I'm going to have to jump in here again, despite the fact that discretion is the better part of not posting about things that piss me off....
I'll prephrase my comments by pointing out that I'm also unionized (IAATSE and the International Scenographers) and I've found that it has bettered both my life and career.
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Originally Posted by bepah
1) It overpays many for the skill sets that they bring and underpays many for the skills they are not allowed to use due to the contracts established.
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On what planet? In my experience, there are very few situations where a unionized worker will be stopped from using undescribed skillsets under established contracts... Certainly, when I've been hired to do, say, a lighting hang and focus, the union has never ever prevented me from going on to help out in carpentry or with sound or rigging. Before you tell me that this isn't construction trades, I'll point out to you that I necessarily have the same skills as a journeyman carpenter, electrician, and welder in order to do the jobs I do.
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Originally Posted by bepah
2) The long term results of unionization is the destruction of jobs.
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Again, on what planet? Certainly my experience with unionized labour in Central and South America runs exactly opposite to this statement. In many cases, especially in construction trades, the unions actually create jobs. Then again, very little here is automated, and it seems likely to remain so because if there were talk of replacing these jobs, there would be riots by both unionized and non-union labourers.
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Originally Posted by bepah
3) During times of high unemployment (just like now) unions have no bargaining power. There are plenty of idle workers. To say that those who cross the line risk being violently attacked speaks lowly of a union worker. If their jobs are held only by the threat of violence, what skills do they offer the employer? Thuggery happens on both sides of the line.
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South LA Tropicals makes a great point - in crisis/recession/depression times, noboday has any bargaining power, unionized or not. Of course there is good and bad on both sides of the line, but this can be said of all facets of human activity.
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Originally Posted by bepah
You mention all of the good things that unons bring and have ignored some of the bad. The recent implosion of out auto industry is probably the best example. One of the last true industries in this country has been socialized due to the unions excessive contracts, especially in retirement and heathcare. Additoinally, the 'job bank', and other bennies have kept costs well over other similar jobs in other countries. now, instead of the company paying autoworkers and their retirees, we as taxpayers get to support them. If you believe that GM will return to profitability in any near term, you are not being honest with the numbers. Very soon, the auto czar will be coming to congress asking for more bailout money.
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Again, unionized labour is not wholly to blame for the collapse of the Auto industry. (mis)Management and poor design played a much larger part.
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Originally Posted by bepah
In the past, union organizers risked a lot (sometimes their lives) in order to get safe working conditions and a fair wage. Today, since these needs have been met (at least in the USA) the focus is on the union, not the jobs they do. Hence, union membership is at the lowest levels in recent history.
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Perhaps this is true for the USA, but I will make the point that it's still not the case in the developing world - union leaders here are still risking their lives and livelihoods to secure safe working conditions and fair wages. So you're dealing with a pretty big generality to say that union membership is at an all-time low. Perhaps in the US, but in other countries it's still growing.
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Like South LA Tropicals, I have a much higher standard of living due to my union membership, and I also have the opportunity to work a great deal more than I would were I not a member of the unions to which I belong. I bid against non-union technicians and designers on every job, with no aid from the governments of the countries in which I work, and I consider it perfectly fair if/when I'm turned down - it has much more to do with my skills and ideas, and the needs of the contract than it does my union status.
I am now officially done with this thread. It began as a discussion on the treatment of workers in Latin America, and it's digressed much to far from its original topic.