Posted on 08/06/2010 8:27:25 AM PDT by NetRight Nation
A common argument made by some Republicans and conservatives is that labor unions were necessary in society a hundred years ago, but they are no longer needed in today’s workplace. This argument, however, has many flaws. When looking deep into the history of the labor movement, unless you support a society modeled closely around that of the U.S.S.R., labor unions were not just unnecessary a hundred years ago, but have created lasting damage and are still continuing to wreak havoc across the nation.
Many fail to see the downside of the American labor movement at the time of its inception. Few remember that it was a product of the progressive movement, which created many of the problems in society that we deal with today.
Just take a look at the progress that the labor unions have made in their short history. From just 90 years ago, labor unions have gone from trying to “protect” the workers that they represented to taking complete control of the companies that they were “protecting” them from. In essence, they have a track record of completely dismantling the companies that they have set up shop in.
If you need an example of this, just look to Detroit. Of the Big 3 automakers, two have ceased to exist in the form that they did for most of the 20th century. One of them, Chrysler, has been completely taken over by the United Auto Workers, a union that sought to protect the employees of the car manufacturers from the supposed “greedy” leadership that was going to sell the workers short.
The UAW can even claim General Motors as a victim of their ruthlessness. GM has completely disappeared from being a publicly traded, privately owned mega company into a publicly owned, taxpayer funded zombie corporation all due to labor union malfeasance.
The goal of the unions has not been to protect the workers, but to stop private companies from turning profits that they claim do not enrich the employees that made them possible. Instead, the unions have taken far greater roles in dismantling the companies that pay the workers handsomely and in turn, destroy the companies while enriching only the union leadership.
In short, labor unions have turned into a total scam. They hustle money from the paychecks of those they represent and pad the pockets of those in leadership — selling short the employees that could live better lives without the so-called protection offered by Big Labor.
While the auto unions provide a good look at what Big Labor has done to private industry, the same type of damage has been done in the public sector.
Teachers unions have made it nearly impossible for poorly performing teachers to be removed from the classroom. The harm done hurts the students and the taxpayers that pay for these services. Teachers unions care nothing about the level of education offered, but look more to what they will earn on the taxpayer dole.
Just look at what is happening in New Jersey. When Governor Chris Christie attempted to clean up the New Jersey education system, he was met with stiff resistance from the teachers unions, even though the taxpayers wanted a change. The unions are not in the business of providing better services; they are simply in it for the interests of the union leadership.
The federal government should not go without blame either. It is the fault of Congress that has led to such powerful labor unions across the country. With legislation such as the Wagner Act, which created the National Labor Relations Board, unions have become institutionalized in America.
There is much more wrong with Big Labor in America and this is simply the tip of the iceberg. But at no point in American history has there evern been a need for such organizations such as the SEIU, AFL, NEA, UAW, and so on to “protect” workers in the workplace.
Americans have always had the ability to vote with their feet. If a job is bad, they can move on. But at no point has a hustler of one’s paychecks been necessary for the greater good. And to believe so is to lose trust in the free market system that made America great.
Adam Bitely is the Editor-in-Chief of NetRightDaily.com for Americans for Limited Government.
Read more at NetRightDaily.com: http://netrightdaily.com/2010/08/were-labor-unions-ever-necessary/#ixzz0vq7RAoDM
You talking about the Triangle Shirtwaste Factory fire, the largest workplace disaster in NYC until 9/11. Managers would lock women in their work spaces and chain the fire exits shut so the workers wouldn’t be tempted to take cigarette breaks on the fire escapes. The result was 146 dead, many who leaped to their deaths from windows to escape the fire - sound familiar?
Labor unions were NEVER necessary, and were always monopolistic organizations designed to simply increase their wages at the expense of other workers.
The ONLY thing that can better a people’s or an overall economy’s situation is increased PRODUCTIVITY. If a village grows 100 potatos, its 100 inhabitants have “income” of 1 potato each. If they can, through more work, better technology, etc... grow 1000 potatos, then their “income” will rise to 10 potatos
Forming into politically powerful groups to take potatos from others does not increase the supply of potatos. It may make a few better off, but at the expense of others.
