The problem with unions in the US, right now, is that they accomplished their goals about forty years ago, and have since then spent their time on a) justifying their own existence, and b) perpetuating their own political power. (With a hefty dollop of c) being tools of Organized Crime).
I don't think they've become irrelevant - we definitely need something to counterbalance the power of management. They've just become too powerful and too able to easily hobble an industry.
Take the US auto industry, for example. Why do US-made cars suck? Because the manufacturers can decrease costs in two ways: decrease payroll (either by cutting pay per worker, or laying off workers), or decrease production quality. The unions fight tooth and nail to keep them from cutting payroll, even in obsolete jobs, so they have to cut corners on quality in order to match imports for price.
My personal favorite example: Railroads were forced by the unions to keep coal stokers employed - on diesel trains - well into the 1980's.
When unions first became legitimate, a vote to unionize a shop was held by secret ballot because management would hire thugs to try to intimidate workers into voting against the unions. Today there's a union-pushed movement to strip away secret ballots, and a lot of people are afraid that its goal is to let them intimidate workers into voting for the unions.
What we need is a counterbalance to abuses of power by management. What we have is a guillotine held to management's throat.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
I don't think they've become irrelevant - we definitely need something to counterbalance the power of management. They've just become too powerful and too able to easily hobble an industry.
Take the US auto industry, for example. Why do US-made cars suck? Because the manufacturers can decrease costs in two ways: decrease payroll (either by cutting pay per worker, or laying off workers), or decrease production quality. The unions fight tooth and nail to keep them from cutting payroll, even in obsolete jobs, so they have to cut corners on quality in order to match imports for price.
My personal favorite example: Railroads were forced by the unions to keep coal stokers employed - on diesel trains - well into the 1980's.
When unions first became legitimate, a vote to unionize a shop was held by secret ballot because management would hire thugs to try to intimidate workers into voting against the unions. Today there's a union-pushed movement to strip away secret ballots, and a lot of people are afraid that its goal is to let them intimidate workers into voting for the unions.
What we need is a counterbalance to abuses of power by management. What we have is a guillotine held to management's throat.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.