... I did, however, once work for an outfit the management of which was so abusive of us worker bees that I would have signed a union card in a flash had one been presented to me. (The problem was a couple of incompetent and abusive middle managers empowered by inattention and indifference at the top.)
Unions can be an important tool for employees. They are also the most corrupt major institution on the American political scene. How to strike a balance? I would begin with a national Right to Work law. The root of many evils is not unionism per se, but compulsory unionism.
Secondly, I would ban public sector unionism. Calvin Coolidge was right. Unions are legitimate in competitive situations where the market provides a reality check against excesses by both management and labor. Government, however, is an inherently non-competitive labor market where unions are simply a conspiracy against the public. To retreat to the high theoreticals, any government service that we are willing to see unionized ought to be privatized.
Indeed my good friend... Indeed.
A national right to work law is what is needed. One that promotes fair compensation packages that are based upon merit, safe working conditions, and reasonable working hours. But have it stop there. If we took away alot of the power that organized labor has accumulated over the years, many of this country's economic problems would be alleviated. Please all, don't misconstrue what I just said about our country's economic problems. I am not hopping on the liberal's bandwagon by any means.