Unions were a collective bargain in a time of
hardship in early America, men and woman of all color and all birthplaces stood
up to monopolies and robber barons and fought for fairness.
Workers didn’t demand special rights all they
wanted was equal rights, and these unions fought with and for the collective
working people of America
You have understand a lot of people during this
era were losing their jobs to immigrants and non union members that would take
less pay.1/3 out of all the manufacturing jobs were working immigrants and they
too wanted equal rights and woman wanted their own rights for work, this
created special interests divisions in the collective equal workers rights
movement, these divisions in not only social class but race sex and ethnic
classes, I believe the courts and politicians played upon, they favored
capital against labor, though I am all for free trade and capitalism but
Abraham Lincoln once said that "Labor is prior to, and independent of,
capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if
labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves
much the higher consideration"
This I think ties into social Darwinism though a
business has the right to free trade and capital and most important competition
against other businesses but not at the expense of the labor, worker's rights
must be soupier to any capital and thoughts rights must be recognized and
honored first before a business earns it's capital.
With drastic wage cuts and economic depression
slipping in the late 1800's massive organized labor unions formed
The kings of labor gained ground during this era
they demined 8-hour working days equal pay for woman African Americans and
immigrants and the abolition of child labor. They opposed strikes and
encouraged cooperation between employers and workers. Lets just say the kings
of labor gave the courts, politicians and corporations and run for their money
by eliminating classes, the divided were now coming together. You can brake one
and two sticks easy but put all your sticks together and they become
unbreakable and strong.
Businesses responded to unions and strikes by
locked employees out and hireling non-union workers which put strain on the
kings of labor and the union movement and created violent strikes that lead to
injuries and even death among protesting workers and police. With incidents
like that, which gave the AFL (American federation of labor) ground and
structure. This organized labor union (AFL) was completely different from kings
of labor, AFL believed in shrikes and civil disobedience as well as violence to
fight for workers rights. They were two different approaches yet with the same
(for the most part) cause...workers equal rights...it's like martin Luther king
Jr and Malcolm x--different approaches same goal...
Now shifting to today's unions because like most
things in history and politics and policies they start out as good intensions
and when power and money come in to play they become something else.
As you say
Today’s world unions are totally unnecessary, at
least in industrialized nations.
Today 81% of nonunion workers do not want anything
to do with unionized work the union memberships has been on a steady free fall
since the 70's
And honestly I don’t see how unions are still in
serves. Unless imp missing something workers who are not part of a union still
work with in their rights. No child labor. Equal pay.40 hour workdays...and if
people are not working within these rights and they are not part of a
union...they should get a lawyer not a union member ship. Because there are now
laws set in place for discriminations and to protect workers
So what do unions do? There are plenty of
benefits in being a part of a union and they like to emphasize
"benefits" union workers tend to earn 100-200 dollars more than non
union workers, and im finding it hard to see evidence that supports the fact or
idea that union workers, work harder and/or are more qualified to earn a higher
wage than that of a non union member, also working at the same company.
And union members have way more job security than
non-union members. But isn’t that going backwards?? From the start of the union
movement in the 1800's when they were fighting for EQUAL labor right?? And now
there is inequality between union and non-union members. Doing the same work at
the same company. I don’t believe we have the right to work and we don’t have
the right to earn more than a fair wage. For example--for union teachers job
security is almost endless and relentless. At a high school in New York it took
6 years to terminate a teacher that sent porn to a student through email. And
during his six years on litigation and trial he collected more than 300,00
dollars in salary earnings. In the Los Angeles entire school district 112 out
of 43,000 tenured teachers were fired for a whole decade from 1995-2005
I also want to point out that there are now different
sectors of unions--there are privet sector and the public sector unions or
nongovernmental unions
The privet sector cares a lot about profits and
maximizing share holder value--and this is where things get complicated-- union
organizations were losing memberships against free trade, freedom of choice,
capitalism and competition but more importantly irrelevance. Through share
holding and profit and business promises--the needed big support--so unions
began to look for closely at politics and parties for a wave of support and
with the right donations unions found an upper hand...big labor unions made up
12 of the top 20 donors from 1989 to 2008. So this seems crazy to me. Unions
take money from their members aka workers and give it to positions??? And they
dump it on the Politian or party that best suits the unions what a wonderful
partnership between the two. But maybe not the union worker but shouldn't it??
In part it is his working dollars shouldn’t they have a say where their money
goes as well??
So I have to conclude--many workers want to work
in partner with a union organization and that’s fine but they have to
understand unions are now a service for un equal benefits for works and for
companies as well. Speaking in mind of buisness competition, which I must add,
is really good for consumers! For example---say a company has 400 workers
and 200 out of the 400 are union workers doing the same work as non union
workers--it is 5 times harder to fire an un fit union employee than an un fit
non union employee. Doesn’t that hurt business productivity and compitition??
What is a company to do with half of the union worker that don’t want to work
or just simply un fit for the job?? Fire them?? That’s when union steps in! And
say no way! After all unions need money too...and wouldn’t that up set the 200
non-union workers?? Knowing they get paid less than the un fit lazy union
worker that can't get fired? Yet if a non-union member sneezes wrong, it’s out
the door and on unemployment for them.
The fact is- we have gone backwards in equal
labor rights! These days’ unions have become powerful political machines that
do not rightfully service the working people and their interests. Unions, work
in favor of there own special interests they crush fundamental American ideals
of free trade, capitalism and compitition--and opportunity. By endorsing
monopolies and bureaucracy which are the very things unions fought against.
