Are unions destroying American businesses?

I think that one only need look to the trouble that the American car companies are in to realize the damage that unions have done to American businesses. The burden that the union created just in retiree benefits made it impossible for these companies to compete let alone survive. On the other hand, it isn't the the unions alone. For every demand that the union makes that becomes part of a contract, management has agreed to the concession. Who gets hurt in the end? The employee. And to think that the employee actually pays someone in the form of union dues to do this for them. DH worked for a hardware company that was unionized. At the end of the day, the union authorized a strike, the company decided to move out of state, and all of those employees were out of a job. So, in that situation, who won? I don't think though that businesses are sending work overseas for the reasons that you state. The cost savings just in salaries are enormous. People in this country won't work for the kinds of wages that people in India etc will work for. I don't think that unions serve a purpose any longer and I also think that we should stop buying products from companies who are sending our jobs overseas. Another very good example of an industry that has virtually been crippled is the steel industry. China is now in the steel business and how do mills compete with a labor force that will work for a couple of dollars a day?

Unions sure are not helping. I do not know of any business that is tripping over themselves to build in a state where they would have to hire union employees. The only businesses that are moving into these kind of states are those that are receiving tax benefits and/or taxpayer funded. The only union growth is in the government sector, which is interesting that government employees need union protection.

I think they're past their time & should be done away with. The government is now doing a much better job in those fiends than they used to. I worked at a company part time & had absolutely no benefits. The union all but insisted I join them ( I still didn't )so when they went on strike I'd go to even though the union was doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the part timers but collecting union wages. Such stupidity...

it's kind of a double edged sword-it really depends which industry union-some are,too greedy and drive out business. where i live some jobs are badly in need of a union-like housekeeping/hotel workers, because the employers can and do treat employees like crap and the state does not step in. my dad was a steelworker and i have no doubt if there was not a union in place,they would have done what every other job here does,and that's pay minimum with no benefits.my state is neither a right to work or a non right to work,more like a "you'll be fired if you have anything to say" state.

Texas is a "right to work" state. I know of one large manufacturing plant that moved here from your state because of that.

I'm with you, I see no role in today's economy for labor unions. Their demands are driving businesses in to outsourcing and driving up the costs of American products, such that they're non-competitive. I don't see the average worker gaining as much as I see union management, if you can call it that, becoming millionaires. I would be all in favor of "union busting".

Like anything, there is one extreme or the other. When we didn't have unions, you saw what happened. But eventually, in most states, laws have caught up. Now the opposite extreme. I think we need laws limiting unions because in some places they have limitless power and in some places, they're even run by the mob or mofia, etc. So they probably need some laws regulating them now, too. So in some states where the laws have not caught up, they might be needed, in moderation. The two times my union was supposed to help me negociate with a boss, the first time, they said it was my word against my bosses that he was harassing me and they could do nothing (so he got to continue yelling at me until I left with ulcers and a bleeding stomach, both have healed up now and they did so by not working there, even meds weren't working), so they were useless. The second time, they had been in with the room with my employer plotting what they would do and say, they were "in bed" with the employer as we say up here. So I walked in and the union was sitting there talking to my employer, they should have been walking in with me after telling me what to say or not to say (like the first useless union did). So I paid manditory fees to end up without either job. I had to quit a 40 thousand dollar a year job because of my health for the first one. The second one, they were just trying to "play with my head" during that meeting and get me to tell on my co-workers. If I did, my co-workers would have found out and that can be dangerous in some places (like throwing a rock through the glass in your car or taken out back and beaten up). So I quit and lost a 20 thousand dollar a year job. The unions here, my experience, useless to on the side of the employer. But at least the useless one was not on the side of my employer.

whoa thats a tough one. my son has said that most big corporations move over seas because of cheaper labor and not having to pay taxes if they are here. but never explained that its unions. so im not so sure about it only being the unions fault but it could have some to do with it. its a lot of things. we really dont need them any more though obviously. so you are right there.

There doesn't have to be anything wrong with unions, but, unfortunately, the unions have gotten too powerful and corrupt. It's inevitable that when one entity has all the power, those under their thumb will feel oppressed, hopeless and without any freedoms. Unions remind me of countries that are ruled by a dictator. Only the ones on top win. What the unions should be doing is negotiating a contract that is fair to business and to the employees, but it seems as though they're trying to gouge business into extinction.

