LABOR UNIONS IN CHICAGO - Always & Forever -Or Can A New Mayor Change This? (Tennessee: how much)

[DADASGIRL]

With a mayoral election right around the corner - there exists a chance for CHANGE - you know the outcry that sorta helped our current president get elected. And although most of the country has forgotten that actual CHANGE doesnt happen overnight - its still a good thing to plant seeds of CHANGE, that will one day / some day blossom.

SO - Unions. Chicago. Do you think they are here to stay? I mean - on the surface, this question seems quite rhetorical, but honestly, how much of a detriment to the city would it be if the city started becoming less union dependent? And I'm not saying we should crucify the union members - they should still be given a chance to keep their jobs before finding "non-union replacements". I'm not a part of a union so I cant attest to the "perks" - but when push comes to shove, I think the majority of the union workers would still play ball to keep food on their family's table.

I know there has been some privatization and removal of some union labor here and there and the budget still sucks, so I dont know if disabling the unions would translate into "cost savings" - but I wonder is there exists a group large enough to elevate a mayoral candidate who isnt pro-union? Wishful Thinking?

[chitown85]

I don't think you are correct. Labor unions are an integral part of society. The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the right of people to assemble. The National Labor Relations Act spells out how this works for union members. In the public sphere, one purpose of the union is to prevent political backlash. Back in the old days, police officers and fire fighters were hired and fired with each administration. In the private sector, one major union purpose is to prevent against illegal employer abuses. 12 hour workdays (which are becoming more common without compensation), unpaid labor (also common---see internships), and outsourcing will increase without unions. Management caused the problems at the Big 3 automakers, not the unions. It is unjust when a company like United Airlines loses $500 million in a fiscal year, but the CEO makes $250 million. Corporate officers should not be able to take a huge salary if the company loses money, as it is a "public company." Even if unions were eliminated, do you really think companies and the gov't will save money? Of course not, it just means the higher ups get paid more.

[coldwine]

The way you type makes me want to drive a spike through your hands.

That being said, no, unions are not "always and forever"-- they've been failing, and fast, for the better part of the last thirty years. Part of this was their own fault; the other part is the impossibility of manufacturing in America and being able to compete on any realistic level.

Otherwise, unions in areas that cannot be outsourced marginalize themselves. By preventing competition of any kind, unionized labor makes an absolute commodity of the service provided. That means much lower costs.

Then again, the population rush and job boom in this nation has occurred almost entirely in right-to-work states. So, you know, who knows.

[chitown85]

Not really sure I understand your second argument about preventing competition and marginalization. I think the job boom is due to population shifts to the Southwest because of the cheap land and weather conditions. Anyway, Las Vegas is a major union city. So are San Francisco and Los Angeles. Southern California has grown leaps and bounds in the past 30 years, same with Las Vegas, and so have their unions.

I wouldn't exactly call the right to work states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee bastions of economic progress.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by chitown85

I wouldn't exactly call the right to work states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee bastions of economic progress.

Or social progress. It's easy to admire such places when you don't live there.

[linicx]

It will be interesting to see what happens next. Workers in a small company located in a right-to-work Southern state recently voted in a union shop. .