I happened to do a college thesis on labor unions Kenny, and I learned a lot. Though Texas is a "Right to Work" state, I was once a member of the AFL-CIO, a United Steelworker of America, and during college, worked for a trucking company called East Texas Motor Freight, where the full timers were Teamsters, but we part time college help were not. At both places, the adversarial relationship between management and the the union were unbearable. The Teamsters hated us college students, as management paid us more than they did guys that had been there for many years. Management's answer was that they paid us so much to help us out, and they were not bound by contract. Looking back, I think it was a way for management to pour salt in the wound of the union, and make a point.
Though the company I have worked for for the past 28 years is nonunion, I have benefitted greatly from the wages and benefits that unions have demanded. However, I think unions go a bit overboard from time to time, asking and demanding the moon. In many cases, they have negotiated themselves right out of a job.
When I worked for the steel mill, we had 26, that's right.....26 paid holidays, President's Day, Texas Independance Day, Flag Day....the list went on forever. Somebody's got to pay for that....or worse yet....somebody won't, and that's what's happened in many cases!
Unions have got to be more open to innovation and new technology, even if it means cutting back on a number of employees for the greater good.
For the record, I've got a real problem with CEO's making $30 million too, they also are a big part of the problem. I think Lee Iacocca was a real hero. I wish all CEo would learn from his example. I also think labor unions were formed for very noble reasons in a time of child labor and disfigured employees thrown to the wayside.
West
