What do you think about unions? Are you for or against them?

Question

So I used to think unions were a good thing but now I'm not so sure. I worked for a non profit that worked me to the bone. So I decided to change the scenery and got a union job. The pay is great so are the benefits. I am never stressed. However, I really feel like we all need more responsibility, we get paid way to much for the little we do, and the seniority thing annoys the %uck out of me. I hate all of the dead weight that NEEDS to go. We need efficient people that truly care about the people we serve and what we do. We need to cut salaries of employees in order to stop lay offs of others. It kills me to see people get laid off who are efficient over those that are so stupid all they do is sit and gossip the whole day. Then there are people who if asked to do something more, they refuse and go to the union and demand more pay for it. All they do most days is sit and chat about their pathetic lives. What is this? A union at its finest. I used to work for one too, everything I believed in is down the drain! Unions drain programs who the hell can afford to pay employees that much????

Update:

@Aaron, yea sounds great, it did to me too. However, I sincerely want to serve others. I work in a program that does that directly or so it seemed. But I always have to worry about my job security because I don't have seniority. And to me, I can't be happy getting paid for doing nothing it's just not in me.

Mr. Smartypants · Accepted Answer

Not all unions are corrupt.  (And of course we know corporations are NEVER corrupt! 8^)  ).

The traditional idea of capitalism is that it's a co-equal partnership between capital and labor.  Both need the other to survive--capital needs to buy labor's time and effort, and labor needs to sell it to live.  They are both free to negotiate, just like in any transaction between a buyer and a seller in a free market. And in that way the fairest deal is reached.  That's how capitalism is supposed to work.

So if corporations are allowed to merge and diversify and integrate, so they can become larger and larger, to get both economies of scale and also to multiply their power against employees and government regulation, then labor should be allowed to organize for the purposes of collective bargaining also.  Fair is fair!

? · Answer

Whatever you think of unions, and everything that may be wrong with them, the main reason unions are hated (primarily by the elites) is that unions provide a democratizing effect. Elite power is threatened by democracy and therefore elites must destroy all institutions that threaten their status.

Edit: just read an interesting article (source) on union busting.

? · Answer

I have read they are very corrupt. And have a lot of corrupt people associated to them.

Aaron · Answer

More pay for less work, what's not to love!?

Perry · Answer

What is the purpose of a union? To make demands backed by threats, in other words, it is an extortion racket. You needn't expect any morality there.

AnonymousGearhead · Answer

Against.  Unions are a for-profit corporation that tells people "pay me to tell your employer what you're worth".  They protect the lazy and give no incentive to excel.  This is why NYC police officers can retire with a higher pension than they ever made as officers...when they are in their 40s, then go and get another job!  What kind of person should get a $100k+ a year RETIREMENT pay for the rest of their lives?  That's what a union does.  Since when is how long someone has been with a company, more important than who does better?

molly · Answer

I think they have served their purpose.
 Now the people in charge of them are so worried about hanging on to their own jobs that they have forgotten why they were created in the first place.

Kon Kitty · Answer

Unions are Alive
Twinkies are Dead
Obama(doesn't)Care

What do you think about unions? Are you for or against them?

8 Antworten