I have been a small business owner over the past 40 years, now retired. My theory was always treat employees fairly, pay wages that were at or above going rate and provide benefits for all. The times that unions tried to organize, the employees told them of go F**k themselves.

Here is a comment from another owner that shut down a business he owned...


Why I’m Against Unions At Businesses I Create
Posted on September 12, 2017 by JR

It is the Free Enterprise system that has made this country an economically wealthy and powerful nation and I enjoy participating in it. And I like starting businesses that solve problems and create jobs. In fact, I love it.

When a business succeeds, it’s fantastic; fantastic for the people working in the business, and fantastic for consumers who benefit from a new product or service.

But, there’s a tough reality to starting businesses: more of them fail than succeed. In fact, most businesses fail. They fail because it’s hard to build a successful company. There are always powerful forces working against you – e.g., competition, regulation, access to capital, poor execution, poor timing, bad luck. Sometimes it turns out that your idea just won’t work.

And yet, here’s the thing: trying to solve all the problems that a business faces is what’s fun for me, particularly when I’m doing it shoulder-to-shoulder with people who share my passion for building a successful enterprise.

Which brings me to the topic of unions.

There can be no doubt that historically, unions served an important purpose, balancing power between ownership and labor. Indeed, the early days of capitalism were a bumpy ride, and the relationship between ownership and labor was often out of whack in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And yet, 2017 looks a lot different than 1917.

But, I’m neither a historian nor an economist. I’m an entrepreneur, so I’m not going to wax on about the historical imperative of unions and why they do or don’t serve a role in our modern economy. I will, however, tell you what I know, and I know about starting and growing businesses. I know that businesses constantly face a barrage of obstacles to survival – never mind success – and, in the face of that, everyone at the company needs to be pulling together or that company won’t make it. I know that keeping a company growing and thriving requires focus and tireless effort by everyone. Indeed, in my opinion, the essential esprit de corps that every successful company needs can’t exist when employees and ownership see themselves as being on opposite ends of a seesaw. Everyone at a company – owners and employees alike – need to be sitting on the same end of the seesaw because the world is sitting on the other end.

I believe unions promote a corrosive us-against-them dynamic that destroys the esprit de corps businesses need to succeed. And that corrosive dynamic makes no sense in my mind where an entrepreneur is staking his capital on a business that is providing jobs and promoting innovation.

That’s why the type of company that interests me is one where ownership and the employees are truly in it together, without interference from a third-party union that has its own agenda and priorities. I’m not interested in any agenda at any company I start, other than working together to deliver something exceptional to consumers and doing it as everyone pulls shoulder-to-shoulder tackling whatever the marketplace throws at us.

It is my observation that unions exert efforts that tend to destroy the Free Enterprise system.

No way no how should employees be able to tell the owner of a business how to run his business.

I work in a closed shop. Union membership or no job. I suppose they have made some progress in improving working conditions, but honestly have seen little benefit from their existence. Dues are getting old too, figures about $1k a year.

I concede that there are circumstances, eras, industries, and other situations where Unions do, have, and could serve a truly necessary and useful purpose.

The vast majority of Unions do not qualify as such, and are unquestionably a net-negative, including almost everyone of them that exist today.

Furthermore, amongst the most vile examples are those in the public sector. If your job is funded by taxes, it shouldn't even be possible to have a union.

I worked directly for the owner of a local road construction company (as his equipment hauler). I actually asked him how he like his employees being union members. Operators, Teamsters, Laborers and Carpenters. He said he would rather have Union employees as they are better trained, work safer, more reliable. And he only has to deal with contracts once every four years rather than having to deal with the individual employee regarding their pay, pension, health insurance. You come to work, you know what you are working for....

all the union shops around here work on commercial or industrial projects Their just to expensive to be in the residential side. The union people in general push there union are the best worker BS and they work so hard e.t.c Yet when something goes wrong in there homes do they call union plumbers, electricians e.t.c??

No they find the cheapest backyard person they can find especially the teachers some of the cheapest people I have ever known.

I too worked in a closed shop...UAW.

I learned to hate the union and most of the union officials and ass kissers to those officials.

I would have been better off without the union.

I could post hours of stories about the unfairness of the union and the corruption I saw in our factory by union officials.
It helped breed laziness.

My first experience with a union was working part time in college, joined the AFL-CIO. We went on strike, I got something like $40/week benefits for the month out of work (from my union dues). During the strike the union head came around to cheer us on in the picket line. Seems he had a new luxury car, and a driver. I looked at the paper license inside the back window, the car was owned by the union (my dues were paying for it).

After the strike the union assessed me a surcharge, in addition to my union dues, to replenish the strike fund (they want their money back). I wrote to the union boss, told him I would like to see audited financial statements of union funds so I could see how my money was spent. They didn't like that, told me they wanted their money.

Recently the CA state teachers union wanted me to contribute to their (non tax deductible) fund for "political education". And they promised there would be no retaliation against me if I declined. We will see how that works.

I have spent the last 23 years in various auto plants. Some of the UAW plants have been pleasant places to work, but on the whole the non union plants are more efficient, more pleasant places to work. There is always some tension between labor and management but the union just inflames it to a silly degree.

I have no problems with unions

You have the right to unionize

I have the right to let you go

you do not have a right to make me let you work for me

Definitely unions tend to breed laziness in the workers and corruption in the management. However power corrupts the ownership of business just as much it corrupts the union management. I think having some unions around are important, as motiviation to keep abusive business owners from getting too uppity.

Unions have had their day. The are no longer relevant.

As a self employed guy that works at union facilities often, and hold a few records at a couple plants for grievances filed, I shall abstain from commenting personally.

My father, who was a machinist for Boeing before getting a degree and transitioning to engineering, had few things to say when he had his pay "checked" to pay for other IAM members who were on strike.

I am a retired Union Ironworker. I joined the Union as an apprentice. I knew nothing about Ironwork. After a 3 year apprentice ship I was a journeyman Ironworker making pretty good money. I became certified in stick welding as part of my apprenticeship I took advantage of the journeyman upgrading program and became certified in TIG and Innershield welding. I retired at 55 years of age with a pretty good pension. We have a healthy defined benefit pension plan. In over thirty years of working on a lot of construction sites, I never talked to a non union Ironworker or any other building tradesman with a defined benefit pension plan. I always asked non union guys, When are you going to retire? I got a whole lot of " I don't know" or "When I die". A lot of them had 401K plans, but most did not have enough in them to even think about retiring. I talked to a whole lot of non union guys with a worse health plan then mine, but never a better one. I do not know about any other industry, but I am thankful every day that there is an Ironworkers Union and I am proud to be a member of it.

Agreed. Retired Local 8 Ironworkers. Milwaukee Wi. 37 years of service. The pension is the deal maker..

Unions now are nothing more than political criminal enterprises.

Ask retired Teamsters how they like their Central States pension. I think their monthly benefit has been cut by a third or half, thanks to the teamsters.

My Teamster pension probably won't be there when it's my turn to retire... That's why I got a new job and belong to the Steelworkers union...

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:
Ask retired Teamsters how they like their Central States pension. I think their monthly benefit has been cut by a third or half, thanks to the teamsters.

In some cases even 2/3 reduction, from talking to one retired Teamster.

Had to even sell their second house where they would winter.

Take from that what you will.