I want to illustrate why unions work in some industries, but undermine both the worker and the company in other industries, and thus should not be treated as a blanket solution.
I am an engineer working in a technical industry. I want to tell you what it is like working with a union that has far too much power.
To set the stage, our hourly workers often make more money than early career engineers. On average, they have little to no education, training, certifications, or even relevant experience when they get here. They have access to some of the best technology and infrastructure in the industry. And they have exceptional benefits— and had those benefits before unionization.
Here are some things I cannot fire an employee for, per the union contract:
-sleeping on the job
-committing egregious, safety-related errors
-refusing to follow our processes
-verbally abusing their supervisors
-slowing their work on purpose
Here are some things I get in trouble for, per the union contract:
-touching the product to help the hourly workers
-using a flashlight to look at the product
-carrying a small box of personal items between my two cubicles
-asking them to attend a mandatory safety meeting
-disciplining them for violating our policies
How does this happen, you may ask?
Unions have too much power over companies. Our union has become violent during past protests. The company has almost no choice but to give in to ridiculous bargaining agreements. Our product is critical to this very country being able to function, and thus, we cannot stand to lose a workforce via a walk out. If our workforce quits, this entire country directly suffers.
The union workers are so bad, they have made us lose many millions of dollars in production errors, lost time, inefficiencies, and more. The irony is that if they drive our company into the ground, they’ll all lose their jobs too. But they don’t care.
They don’t care because even if they get fired, we just pay them a years salary for their “trouble” and they end up coming right back a year later— per their contract.
None of this makes sense. This is not about “protecting the worker” or “ensuring that labor is treated fairly.” This is total abuse of power and it literally threatens lives. These unions have monopoly power over critical industry.
When you talk about blanket support for unions, realize that while your local Starbucks union isn’t likely to have an impact on national security or infrastructure, the same cannot be said for other larger labor unions.
Please, please look beyond the black and white “libs vs conservatives” propaganda on this issue.