What is your opinion of labor unions in the United States?

Question

I am a member of a labor union, and also a conservative. While some would find this very contradictory, I fully support my union (while realizing it's corruption, like any other human institution). I also fully support civil liberties, which is mostly why I fit in the "conservative" category.

I ask because I have found amazing anti-union sentiment in a lot of folks who I would have thought would be fully supportive of labor unions. This includes people with low paying, blue collar jobs.

The sentiment seems to be that I should be making less money, not that they should be making more. I get raises with every contract, and my job has kept pace with the skyrocketting cost of living and inflation, while not at all hurting the profits of the corporation I work for (eight straight quarters of record profits, and a $22 million dollar bonus for our CEO). Vacation and job assignments are all entirely based upon seniority. Is this really such a bad thing?

Answer 1

Good check and balance against exploits that can happen in capitalism (i.e., 96 hour work weeks, 10 cent/hour wages, and c**p like that).

Flip side is unions make our workers less competitive with overseas workers (who will do same job for less money).

Answer 2

As a young man I was in the I B E W after a short time i was told to slow down ''your working man out of work'' The B/A told me'' I've got my eye on you'' than I start my own little business But I can understand how you support conservative ideals You care more about you country the money I did back than and still do today

Answer 3

Some unions are good while some are pretty bad. I am typically ok with the teachers unions, the steelworkers, and the coal miners, but opposed to the UAW.

Answer 4

Labor unions keep the employees compensated fairly.

Answer 5

20 years ago labor unions really stood for something.  But now days the liberals have bought them out and they are no more than a deep pocket for political lobbyist and special interest groups.  That's where your labor dues are going.

As far as profits go, if you go from 1% to 2% profit, that could be considered a record profit as well.

All the labor unions are doing is driving up the cost of goods.  Corporations don't eat that cost, they pass it on to the consumer.  In return you get a little better wage and benefit package than what the private sector is making, as well as the dis-satisfaction of knowing that your funding the enemy within.  

By the way, look out, the liberals could be pointing the windfall tax threat at you next.

Answer 6

They've lost their purpose.  They fight for illegal aliens harder than their members.

I can only speak from personal experience.

Answer 7

That is a very good question--I wish more of my fellow grad students would ask it! (One of my focus areas is history of labor).  The answer is complicated--but I'll try to get you started.

Let's skip the conservative/liberal labels--you are too intelligent for that c**p or you would never have asked the question.  but if you want a "label"--your attitude is what is called "classical liberalism" and was the norm in the US among working people well into the psot-WW2 era, though it had pretty much gone by the board inothr parts of our society long before.  

Anyway, the basic problem is a myth--one that has been sol thouroughly embedded in our culture I'm not sure it can be eradicated in our lifetimes.  That mmyth is that  a "labor union " is inherantly socialist.  In fact, that's simply not the case. Labor unions in the US grew out of the 19th century trade unions, which in turn evolved from artisans guilds and mutual support organizations. They developed as a means for workers in the emerging factories of the 19th-early 20th century to have a balance of power with employers.  

That myth didn't come from "consrvaives" or workers--it was spread by unethical employers. And still is--except they've been at it so long they've managed to convince a lot of the working people.

This barely scratches the surface-- here's some titles you can try.  NOTE: almost all labor historians do take a "left" approach (I'm one of the few exceptions). The reason is n't tha tthey are advocating socialism (most of them anyway) it's that the "conservative school" in labor history ended before eWW2 with the work of John Commons--and there hasn't been a single serious conservative writer to create the theoretical tools needed.  So historians use the tools they have.

That being said, these are outstanding scholars and worth reading--

Burawoy, "Manufacturing Consent"

Edwards "Contested Terrain"

Piore/Sabel "The Second IndustrialDivide"

Fink, Leon "Workingman's Democracy

last--but fr from lest--

Braverman "Labor and Monopoly Capitalism"  Braverman is the only one who actuallly is a socialist--but yo u don't understand the history or current status of labor in American society without this book.  You can disagree with his politics (I certainly do) but his history is first rate and his theoretical analysis is the gold standard.  Besides, his writing style is actually readable! :)

Good luck!