I have to call BS. Unions will do whatever it takes to keep jobs. So if it means the plant closes down and moves to Mexico or the company uses modern machines with less employes they would choose the latter. To many people have opinion about unions without knowing any facts about unions. Union leaders are not stupid and would never negotiate wages that will bankrupt a business. Most issues are management issues not union worker issues. When the designers and engineers don't design cars people want to buy it has nothing to do with the union labor.
The union can never tell the owners of a company how to run their company that is their job. If a company wants to use poor management that makes poor decisions the union cannot fix that.
I've been a union Steward and I have seen companies make poor management decisions. I always expected more out of my members then their non union counterparts. Quality craftsmanship is the only thing we have to sell. Getting a job done on time and making the company as much money as possible so more companies will use union labor is always the goal.
I believe everyone is entitled to a livable wage with good retirement and healthcare. People need to raise their standards instead of trying to bring everyone down to lower standards. I want everyone to make more money and no one to make less this includes the owners of the businesses. Happy well compensated workers produce better goods. Because they take pride in their job. People who hate their job and feel they are under paid will not produce as good of a quality product.
I suspect this thread will be shut down....
However, it is a good discussion as it's leading me to consider the importance of acquiring a custom blade made here at home by one of the amazing artisans found on these Boards and not an import.
In response to Ken, i'm not intending personal attack nor insult. If my following comments prove inflammatory please understand it is not my intention and i will attempt to make my point without insult - intentional nor unintentional.
I do support living wage ideology, but am concerned about the underlying levels/means to achieve it.
I believe people in both "camps" - whether they be union members/shop stewards or corporate management - they are too emotionally close to the problem(s) at-hand to critically evaluate them without bias.
Furthermore, i also believe the top-tier leaders of both groups are more interested in their personal gain than the ultimate "greater-good" vis a vis "selling" their respective " Worker Care/Profit Strategies" to union members/shop stewards and/or lower-level corporate management.
Unfortunately, "good salaries (heath ins/retirement)" are not the only ingredient in making "happy well-compensated workers". For too long top-tier union leadership has over-leveraged the cost of labor (salary/health ins/retirement/purchase incentives) as one of the ingredients of production.
Union leadership is definitely NOT doing whatever it takes to keep jobs. What union leadership is doing and makes alot of noise about is making labor contract concessions. Concessions to cumulatively outrageous increases - the simply whatever current contract is being negotiated. Opponents to these incremental increases are thrown under the proverbial bus for being insensitive to such small raises.
It's important to keep in mind the cumulative aspect of these increases and too many people (particularly those close to matter) don't keep the bigger picture in mind.
Unfortunately, this is also true of top-echelon corporate leadership with huge golden-parachutes vis a vis high vesting percentages in retirement benes, bargain-price stock/futures options, etc. and who make jaw-droppingly stupid decisions.
Tragically/sorta understandably (greed motivation again), the owners/stock-holders will sell the farm if they're not getting the roi they "hoped" for. The American "Big Three" auto-makers experienced the reality of this and the bits and pieces of these companies are all thats left (Chrysler, GM, and is Ford next?). Now we all own a stake in GM.
As to happy workers make better quality, it's interesting to read quality deficits in US union-made autos. Research the quality (craftsmanship/reliability/component failure and about a hundred other evaluative criteria) of US automobiles compared to non-union Japanese and German (OK, Germany has a "State" level union) autos and its easy to see that the quality of US autos is well behind their competitors. Yet, if the union model is true and working so well, why is quality so low? Consider Toyota autos made in America - non-union shops......
I have read the argument of low-quality materials as a reason for low-quality finished product, but there are so many findings of poor craftsmanship that the low-quality material argument is an absolute farce.
Anyway, i'm certain this topic will have the lock put on it soon and very soon. Lotsa heat about this sorta thing in tough economies.
and spend the rest of it on other things hehe. But you will NEVER catch me driving a Kia or the likes.