Does anyone realize just how much wealth the unions created for this nation .
For decades companies paid huge dividends to investors , executives got millions of dollars in pay and stock options and retirement packages that included lifetime medical coverage and pension payments in the millions .
Auto manufacturers started financial institutions to provide credit to customers . Not just for cars but credit cards and have billions of dollars in debt they collect interest on each month . Is it easier to manage money then make cars people want to buy .
Just because companies did not prepare for the changing future and a tripling of fuel costs should not be blamed on the unions .
They can claim that the cost of health care and benefits for the workers are driving the price up but the reality is that the billions and billions the workers made the stock holders and executives has been spent and should have been invested back in the business .
Had they set aside a few billion the interest alone could cover the medical needs of all its workers . They choose to pay huge salaries and dividends to managers and know if they can cut the cost of labor they can milk out another few hundred million for themselves .
Unions are not who I blame for the demise of this country, I feel that they did this country a great service with their activism in labor laws and safety issues. They just got greedy and have out priced their labor to foreign markets. The Union Representatives lined their own pockets at the expense of the rank and file members causing corruption. But the real demise of this country has come in the form of liberal-socialist policies that reduce the importance of the American Worker in favor of entitlements. The Union never favored entitlements from the government, they favored benefits from their employers and there in lies the difference.
February 24th, 2010 at 6:28 am
If you learn about the UAW’s jobs bank at GM and still defend unions, I have very little hope for you.
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February 24th, 2010 at 7:10 am
So unions took the money from the super rich CEOs and gave it to the workers?… is that why the CEO of Home Depot got a 20 million dollar severance package?…
It’s rather simple economics… unions, right or wrong, raised the cost of American labor, so companies looked elsewhere for cheaper labor… so yes, unions did play a very large part in the demise of the American manufacturing sector…
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February 24th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Because thats what the Big Business puppets on TV tell the people.
They forget that everyone would be working for .25 cents an hour with no benefits, for 18 hours a day 7 days a week, and if you complain or get sick you lose your job.
Short memories combined with this odd concept that people with money are somehow more virtuous than the poor.
Hell they used to legally shoot at striking workers.
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February 24th, 2010 at 8:32 am
I believe that the unions are directly responsible for the demise of jobs in manufacturing. By demanding unreasonable wage and benefit packages that the free market would never come close to meeting, they artifically inflated prices across the board. Now that we are in a global economy this has come back to haunt them in spades.
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February 24th, 2010 at 8:56 am
It’s an attempt to disguise the treasonous actions of big business and government. These are the slave owners of old.
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February 24th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Because they are uninformed….
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February 24th, 2010 at 9:57 am
If it wasn’t for unions we would ALL be working 80+ hour weeks, with NO benefits or workers rights period.
Union bashers need to get over it
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February 24th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Like every other subject, it’s never that simple. Unions played an undeniably vital role in the protection of workers and development of many industries but in recent times, they have gotten in the way of many necessary changes – almost existing for just the benefit of the union. Unions have argued that companies must hire a cetrain number of people or maintain certain jobs just because that’s how it has been. Jobs change, industries change and unions must adapt as well.
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February 24th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Unions are not who I blame for the demise of this country, I feel that they did this country a great service with their activism in labor laws and safety issues. They just got greedy and have out priced their labor to foreign markets. The Union Representatives lined their own pockets at the expense of the rank and file members causing corruption. But the real demise of this country has come in the form of liberal-socialist policies that reduce the importance of the American Worker in favor of entitlements. The Union never favored entitlements from the government, they favored benefits from their employers and there in lies the difference.
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February 24th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Some conseravtives hate unions because they force employers to (gasp!) pay living wages and offer decent benefits, as John K’s answer shows.
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February 24th, 2010 at 11:57 am
the greed of the companies combined with the greed of the unions led to the demise of the us manufacting industry
they are both to blame
when a new car with a couple of thousand dollars worth of parts in it costs over 30 grand because of high labor costs and bonuses for the ceo’s
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February 24th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
No clue, as I said earlier…. for the argument…. "it is the Union’s fault" to hold even a little weight, we would have to be able to lower our wages to $1 an hour and make our manufacturers competitive with China’s imports. It isn’t possible, because even at a $1 an hour at 8 hours a day no benefits, that is $8 a day which is 4X more tha the average Chinese wage of $1.50 -2.25 a day.
Of course they recieve more than that, because they wouldn’t be able to eat if they didn’t, but the government heavily subsidizes their income. That would be why it is refered to as a communist country.
Don’t know how people keep forgetting that…lets all say it together….
"CHINA is a COMMUNIST COUNTRY"
Now we all know why a system is called communist right?
Well it sure isn”t called communism, because of the competitive nature of it businesses…that would be capitalism.
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February 24th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Unions only create wealth for their members, not for the nation. Simply put, they are in it for themselves only.
"For decades companies paid huge dividends to investors , executives got millions of dollars in pay and stock options and retirement packages that included lifetime medical coverage and pension payments in the millions ."
Actually, that’s been going on for centuries worldwide, although the value of the money and quality of the care has varied.
Now, you do make a good point, that any losses incurred to manufacturers due to rising fuel costs should solely be blamed on the manufacturers. You can’t spin it any other way, really. Our manufacturers were negligent, they took advantage of low gas prices and dodged fuel efficiency legislation by designing SUVs, which are classified as light trucks.
Now, it is also true that rising costs and rising demands from unions are also hampering the manufacturers. And it is also true (though rarely explained, but I believe understood by all, regardless of your political affiliation) that investors SHOULD re-invest that money in the company, but do not always.
To answer your question: when unions first initially appeared in the US, they were badly needed to balance the power between executives and workers. Over time, they achieved more perks and better salaries for their employees. However, if you look at the global playing field today, the American worker earns more and gets more in benefits than most other workers around the world. Isn’t that an indication that unions need to cease? Once they’ve achieved some of the best standards available, isn’t that an indication of victory? When do unions stop trying to increase the benefits of their workers? The problem with unions is the same as the problem with executives: greed. They don’t know when to stop, and if you give either an inch, they will surely take a mile or two.
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February 24th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Yes, the unions were so successful at getting higher wages and benefits for American workers that manufactures moved their production lines out of the US.
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February 24th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
The politicians, on behalf of the wealthiest 1% of Americans, have used everything: abortion, gay rights, race, religion and anything else that they could come up with, to keep the average Joe’s divided. The investment class has convinced the average Joe’s that everyone is lazy, but them. The educational system has been intentionally dumbing down our population. We are undereducated, over entertained, over medicated and paranoid to the point that we barely speak to our neighbors.
It took more than just poor leadership to get us here. Nah! This is intentional. The American middle class is being systematically destroyed. America is being systematically destroyed. The single world government will not allow for the kind of freedoms that a well educated, free American middle class would demand of it.
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The union leaders are not innocent either. They’ve sold out their members. They’ve made no attempts to recruit new members. How many people even know that union dues are tax deductible and you can belong to a union no matter who you work for? Where are the commercials informing the Average Joe’s of these facts?
February 24th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Bla, bla, bla….we are in a global economy now. American companies cannot compete with others due to the financial burden imposed by unions. Wages are too high and not competative. Health insurance plans too expensive. Pension plans too expensive. Why do you think there has been such a severe decline in manufacturing in the US in recent years? WE CAN’T COMPETE ANY MORE BECAUSE OF THE BURDENS PLACED ON COMPANIES BY UNIONS!!!
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