Unions No Longer Needed

Corrected for errors on 9/8/2008. I am often interrupted by my children so I lose my place where I am typing or one of my children may hit the keys.

The following article appeared in the Union Leader. In my humble opinion unions are no longer needed. It is not an opinion only I hold. With today's labor laws we do not need unions. Unions raise the costs of goods and services, slow productivity, punish good workers and serve bad workers and union bosses. Unions have destroyed industries in the United States including the textile industry and steel industry. Unions drove the cost of employment so high and decreased productivity to such a low point that these industries were overtaken by foreign competition. The teachers unions have hijacked the public education system. The unions in both the automobile industry and airline industry are destroying those industries. I do not want my rights to be trampled by a group who puts the rights of a group ahead of the rights of individuals. We need the right to work in New Hampshire we don't have it because unions don't want people to have that right.



Cathy


Union by vote: Not by intimidation

Monday, Sep. 1, 2008

There is a reason that private sector employees in the United States have overwhelmingly rejected unionization in the last few decades. It's because most employees think that the slow, steady pace of progress demanded by collectively bargained contracts is a bad deal. They think they will be better sailing under their own steam.

That is not to say that unions don't have a place in the American economy. They very clearly do. It is just that their role is shrinking as opportunities expand and more Americans consider themselves better off without the constraints that come with union membership.


The percentage of American workers who are unionized fell from 20 percent in 1980 to 12.1 percent last year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. (It rose a 10th of a percent from 2006 to 2007.) That drop explains the push by unions and the Democratic politicians they control for the Employee Free Choice Act.

This Orwellian-named proposal would actually remove free choice from the unionization decision. Under current federal law, employees have the right to vote by secret ballot to decide whether they want to unionize. The Employee Free Choice Act would remove that right.

The act would allow shops to unionize by "card check." That is, it would allow organizers to form unions by collecting signatures of employees face-to-face. Gone would be the protection of secrecy. Employees' choices would suddenly be public, not private, and therefore subject to retaliation and intimidation.

This is anti-democratic and un-American. And yet, if Democrats gain stronger majorities in Congress, it might become law very soon. The party is pushing this bill at the behest of unions that have funneled money and votes to Democrats precisely for the purpose of getting this kind of anti-employee legislation passed.

There is no justification for returning to the days when labor bosses could pressure employees into joining. If labor leaders cannot convince Americans to join unions, then they need to come up with a better product to sell. Getting the government to tilt the playing field in their favor is not the answer.