Quote: (07-20-2018 10:14 AM)Enoch Wrote:
Quote: (06-30-2018 05:10 AM)Fortis Wrote:
I always viewed unions as a poor man's lobby and an overall good thing. It's nice to think that the law will always have your back against massive, faceless corporations, but we've seen what corporations get up to in unregulated environments against lone workers.
In a sane world where the markets were never tampered with and corporations were not up to slick shit we would not need unions, but I think banding together with a tribe of guys in your same industry is a necessity these days. It's like having a tribe. In these atomized times, we tend to think we can do everything by the sweat of our brow, but just look to the past and see how long that lasts.
I don't co-sign every union, but I do understand why the unions exist.
I'm a bit biased, though. My family is mostly composed of laborers working in the various construction crafts. Almost impossible to avoid fuckery unless you sign on with a union to get your back.
The only issue I have with the union is that there are government agencies who only exist to support the unions, such as the NLRB.
The union should have to stand on its own two feet in any labor dispute against the company, without Uncle Sam's backing.
Government employees make up the bulk of union membership in the US. Government employees are specifically exempted from the National Labor Relations Act and not under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. There is no special board for government employees.
Another big group of union employees- railroads and airlines- are also not covered by the National Labor Relations Act / National Labor Relations Board. Airlines and railroads are covered by the Railway Labor Act which makes it harder for those employees to strike.
https://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/j...-standards
The National Labor Relations Board is more of a framework for coming to an agreement on labor issues. It isn’t all against the employer- they have many rules that the unions must also follow. When you read the text you see that it actually takes away quite a bit of power from the unions.
https://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/e...bligations