This union bashing makes some feel good - but it is not true. Are you trying to tell everyone that every job we have lost is a union job? Of course not. Also, I am amazed at the huge salaries that are quoted for union jobs.
While the union did have something to do with work going overseas, that argument is way outdated and overexaggerated.
Try greed, corporate and political. Try government involvement in this debacle. Try the government uses our tax dollars to grease the way for these companies to move overseas.
The old "union is to blame for all our problems" is years out of date.
I can't speak for all union employees, just the helicopter division of The Boeing Company where I work. The union employees there are very dedicated men and women who know and care about the product they make. The new MFG technique is Lean Manufacturing where most of the work is outsourced. It is supposed to reduce cost and be more efficient.
Just one example: in our facility, if you needed to replace a piece of wire on the assembly line, the mechanic would go to the Wire Shop which was adjacent to the assembly line. Now that work is done in Baltimore, MD. The piece of wire that could be replaced in 20 minutes now takes 2 weeks - if you are lucky. Mechanics are often idle and not happy waiting for parts that used to be readily available. And you knew the sheetmetal, machinist, etc. that was providing the part for you. You worked as a team, a family.
Last summer supervisors were telling mechanics to use sick leave or vacation to take long weekends due to hold for parts. And if you think this results in cheaper prices for the consumer, guess again. The minimum wage employee currently making the wire bundles for Boeing does not care about the product the way the Boeing employee does. That minimum wage employee is thinking about how he can get a higher paying job, not about the function of the part he/she is making. Our children fly in these aircraft and we build pride into each one. Those of us who remain.
In many ways, you get what you pay for. The men on the shop floor work in 150 degree temperatures during the summer, winter is cold but not that bad. There are some lazy bums, sure, but 90% are great, knowledgable and technically competent employees. I can tell you that IMHO it is the bonus hungry executives that don't care about the end product and who don't earn their pay, not the man on the production floor.
I am not a union employee or an anti-management person. But everyone piles on the guy who does the grunt work and carries the salary/overhead on their back. If a union person is not doing their job, then management has a right to document it and get rid of the guy. That's management's job, not the union's fault.