10-24-2015, 04:18 PM
Do you not believe that societies evolve, Donovan?
Way more workers in this country don't belong to unions than do, about 90/10. There are reasons why union membership has been declining over time and why 'right to work' laws have been passed to protect workers from mandatory union participation, and to give workers the choice to opt out of union membership without losing their jobs.
Child labor and Chinese slave labor wouldn't fly and haven't flown in this country for three quarters of a century or longer because of laws against child labor and slave labor, in both unionized and non-unionized industries. Unions aren't keeping children and immigrants from being exploited by employers today, labor laws and an evolved societal mindset are doing so, in my view.
But, I agree with you that organized labor unions helped change that societal mindset and have done a lot of good historically; unions definitely deserve credit for having pushed for more fair labor practices and policies for all workers in this country (and other countries).
Over time, organized labor unions have also hurt workers, hampered productivity, and negatively impacted the domestic economies in some ways, in my opinion.
I read the links you posted. I think there are many factors aside from unionization (or lack thereof) which contribute to income inequality and gaps between increases in productivity and increases in wages, though your last link focuses only on unionization.
Anyway, I don't see unions, corporations, governments, people ...as inherently bad, nor as all-good or all-bad. Whether one sees their influences on people and workers as more good than bad at any given time isn't necessarily a matter of whether one knows their history or cares more or less about people/workers than you do. It can also be simply a matter of interpreting the same history and drawing different conclusions, and/or having different priorities and experiences.
Way more workers in this country don't belong to unions than do, about 90/10. There are reasons why union membership has been declining over time and why 'right to work' laws have been passed to protect workers from mandatory union participation, and to give workers the choice to opt out of union membership without losing their jobs.
Child labor and Chinese slave labor wouldn't fly and haven't flown in this country for three quarters of a century or longer because of laws against child labor and slave labor, in both unionized and non-unionized industries. Unions aren't keeping children and immigrants from being exploited by employers today, labor laws and an evolved societal mindset are doing so, in my view.
But, I agree with you that organized labor unions helped change that societal mindset and have done a lot of good historically; unions definitely deserve credit for having pushed for more fair labor practices and policies for all workers in this country (and other countries).
Over time, organized labor unions have also hurt workers, hampered productivity, and negatively impacted the domestic economies in some ways, in my opinion.
I read the links you posted. I think there are many factors aside from unionization (or lack thereof) which contribute to income inequality and gaps between increases in productivity and increases in wages, though your last link focuses only on unionization.
Anyway, I don't see unions, corporations, governments, people ...as inherently bad, nor as all-good or all-bad. Whether one sees their influences on people and workers as more good than bad at any given time isn't necessarily a matter of whether one knows their history or cares more or less about people/workers than you do. It can also be simply a matter of interpreting the same history and drawing different conclusions, and/or having different priorities and experiences.