This is the first part in a series of stories that will look into the sordid history of unions. For instance, how many people are aware that when labor unions first sprung up in America they were in cahoots with Stalin/USSR even to the point where the labor bosses were in sit down meetings in Moscow?
As far as bad working conditions go, these things would have been naturally corrected. One could argue that Unions did little to fix this, i.e. Detroit. People went from having bad jobs to no jobs in 90 years.
Unites States Constitution, Section 8, Article 1.
Oh that we’d someday see a Republican movement to eliminate unions in government!
How is it that the Canadian economy does so well when Canadian unions are so strong?
Nationalized unions were never necessary, and should have been outlawed when there were politicians with backbone enough to do it. If employees of any particular workplace want to exercise their right of collective bargaining, apart from interference from national unions and commies, so be it. They can exercise their right, and management can exercise its rights. Unions are counter productive and corrupt, and when joined at the hip with an all powerful government, like our corrupt caliphate, it becomes an absolute evil. Public service unions and national unions, especially those that have been given ownership by our dictating caliph, are nothing but communist usurpers of liberty.
Maybe that's better than keeping them locked-up and unproductive in state (re)education camps until they're 18. And sadly, after 18 years, many are still unprepared to enter the workforce.
There's nothing wrong with kids doing some kind of work. Even at the peak of labor's political power, exemptions in labor law were made for children doing farm work because it was understood that, while children are inexperienced and need protections, allowing 18 years of consumption before any production is difficult to sustain. It's only been possible because fossil fuels and cheap immigrant labor have been doing the work. That isn't going to last.
And kids consume more than just food today. I don't see why a 15 year old can't in industry producing, for example, cell phones in a factory setting. It might be as simple a thing as screwing screws.
Of course, changing child labor laws wouldn't dramatically change their participation in industry. Labor unions have effectively blocked the majority of those under 50 from participating anyway, so the question is moot.
Cite the passage in the Constitution you are references in terms of contracts, please.
“How is it that the Canadian economy does so well when Canadian unions are so strong?”
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The Canadian economy does not do well!
It is choked by socialism and highly confiscatory taxes, and would be in freefall if our congress took the strangle hold off of our lumber industry that was mostly instituted to keep Canada alive.
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Pretty much everything this government has done or supported since 1913 is unnecessary and mostly evil.
Good idea - I want to grow a whole new crop of wage slaves.
Yes: I said it...thank God for Unions
1) Overtime Pay...
2) Curt Flood Challenging baseballs reserve clause
3) paid vacation
4) paid holidays
5) workers compensated for injuries due to faulty factory owed equipment.
Are Unions corrupt: YES
Have they gotten greedy: yes—that’s you baseball
Do they serve a purpose today: probably not
But at the time, they were necessary especially from some of the horror stories my grandfather told me about the work environment before unions...
Nice try. Nothing in there allows for the regulation of employement contracts. Maybe I’m just not reading the “living breathing” version of the constitution. Will you share yours?
As with all things government regulated, child labor laws have far surpassed their original intent to the point where children of farmers are compared to child labor sweatshop workers.
Why not?
They were referring to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.
http://www.historybuff.com/library/refshirtwaist.html
146 women died in the fire. They were locked into the factory to prevent them from sneaking out.
What if the guy who owned the field gave the workers 1 potato a day, but charged them 2 potatoes a day to rent the potato bag, to buy their meager food, and to sleep in the company shack at night?
And if they tried to leave he charged them for all the back potatoes they owed?
Sorry, it was horrid working conditions at the time and all perfectly legal. Unions were needed to make the playing field fair to workers.
Better look in Section 10, then. But are you talking about the “living breathing” constitution where we dump the 14th Amendment?
I don't have time to find a direct link, but here's this info as referenced by Beck:
Liberation Theology and the Political Perversion of Christianity." Scroll down in the transcript.
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