Not Ranked
KobraKarl,
There are many examples of unions doing a disservice to themselves and their final customers. First off, do you think the level of product you get from union airlines is great or now just tolerable? Why are the new incumbant non-union carriers gaining market share on the fat dumb and happy airlines? Could it be they aren't paying $200K for an airline captain who now does so little stick and rudder flying, but makes more money than ever before? How about the California Long Shoremen? Crane Operators making 90 to 110K, their supervisors making 140K. It has gotten so expensive to unload ships on the west coast, the shipping companies are now going all the way around through the Panama canal and the eastern seaports are booming with new business. Why? The unions have made the LA basin ports uncompetitive. The union workers are still making their fat wages now for what is less work coming into the port. Ultimately they will be fat dumb and happy until there is nothing to unload anymore (an extreme example of what could happen if they don't smarten up). This is not what I call compensation commensarate with output. The price of labor when union is involved is more than when free market reigns and they ultimately will lose those jobs to outsourced workers, overseas workers, or other free market competitors where they do not have a lock on an industry. It has happened so many times in history it is predictable. The foreign car companies here are more successful and have a great work environment in many cases without unions when comared to some of the Detroit run factories. My 2 cents.
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