Nah; union thugs got in the way of actual work, productivity and creativity a few times too often, so I (and everyone else I know who has started companies) started to go around them and make sure they have no impact.
We form voluntary associations amongst competent professional individuals, and if the companies do not provide proper safety standards our voluntary association of competent professional carpenters will not work for them; not a one of us.
Does your "voluntary association" force people to join "voluntarily" to work at a company under the thumb of the "voluntary association"? Or can free people work alongside of, and compete with, members of your "voluntary association" without intimidation?
Can a company pick and choose to hire the people they prefer from amongst your "voluntary association" as well as free people, or do you picket and harass companies that choose to freely associate with those who haven't "voluntarily associated" with your gang? Blue Man Group comes to mind as an example in this thread.
Professionals with self-respect form associations all the time, such as the ASME, IEEE and the like. These serve to educate members and promote their interests. But they're not thugs going around trying to force companies to hire them, at their prices (regardless of what the market will bear), if someone isn't a member it's no big deal and if a company doesn't choose to hire members, that's fine too.
That's not a union. Unions are thuggish gangs of extortionists, supported (for now) by bought politicians. You tell me why some moron pushing buttons to load/unload already-loaded containers are "worth" $120k/year plus bennies? They'll be replaced by robots, guaranteed, and will spend the rest of their stupid lives bitching about it because they "deserve" outrageous compensation.
And unions are dying, for good reason. Those who are desperately trying to prop them up, here and elsewhere, are having fits about it - that's just gravy, but fun to watch.
"Does your "voluntary association" force people to join "voluntarily" to work at a company under the thumb of the "voluntary association"? Or can free people work alongside of, and compete with, members of your "voluntary association" without intimidation?" you said
Prove to me that the person you want to work next to me has been through a 4 year apprenticeship program and been drug tested pre employment and then randomly drug tested. After that and I might consider voluntary association.
Does he have a scaffold safety card? Know CPR? Know what lockout/tagout means?
You obviously live in a right to work state that has no pre-existing requirements on skilled labor other than they be a body on the wall and work cheap. The training means nothing. An investment in training is just an expense since the person probably won't show up for work anyhow and you know theres another cheap body there to exploit.
Some people dedicate their lives to a career, but an employer with your attitude will never achieve full potential because you place no value on them except to show up for work and he worker knows it. Keep em dumb so they don't discover they can make more money with a union card and have a little pension and some medical insurance. Feed them with the goon and thug story because you know it intimidates self respecting people even though you know the quality of work is outstanding to that piece of work you call a finished product.
I think it would be demoralizing for a worker to know he was making $5.00 an hour less than someone working next to him doing the same job. Is is going to question the dedication of his employer employee relationship? You bet!
There is nothing more satisfying than to see someone come from a job down the street and sign up with the Union. Because he realizes there is more to a job than just a check. His family deserves more than the pittance you pay and he is man enough to take charge of his future.
I know because I was there myself once. And I know the standard of living in my family improved considerably with the medical insurance and more income so I could buy a new truck and quit paying rent in favor of buying a home.
Being able to call myself middle class where I made too much money to qualify my kids for reduced price school lunches and all the other subsidys that poorly paid non- union workers have to rely on is a great source of pride.
I pay a lot of taxes now so I help subsidize your poorly paid workers. Without those subsidys my fellow union thugs pay, your workers would have to move on because they couldn't get the welfare benefits that subsidize low paid people. You should be ashamed of yourself taking advantage of taxpayers so you can pad your wallet!