[Let's Roll]

You are probably both right.

“Manufacturing” is the key word in your response. SEIU and AFSCME are government unions not manufacturing unions. Govt unions seem to be doing too well in all regions.

[fhayek]

Government thrive because 1.) The public officials who okay the contracts do not have their money in the game. That comes courtesy of the taxpayer. And 2.) There is almost always a nice little scheme where the unions make significant campaign contributions to the very same public officials who negotiate the contracts.

[enumerated]

The key factor is free enterprise vs. government sector.

If union demands make doing business economically infeasible, owners of private operations are free to relocate, or even dissolve, and invest elsewhere. Thus, in the private sector, even the most powerful and coercive unions cannot escape competitive market forces.

Government unions are not subject to competitive market forces because taxpayers who fund government operations are not free to withdraw their “investment”.