Unions...The Death of Industry in the US

I wanted to take a moment today during my lunch break and write a little about something that has been bothering me for quite a while. However, I have been sitting here for the last few minutes thinking about how to begin this entry. It is not that I am short on words at the moment. In fact, it is the exact opposite. I have so many thoughts going through my head, I'm not sure how to translate them to words.

Over the last few weeks, many stories have been flowing through the media about the government bailing out the "Big 3" auto-makers in the US. One of the biggest arguments focused on how the unionized companies couldn't compete with the non-unionized because of labor costs.

This made me think for a moment. Is organized labor going to kill industry in the US?

I then began to think a little bit more close to home. I work in the Freight industry. This industry has many big players. Some are big names that pretty much everybody will know (like FedEx Freight and UPS Freight) and others are players that may (or may not) be big players in the industry but people aren't as familiar with them (i.e. Yellow, Roadway, etc...). YRC (Yellow/Roadway) is a unionized company that is struggling because the teamsters demand to be paid high wages and strong pension benefits in an economy that cannot support such benefits.

Then you have the non-unionized players like FedEx Freight. Many union supporters in this company would suggest that employees would be better off if they were union. The funny thing is, the employees may or may not get a better deal if they were unionized. However, one thing is for sure, the company won't last long once it becomes unionized. Companies can't be profitable if they are forced to conform to antiquated union rules (see YRC).

Since 1983, union membership in the US has been on a steady decline. Is this coincidence? Is this because employers aren't following the guidelines of the National Labor Relations Act? Is this because the NLRA doesn't go far enough in protecting the employee's right to organize? I don't think so. I think it is because labor law has been steadily replacing the need for unions. Employees are starting to realize that unions, for the most part, are no longer needed.

Unions on the other hand, would have you think that membership decline is because of the underhanded actions of the evil employers. To remedy this, they introduced and are trying to push through the ill-named Employee Free Choice Act. Now, I am not going to go through this act, but needless to say, it will make it extremely unfair for employers and anti-union employees. It will not even give a voice to those employees that are logical and don't want a union.

Unions are killing US companies. Those companies that aren't killed, are going elsewhere to do business. People, we do not live in a vacuum. If companies don't like the rules, regulations, or restrictions, they will go somewhere else. Don't be stupid and restrict business in some attempt to get back at the "man." You don't "deserve" to be paid high wages or receive a big pension. You deserve what you are worth. If somebody else can do your job better for cheaper, then you aren't worth what you think.

If you want to make more money, get an education or set yourself apart so that you are truly not replaceable.