Have labor unions forced good jobs overseas?

Question

Have labor unions forced good jobs overseas?

Answer 1

Perhaps a few but  when unions were strong and included  a large fraction of the work force, few jobs went over seas. Now the largest unions   are government workers and in service jobs and we are loosing  manufacturing jobs and even service jobs overseas. It is more likely that strong unions had enough power to block free trade with countries where workers can be hired in other countries for less than a dollar an hour .

Answer 2

No, corporate greed has. When you have companies where the top executives are making multi-million dollar salaries and the regular workers are losing their jobs and getting their benefits cut, it's not hard to see what the real culprit is. It's greed, plain and simple. No job is immune. It doesn't matter how skilled you are or how much education you've had. The companies can always find foreign workers with the same qualifications who are willing to work for much less. Not only that, but they can also import these workers.

Answer 3

Yes, although it would have happened regardless of the Unions. Lets just say Unions sped up the process of offshoring.

Why? Because the cost of labor overseas is many times cheaper than mandated Union Contracts in the US. A Chinese person who can work for $1.00/day beats a $30/hr US Worked by a mile.

Labor is now a global commodity. And if you don't have a unique skillset that can't be offshored, chances are you are doomed. Its not a questions of if, but when.

Answer 4

Why else do you think GM, Chrysler, Ford, United, Delta, Northwest, etc.are broke?