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Re: Example of Why Unions Are Formed

Whoa Mister Pig,

Your pro-union point of view doesn't ring true to most of us.

I had an opportunity years ago to witness the "value" of unions first hand before I had formulated an opinion on the subject. I was in college and worked in a closed-shop paper mill in the summers. Just to site one example of what labor unions do for business:

We were on a job repairing a machine that was costing the company thousands of dollars for every minute it was off-line. I was the only college kid working with about 7 or 8 "lifers" when a light bulb blew making it too difficult to see to complete the repairs. All of the men sat down! Wanting to prove my worth I asked where the lightbulbs were so I could run to get one. I barely got the words out of my mouth when the supervisor told me to "sit my ass down,replacing the lightbulb was a job for the electricians union. If they caught wind that we were taking work away from one of their unioned electricians there would be hell to pay!" We proceeded to sit there for almost 2 hours as the company not only lost the income from the downed machine, but also the productivity of eight or nine employess who were not allowed to change a freakin light bulb!

Now I ask you, how does that help advance the cause of any business in the U.S.? And would you assert that these men deserved their "acceptable" wage?

You know, my Dad worked for that mill from the time I was a little boy until he retired and the mill shut down. As a young boy I used to feel sorry for my Dad as he walked down the hill through the mill fence to go to work. I thought he was slaving away all day long for meanial wages. All that changed that summer I worked there. These men had it all figured out how to make 2 hours worth of work last all day. And if a young guy like me worked at a faster clip, we were reprimanded...by the bosses! Nobody wanted the company to figure out that they were really only running at 30% efficiency! Now, why do you think there has been "an appreciable loss of middle class and manufacturing jobs in this country"? Could it be because unions found a way to do less and make more, so in effect caused there own demise? Hmmmmmmm.

I also spent some time as a sales manager with Circuit City. Their business philosophy and structure have been flawed for years. When Best Buy started to eat their lunch with non-commissioned employees it finally started sinking in. For years they fought it, but the consumer has spoken...they don't want to be hawked by a salesperson when they can get essentially the same service and answers from an hourly employee.

I agree that labor unions served a purpose. But they had their run. Labor Unions are antiquated and serve absolutely no purpose now.

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