“Labor Day is not Union Day”
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 By Marc KilmerTo go along with my article this week, here is a much more in-depth look at the damage to workers caused by unions:
Labor unions get more respect than they deserve. They are nothing other than labor cartels. Like all cartels, their success depends on the extent to which they can cut off their trading partners—employers, workers, and the customers of employers—from alternatives. Notwithstanding that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) helps private-sector unions capture their victims, over time those unions lose market share because of the process of creative escape….
Exclusive representation precludes employers from dealing directly with employees about wages and other terms of employment. Employers are forbidden to reward individual workers for meritorious performance without union permission. Unions are loath to grant permission because they want workers to think that they, rather than individual productivity, are the source of wage gains. Thus, highly capable workers often want nothing to do with unions. Exclusive representation also prohibits individual workers from speaking directly with employers about any job-related issues without union permission. Individual workers have no voice. Only certified unions may speak.
The full article is well worth the time it takes to read it.
