Just curious to what people percieve to be good or bad about unions. Anyone have a point of view to offer?
Right or wrong, I've always perceived union jobs as somehow limiting my income but giving more stability. I'm a programmer myself, and I couldn't imagine a programmer-related union job paying $1M/year, but there are jobs for programmers out there that pay more than $1M/year if you are amazing (and I suspect none of them are union-based). It would be kind of funny to be offered a $1M/year job, and then just be like... "You know what? I'm looking for a union job... so I'm just gonna go with the one that pays $50k instead..." I know unions can protect people from being unfairly fired... But personally, I'd rather do work based on how valuable it is to whoever I'm going it for. Like if they fire me, let them fire me because I wasn't beneficial to them. I think it's silly to almost force a company into continuing to employee me because they are scared of my union (I also feel the same way about things like tenure... if you suck at your job, you should be able to be fired).
According the Bureau of Labor Statistics,union jobs pay about 20% more then non-union jobs. But if you have a choice of being a strikebreaker vs picketing its better to be a strikebreaker, since [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]picketing[/FONT] pay is only about $200 per week,compared to your normal pay which would be at least 4x more.[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
Union workers can be fired just as easy as non union. I dont know where that comes from. Maybe public sector unions. Being in a labor union i have seen many people fired even some unjustly. i hear you on your point. programers dont need a union. Where do i learn programming? lol
My wife works at a job that has a union. I never worked for a union, but family members have. I personally would not work for a unionized job! I've seen to many people lose money because of strikes, ect
Labors unions had their time in history. That time is nearing an end. Labor unions are supposed to be about workers rights and safety but what they have become in recent years is destructive. Take Wisconsin for example. The state voted to kick out most public unions because they were crippling the government. Even without the unions the average Wisconsin government worker gets paid about 20% more than a comparable private sector employee. Unions suck the life out companies in some cases. Unions are getting a bad reputation all over the place these days. Its easy to see why when I hear stories directly from a union worker about how he gets paid $20/hr to push a broom around a factory. The hospital where I work is building a new building and hired a non-union company to do the drywall. The other union contractors working at the site refused to continue working until the non-union contractors left or were fired, simply because they were non-union. It's hard to find examples of good union stories these days. And to top it all off, the corruption of unions is another factor. When you pay union dues you are also paying for the campaign contributions that these unions flood into political races all over the country. Being part of an organization that almost completely controls the company because it controls the workers leads to strikes and other destructive behavior. The employees feel so protected by the union that the effort in their job is reduced because they don't care about getting booted out in favor of someone who works harder. If you were an employer would you rather have a person that is non-union or union working for you? Of course you would pick non-union because it will probably be cheaper and the work will usually be better. When you are not protected by a union your work ethic is what keeps you employed so you have to put in 100%. And usually good effort gets rewards like promotions or raises. With a labor union sometimes this system is corrputed because the union has a hold of the company in a way that the workers feel powerful and maybe they can barely skate by doing the job half effort. Just my $0.02
The idea behind a union is not only better pay, retirement, And working conditions. But so that workers may have a voice in politics also, along with the corporations. If there is no union( collective of workers) who would speak for the masses of these workers. And not only that, If corporations have the right to capitalize, Dont also then workers have the same right to capitalize there labor to the best of there ability?