I would see it as wasteful. I see nothing wrong with bashing unions for the things they do which are destructive to society at large. I'm not sure what I'd think of a person who thought that unions had never done anything bad.

pgeorgi 14y ago
"for example in Vancouver up until the 80s it was required that every container was unloaded and reloaded simply to ensure jobs rather than letting consumers enjoy the efficiencies created by gantry cranes and containerized shipping" ... Where one other option would have been to accept the new tech in exchange for paying for education of those who have a useless job due to new technology - ie. employer gives up some of the monetary efficiency benefits for a limited number of years to reduce/reorganize the workforce responsibly. But I guess that would mean the end of the union and its personnel overhead, and the union would have to use its power for such an agreement instead of that unload/reload stunt. I just can't imagine being satisfied with a job that I know is utterly useless and just kept around to keep me working.