[curiosity]

In other words, companies are bribing the old generation of union members to let their unions die a slow death. The old generation continues to get its cushy perks and featherbeding, but the new generation of workers won't. It works because the old generation has all the voting power within the union, and apparently, so long as they get theirs, they don't care that the old generation won't and that the union will be effectively gone after their dead.

IMHO, it's a pretty good strategy. In the long term ensures that the company will be from union-imposed shackles, once the old generation dies, while avoiding a costly confrontation with the union in the short run.

Now if only state and municipal governments would wise up and do something similar...

[Wooly]

Some states are fighting back by passing laws that prohibit public employee unions from collective bargaining.

Here is a good read that has a chart showing the percentage of public union employees by state.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb_61.pdf

[BenKenobi]

Yep, that’s exactly it. It’s really an eyeopener for me as a young person to realise that my elders are perfectly willing to screw me over and my future.

It makes me wonder how many of them really understand the consequences. The older folks have an option, they could take the cut themselves, and immediately solve the problem, but they don’t care. The just don’t care.