I’m in a union and currently contract negotiations are going on and all I hear about is more money but people don’t stop and look at what benefits are being taken away. Don’t get me wrong, I like raises but why I love my job is the job security and benefits. When I originally started by job 8 years ago, the starting pay was lower but we got yearly pay raises for 15 years and I paid minuscule healthcare per paycheck and my out of pocket maximum was ridiculously low and wouldve stayed that way while my pay went up each year. This was because our old contract had a clause where the company heavily subsidized our healthcare. After our new contract, we got big pay raises but my healthcare shot up massively. While still lower than many non-union jobs, our pay raise was a wash with higher healthcare since the company doesnt have to subsidize it anymore. A union becomes less effective when the benefits become weaker overtime and now I hear grumbling from coworkers as to why we even have one. Another example, my very first year profit sharing check was $1,500. After our new contract, profit sharing went away because of higher pay. As profits soared, everyone wanted profit sharing back but the company was under no obligation. But the company used that to their benefit and was like “we don’t have to do this but we will go above and beyond the contract”…. My profit sharing after our most profitable year a few years ago? $250. in all honesty, I don’t make as big of purchases ever since my pay increased. Because my benefits have diminished (even though they are really good compared to most non-union jobs), I don’t feel as secure about the future as I did when I first started so I want to save money. This has a ripple effect on the economy – if people don’t feel like job security or strong benefits, they won’t spend as much at restaurants, movies, trips, etc. Now that Americans are so massively in debt, we feel like less taxes is what we need when what we need is strong social safety nets. Just like union contract negotiations, always look at what service or benefit you lose – especially if you plan to move from a mid-to high tax state to a low tax state like TX or FL. So many anti-union or “people are lazy” mindset people only look at the pay (I’m paying you this much and still can’t find workers !) and not the benefits when if people have work benefits and strong social safety nets do people feel more secure. Always work for pay raises but scrutinize every detail to see what exactly the benefits are being taken away. Anyways, that’s just my vent – it seems so many Americans are focused on money that they don’t realize that without strong safety nets and benefits, all that money can evaporate very quickly. It’s why I think sometimes people with really high pay are so stressed all the time – they have no strong work rules and work/life balance. They make so much money but never seem happy because they have no job security If they don’t work a million hours to out compete others