What are the pros and cons of unions in America?

Question

What are the pros and cons of unions in modern day America? Please only well thought out answers.

Answer 1

Unless you are working on some farm then unions have outlived their usefulness because most businesses have learned to treat workers much better than they did at the turn of the century.  Unions take a lot from your own check but would you have done better with that check untouched than having the union getting there hands on it.  

Answer 2

Unios have a good spot for the American worker but have in some cases out lived their usefulness in example the American mfgs. hire under the table many peopl;e to cut costs and benefits.

They have a built in labor force that the govt. lets into the country so the corps that contribute to political canditates have powe r for the profits of the corps. The american people have been sold out.

take the guy that is forced to train the third world worker, here in because the corps bring him in with special visa's granting him the right to come here and train himself in America.

Then after they can run the machine in the factory here the company builds a factory in China or india and sends the newly trained guy back there to work for a fraction of what he'd have to get paid here if he was an American. To make a living and support his family.

Another job sold out of the counrty for an Amrican corp to profit more and we have higher unemployment.

and the guy that trained this fellow now looses his job and has to borrow against his home to survive and keep his kids in College.

and they think senior citizens are asleep at the switch no way we just are getting screwed as these corps cut our benefits we worked for, for decades to a bare amount ad we can't get a Govt. that gives a dam about what we are sufferig through.

Answer 3

In a nutshell, The Unions began by fighting for worker rights and fair pay, but they became so big that they became a business instead of remaining a pro-democratic social movement. It ddn't help that the mafia infiltrated the union power structure and turned unionists into violent thugs and crooks

Americans owe a debt of gratitude to the unions w/o which we would not have vacations or the 40 hour work week. But they are less a factor now because of the change in focus mentioned above. Also unions have been demonized as socialists by capitalists who have commodified workers as mere business assets. Our econ-system is very sick and has been regressing since the 1980's when Reagan made it easy to bust up the unions through legislaton and lax enforcement of anti-union activities by management and hired consultants.

ps KPFT.org  in Houston has a weekly program on unions.

As a disclaimer of any conflict of interest, I was never a member of any union. As a member of management I had to deal with the bad elements in unions(OCAW) who behaved badly by being petty, vindictive and corrupt. Still I recognized the good they did.

Addendum:

The unions are trying to re-emerge as a social movement but that is made difficult by the old goats hanging onto the union powerstrings.

Answer 4

pros(if you are a democrat)- unions take profits from corporations and create more unemployment.(democrats like people unemployed so they can point to problems)

cons-(if you are a republican)- unions take profits from corporations and create more unemployment.(republicans dislike people unemployed cause they are taken care of by the welfare system)