HI dragon! It's your Mylot Ditwad friend COFFEEGURL! And how is ur throat? I am in the Snuffleuppagus stage. Slightly stuffy and congested, kind of like an Orlando highway.:) Wow, I never thought I would compare myself to a highway. OY! Getting foggy in my old age...anyway, I should get my vision checked. When I read your post I thought it said, "Are ONIONS destroying American businesses?" Ahahahah! Now that would be a completely different topic. Well honestly, I live in a "right to work" state. I always thought the expression to be misleading. I have a "right to work," but I can also be fired and given absolutely no reason as to why I was let go. Technically, I HAVE no rights! I can't tell you how many times I have been fired in this state. It's really ludicrous. It's kind of like the philosophy that "driving is a privilege" and not a right. Well, considering that a lot of cities and towns in America do NOT have a mass transit system, not to mention that some people are cut off from bus lines, and not to mention the fact that even with a bus, it can take several hours and several buses to get to a destination that may only take 15-20 minutes by car,this doesn't really seem like a "privilege" but rather a NECESSITY. I haven't owned a car in over two years. I am limited to either working at home, or whatever businesses lie within a stones throw of where I live(and those places wouldn't hire me). Call it "the grass is always greener" but, I wonder what it would be like to actually have rights and require a reason to get let go. Also, in "right to work" states, the unemployment compensation isn't even enough to live on compared to other states.

Are unions destroying American businesses? I think American Businesses are engaged in self destruction by agreeing to contract that can not be sustained. I don't blame the unions for asking, I blame business for going along with it. But, it not just American business being destroyed. I live in California. California is not a right to work state, but is an at will employment state where you can be let go for no reason and without notice. The state government has agreed to health and retirement benefits that can not be sustained. As a result, the state is deep in dept and getting worse and still the unions demand more. Also, unions do not protect there members. I once belonged to the UAW. When the company I worked for when out of business,(Mostly because of unionization.)the UAW said "Tough luck kid." No help for me at all. In my opinion unions suck! They suck money from there members. Union leader live like fat cats, while the member suffer. There no better than those companies that screw the workers. As far as I can see, union exist to put companies out of business and there member out of work, while stealing as much as possible from there member in dues.

Unions served a good purpose in taking children out of workshops, setting decent work hours and reasonable wages. But, as with power of any kind, when the union bosses got greedier and greedier, their purpose changed. They wanted absolute power over all workers and lots of money in their coffers to do with as they pleased. They should be dismantled, because today they are destroying any hope America has of keeping the few companies we have left or ever bringing old ones back. New ones seem to look overseas first, then here. Unions and our own greed have priced us out of the market place.

Back when unions first organized, there is no question that they were needed and they did a lot of good for workers. The way workers were treated back then were outrageous and organizing labor put a stop to many abuses and greatly increased safety in the workplace. Today, the situation in this country is somewhat different and unions have become much more powerful. In fact, they have become so powerful, they are guilty of taking advantage of the very workers they are supposed to be protecting. The only thing they really care about is increasing their ranks, thereby increasing the union dues they can collect. While they still do some good, many times they do more harm, causing some businesses to fail because the wages and benefits they are forced to pay make them uncompetitive in the market. A prime example is Eastern Airlines. The American auto manufacturers and some other businesses may fail as well. A lot of people say that in big corporations, the CEO and corporate officers salaries are bloated out of proportion compared to what they pay the workers, therefore the unions are doing good for the workers to get them higher wages. The problem is that the big shots in the company are not going to cut their wages to pay the workers. It just doesn't work like that and the only way to make it work like that is to enact laws limiting what the people running the company can make. But this goes against our free market system. Wage and price controls don't work in a free market system. Jimmy Carter proved that. The best way to combat the high disparity of income between management and workers is for people to boycott or not buy products from companies where the bosses get it all the workers are paid low wages, but how would anyone know? Even if people did know, they would still buy from a company with the lowest prices, no matter how much management makes and how little they pay the help. How many people even stop to think about the company or the workers when they buy something in the store? How many people even know where the product is made or whether it's made by a good company or some sweat shop overseas? Most people don't even know. I don't really know what the answer is, but I know unions aren't the solution. At least not how they operate today. I don't believe they have their member's best interest as their top priority, either. In my opinion, they are far too involved in politics and if you listen to the head of the SEIU spouting the communist mantra, "Workers of the world, unite!", it's not hard to figure out their political ideology. I'm not on the side of big business but I'm sure not a fan of big unions either.

