Do Unions Promote Better Business?

This post is the response that I gave in response to a question I posted on my class message board for Mexican American culture class. The individual who responded is a European immigrant. She let me know that she was a union supporter, and was very emotional as She thought that I was condoning the abuses that early migrant workers recieved under the hands of business owners. I do not, but this was my response.

Maybe I did not make myself clear. I realize that working conditions were bad. I do not condone the practice of neglect on any level. America is made up of immigrants and decendants of immigrants. My ancestors came here with a promise that the government would not prevent them from succeeding. They worked under some fairly inhumane conditions, but somehow they survived the entry level treatment of freedom. It is not always pretty, but they grew from the harsh experience and they moved to the next level of freedom. I grew up with the understanding that government was to promote the general welfare of the nation. Not provide it. We used to be able to take care ourselves, just fine without government interference. It wasn't until the 1930's when we went through the Great Depression that the government began to experiment with our economic system pushing it toward socialism, forming companies such as Fanny and Freddy, that without the government backing would have gone out of business a long time ago. Instead the government kept holding them up until not only did they destroy them selves but our entire economy. I believe there is a difference between a right and a privelege. A right is something that is mine simply because my creator allowed me to live. A privilege is anything that would make my existence a bit more comfortable while I am here. Privileges are nice but they are not gauranteed. Privileges usually have to be paid for. If I can not afford a privilege then I must rely on the mercy of someone to pay that price for me but I have no right to steal someone elses privilege from them. Whether I take it out of his wallet or I elect someone to take it out of his wallet. We have become a society that thinks having things and making money are more important than what we become by earning those things. No one deserves, to retire at the expense of someone else. To assume that all business owners are evil is arogant and an unfortunate effect of a media misrepresentations. The United States of America is the most giving nation on earth. That is not on accident. Business owners are not exempted from their generosities. Many of our greatest institutions benefiting humanity have been created because, these greedy S.O.Bs have created such an enormous financial empire that not only could they take care of thousands of employees, but they have also created foundations that will be self sustaining for many years if not indefinitely. The problem that I have with Unions is not so much what they do, as what they don't do. The unions did improve the lives of the workers, but they don't stop there. You yourself mentioned that your sister recieved great benefits from her work. Did this global crisis just happen? Or is it because governments have been giving us things that they had no right to offer, because they did not have the funds to back up their promises?Have the governments made us so dependent upon them that when they dissappear we will simply shrivel up blow away in the wind because we are incapable of taking care of ourselves? If you knew my heart you would know that I love people and I am fascinated with human relations. It hurts me to see such injustice, but I know that oppression comes in many forms. It is better to lift everyone up from the bottom than to cut off the head of those who have learned the secrets of true wealth.I am not saying that everyone who is rich is good, but if you eliminate the opportunity for good people to become rich then the human potential to do good will be lost. I suppose if I had read what I wrote thinking that I did not care how people treat eachother, I would probably been just as upset as you. I am not questioning the goodness of Ceasar Chavez's intentions. I am not even saying that something did not need to be done. I am just wondering if greed can be experienced from both ends of the financial spectrum? Obviously in the begining justice was enough, but once that was accomplished, we saw that the fight had to be notched up again and again or the unions would loose their cohesiveness. At what point does the cost of labor affect the ability of a business to make enough profit to not only pay it's employees, but also motivate the business owners to stay in business? If you start a business, is it because you see an opportunity to employ people? Or do start a business to make money by providing goods or services to others? I really did not ask this question based on the issue of the treatment of Mexican Americans, so much as the long term effect of the union on the minds and ability of laborers to break out of socio economic lower class. Paying them more does not automatically change the way one thinks about themselves. Is the psychological progress of moving from laborer, to supervisor, to management, to potentially owning their own business and creating more jobs, get interupted by the union and their seniority system? That is more my concern, because, I believe that individuality is swallowed up in unions and I think as much as the business owners should be accountable, so should the laborer. I appologize if you thought that I did not care about how the farm workers where treated. I am just as disgusted as anyone when it comes to the abuse of one people over another. But abuse happens on all levels, and injustice is often followed by revenge. So, are unions seeking equality or do they create hatred and a potential for an atmosphere of revenge?

