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Many interesting points here.
Here's my $.02, for what it's worth.
I not only grew up near Flint, MI, home of the Sitdown Strike, but have a lot of family that worked in the shop. I have so much union blood running through me, it's not funny. I'm a proud member of the AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) myself.
Yes, the union tends to protect workers that don't deserve it. I've seen it happen here many times. But, I look at it this way, if they fight that hard for someone who doesn't deserve it, think of what they'll do for me.
Unions can be bullies, but so can management. The guys at the top want all of the money. They don't always want to share it with the folks at the bottom doing all of the work. Unions tend to fight for the rights of the workers to see they get a fair wage/benefit package for the work they do.
Couple of personal examples.
The new Mayor came in two years ago and promised the taxpayers he was going to "clean up City Hall" "Fire all of those no-good lazy city employees" I mean, after all, we all just sit around and do nothing all day and steal from the taxpayers. While I agree there is coruption here, not all of us are bad. Given the chance he would have come in here firing people at will. The union threw up a red flag and demanded burden of proof. So far only a handful of people were actually fired, and several more received suspensions or other diciplinary action. Many of the workers he was said to have been targeting kept their jobs because he didn't have the proof he thought he did.
Another personal example concerns my father-in-law. He works at a local factory where there is no union. He barely makes what I do, even though he has been there 15 years and he is supervision. I've been here only five. He has lousy benefits, and no vacation time. The owner's philosphy is that "I'm paying you to work, not take a vacation". He hasn't taken more that a couple days off in 15 years. One worker come back from his honeymoon to find someone else doing his job. "I needed someone dependable" the owner told him.
Sure the unions have their bad points, but I think they serve a useful purpose in most places. Don't blame the unions for their faults though. Blame union leadership. Our union president is up for re-election, and it doesn't look good for him. (Don't tell him though, he still thinks he's getting re-elected.)
__________________
I reject your reality, and substitute my own
-- Adam Savage
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