I totally agree with you. There was a time unions were necessary for the American worker to obtain a fair wage and be able to afford the luxuries of daily meals, housing and clothing. Before unions, businesses did take advantage of people and paid them less than living wage. They could barely afford rent and to feed themselves. Now, we do have laws in place to protect the worker. I know some people who worked for union companies, yet they still were unable to obtain the benefits they needed. A friend needed surgeries on her legs, and could not work for a time. She was fired because she went over ONE day of her sick leave. The union steward that she spoke with prior to taking the time off to get her surgery lied to her and told her she had enough time to take for the surgery and recovery. My friend ended up paying her dues for nothing, and has been on welfare for a while because she could not find employment. She worked for that place over 10 years. I see unions either defending the companies or draining them dry. Either way, the union is coming out ahead, not the worker, not the company. There are incidents of unions getting jobs back for people who have been fired for good reason. A plant in my town let a man go for posing a danger to himself and others. He was not following protocol and after so many warnings the supervisor finally let him go. The union got this man his job back. Unbelievable. I think unions have become an entity unto themselves and have forgotten the reason they exist. They are unfair for the most part, and are a business of their own. One that is quite unnecessary in this day and age.

dragon54u if all employers really did pay their employees good decent wages I doubt if we would still need unions but a lot of employers are also greedy to the max and that's the big reason in my eyes why they out source instead of paying American citizens what they should pay they will use cheap labor instead. So those countries providing the cheap labor have money problems and working poor. I do not know a lot about unions anymore but I still think we should keep our businesses here in the US and pay our workers a living wage.

Unions have become as corupt as other big businesses. We have a war right here in this country over who will rule us, Big Business, Government or the Unions. If we wish to continue to have self rule we all need to be very careful to vote and whom we vote for. I do not know if we can save ourselves.

I don't think you are wrong!!! Back in the 60s when the unions took over my town I said that the unions would eventually be the downfall of this country.Greed is their MAIN function!!! Our country as a whole is the problem. We all want high dollar wages & low dollar goods. Don't think we can have it both ways. High dollar wages should mean high dollar goods. Back when the unions first got started, they were sorely needed!!! As you noted, the companies treated their employees like crap...left over crap to boot. There were NO benefits like health insurance & paid vacations. Overtime was seldom paid. So Unions were important in getting the ball rolling on the fair & just workplace!!! The Unions have become way too powerful. However, if they're closed down, employers will once again begin to walk all over their employees. It's beginning to happen some already even with the Unions in place.

Yes I do agree with what your saying aobut unions. My dad belong to a labor union for about 30 or more years. he is retired not and thankful has a pennsion. over the years in which he worked he saw the same thing happan with unions. they simply becae too too big for their onw good. either crupt or too powerful over the workers they portected. a lot had changed and they way companies treat there employess has changed. unions have indeed become a thing of the past.

I think they do it for the greed, knowing more then one, a group can be a driving force. I remember last year when it came to contracts, the union that was responsible for our public bus systems had people on edge because they were threatening to go on strike. The issue was resolved (a little later then planned), but resolved none the less. In some places though I guess there may be a need. While we as Americains have established rights to protect our workers, there are those who try to skirt around those laws. I was a victum of one of those and as a result ended up losing my job. Needless to say I don't think a uninion would have helped me, but its a prime example of what's being talked about here.

Unions have are both good and bad. On the good side they do help their members, to earn a decide wage, have health insurance, have a safe place to work, and not be fired without knowing why. On the other hand they are bullies that can hurt the company that you work for. The American auto makers are an excellent example, but if you want to really see unions at their worst look at the construction unions. I have known severly people that left great paying jobs in New York working as union electicians. They all said the samethings, they would be sent home some days and told that there was not enough work, but then the members with the highest seniority would be given overtime on the weekends. They were told to slow down because there was not enough work, and again overtime on the weekends. They were not allowed to take a part time non union job to make up any income lost. If they went out on strike they would still have to pay their union dues, and again could not take any non union work to make any money. I don't think that in the long run unions are good for our country in the form that they have evolved into. The proof is not only in how many companies have left the country, but the fact that many are leaving the union states and moving to right to work states.