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I support unions. Yes there have been abuses by some union organizations and there have also been abuses by employers. When any one side has too much power sombody down the line is going to pull some stupid crap out of their ass and shove down somebody's throat. I see it as check and balance sort of thing. As a single employee I have very little power when stacked up against a large corporation if they decide to add additional job duties, extra hours and no extra pay. Yes, it can happen. With a union the company has to think twice before arbitrarily making such decisions. Here are a couple of example. I worked as a morning news director at a medium market television station. Often, I repeat OFTEN, this station would ask employees to clock out but continue to work without pay. When they asked me to do this I refused and eventually found a new employer but not everyone has that luxury and I believe a union would have stopped that employers behavior. While working in Chicago for a television production facility management started adding significant responsibilities and hours to our jobs with no increase in pay. We had a couple of meetings with a union organizer. When managment got wind of our union interest suddenly the extra work went away and our pay scale was adjusted to a living wage. The mere threat of unionization made a positive change. Again, I can't speak for all union situations and in some cases they aren't necessary but I believe they still have a place in America and can be utilized in a positve way.
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