Unions the foundation of Socialism the Beginning of the End of Freedom

Unions the foundation of Socialism the Beginning of the End of Freedom

Recently I watched a documentary on Ceasar Chavez. Ceasar Chavez was a political activist who helped in organizing the Farm Workers Union in Southern California. He led them in The Great Grape Boycott, which led to much better working conditions and suitable wages. This is all good, right? Yes, I think that Ceasar Chavez was a good man who saw a need to improve the circumstances of migrant workers and believed that creating a union was the best and most effective method.
In this documentary, then Governor Ronald Reagan, condemned the boycott. As President, Ronald Reagan took swift action against the Air Traffic Controllers Union many lost there careers. I began to question why he viewed unions with such harshness. What is the problem with unions? Why was it that when unions were mentioned it was associated with communism? And if unions brought better working wages and conditions, how could that be bad?
Then I realized something. America use to disdain mediocrity, we had a lot of pride, maybe too much pride for our own good. But it worked for us. We looked at races of peoples we saw as mediocre or settled for and we did not feel comfortable with them. We as a people would not accept poverty, and we did not understand how anyone else could either. Racism was rampant. Blacks were not that far removed from slavery and Mexican-Americans were even closer to the Mexican American war.
Freedom is an interesting thing. It is not something that you can just be given, and you experience it right away. It is something that you have to learn how to experience, and once you have experienced it, people will begin trying to take it away.
When the Israelites were freed by the Egyptians, what was the response of the Israelites? They kept looking back to Egypt for security. They knew what it was like to be a slave. They could not remember what it was like to be free. They did not know how to be free. It took many years of walking through the wilderness and getting rid of a generation of people who could not get rid of a “slave mentality.” Now we have Black America who has been given their freedom, and yet they seek the comfort and security of becoming slave to a government. It takes years for a people to experience freedom. At first it is ugly and awkward, but when it takes hold it raises everyone up. What does this have to do with unions?
Freedom has an entry level experience. It is not pretty, but it is there for a purpose. When you are uncomfortable with your position you have the freedom to move on to the next level. It is your choice whether you want to increase your abilities or not, but if you do not make more money for the business then how can you expect to ask for more pay? As you increase the value of your labor then you can improve your situation in life.
Unions can guarantee a good wage and benefits, but they are designed to keep you in place. You do your job and no one else’s job. If you are tempted to reach outside your box to excel you will be penalized. If technology becomes available to do your work the union will see to it that it is not implemented so that you can keep your job. In the mean time they will make sure that your employer can’t save for a rainy day incase his industry falls on hard times. And if the industry falls on hard times then the business goes under. We have witnessed this in the steel industry, as it is all but gone here in the United States. Once and still potentially very lucrative here the unions priced themselves out of the market. The auto industry is even as we speak on the verge of disappearing from the American landscape. And we wonder why companies are fleeing to foreign countries to stay competitive?
Unions have created jobs that pay far beyond the value of their market, creating a financial deficit in the companies that employ them. What may look like greed from the top is actually greed from the bottom. Union bosses are hired to look out for the interest of the union itself and not necessarily for the workforce and they are definitely opposed to the business.
Unions create a working condition where many people do not feel the need to improve their work to be comfortable. They will get their raise not based on their ability to do a good job, but on their ability to come to work, by building seniority instead of being productive. Unions have begun a process of taking the individuality out of America. They take away the responsibility of the individual to perform. This process it taking us backward in time to a place where information and technology where discouraged and banned.
Unions are pushing us toward socialism. Business owners are receiving more and more pressure to take money from the government at the at the same time government is asking them to pay more taxes and threatening to putting them out of business through regulation if they don’t comply; on the other hand they are receiving pressure from the union to pay their members more money or face the threat of a strike. When government redistributes the wealth of the business owners, the business owners are less than motivated to grow a business empire which puts pressure on the government to employ more people. When government employs more people they have to tax more to pay their employees. This becomes a vicious downward spiral for the economy.
Every time socialism is tried it has failed. It creates more opportunity for corruption and greed within the government. And instead of raising the level of income from the bottom to the top it pushes everyone down toward the bottom. Where there is no opportunity to be rich then poor is what everyone will be.
Politics makes unions and socialism sound good, but they lead to communism. And Communism leads to bigotry and “Social Cleansings,” for the “good of society.” Remember the history of Russia? Are you really willing to say, “Not in my country?” Well, we have all pointed fingers at the opposite isle of the political spectrum and claimed that they, the other side, could be the next Hitler, Mussolini, or Stalin. But that person could just as easily be among our own party. We can not afford to point fingers. Men in power should never be given a blank check even if you like them. And government must never be trusted with our freedoms. History has shown that socialism has failed every time it has been tried.
Socialism has never worked, because it suppresses the ability of the individual to express them selves. Once the value of the individual is destroyed it is easy to control the masses. We the people can not be controlled when We are in charge. The goal of the union is to take away that individuality. Once you recognize your self as a “member” and that union is more important than anything else, you have lost your individuality. The next step is to create a common enemy to create cohesiveness and focus. Finally, once one battle is won via boycott or strike then you become assimilated and you will follow your leader to hell if he wishes to lead you there.
Ceasar Chavez was not a bad man, but he was no hero either. He not only ensured the mediocrity of the farm workers, but he spread the roots of socialism throughout America. President Reagan saw this and when he could do something about it, he acted swiftly and promptly to stomp it out. It is clear that social injustices must be addressed, but unions are not the answer.
Unions imply that you should be paid what you are worth. That sounds good and all, but you will never be paid what you are worth. No one will ever be paid what they are worth! That may explain why a study done by Cornel University ILR School (2007), has shown that union members tend to be less satisfied with their work. Despite this they tend not to change jobs. One likely explanation might be that once they are in the union their limited skills are exploited and elsewhere they could not compete for the same pay. In other words if you get paid too much for the work you do you become enslaved to the job for fear of having to find another job for less than you can live on. The market value of your job is what your wages should be. Anything more than this takes away from the natural market and promotes an unnatural burden to the market place. This explains why Americans have such huge credit problems today. Just as their wages are inflated beyond the natural market value, so also is the price of goods made by them. They live a wealthy lifestyle without the wisdom that comes by progressing through the natural market system.
Individuality gives you an opportunity to reach above the crowd, find your place in the natural market and accelerate your position in that market. You can reach your potential by going above and beyond your job description and increasing the value of your service. As an individual you can not create an unnatural market value. If you don’t do a satisfactory job, or in other words fall behind the market value, you loose your job. If you work hard to benefit your employer you will be rewarded accordingly. And if your employer does not reward you, you may seek new employment, or strike out on your own and start your own business. Another option may be to develop the skills you need to increase the value of your labors.
Unions have taken away our ability to compete in the global market; they have taken away our individuality and have taught generations of our children to think it is okay to take what they have not earned. They have stripped many of the opportunity to reach their potential by pushing wages beyond their value making them feel obligated to maintain their station in life.
No, unions are not good; they create an atmosphere of hatred toward business and the business owners, who took the original risk of creating their jobs in the first place. They gave them a livelihood and the union teaches them to hate them. They often use violence and intimidation to scare others willing to enter the work force at entry level conditions. They break the free market system by promoting government interference in the market. And once they take control of a local industry they force you to join them either by law, or by intimidation, or manipulation through monopolization of the industries. In other words, they make it so that you do not have the chance to work in your chosen field unless you join them. Unions sound good on the outside, but the overall outcome of unions are dissatisfaction among their own members, and the destruction of the economic system in which they participate in. Unions have had a reputation of violence and organized crime affiliations. For all the good intentions they represent, they are like a dirty bath towel, you may dry off with it but you are no cleaner after you are done than before you started.

The View From 1776

The View From 1776