Forgotten Facts of American Labor History (a must-read!)

Ludwig Von Mises Institute ^ | November 22, 2004 | Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

[SittinYonder]

An interesting read for later from the Mises Institute ping to myself.

[phoenix0468]

But didn't labor help all 'dem widdle babies be taken outta da factories and put back into school?

[phoenix0468]

Oh Yeah, the union I worked for for about three weeks helped it's workers keep their right to earn minimum wage, while taking $25 bucks a month from our salary. It was the Grocery and Service workers union, and I worked in an auto parts manufacturing plant. Go figure.

[383rr]

Unions= communism.

[JLS]

ping

[KSCITYBOY]

btt

[yankeedame]

From then on, if a majority of workers in a given bargaining unit chose to unionize, then that union represented all the workers and could require them either to join or at least to pay dues...

Also, thanks to FDR and his "Brain Trust" it was declared that unions could not compete for union members, e.g. if you were a widge maker, the UWMA (Union of Widget Makers of America) was the only union allowed, the only widget-makers union you could/must join.

Any and all completing/potential union organizations for widget makers {"The Widgetmaker Brotherhood", "The National Assoc. of Widgetmakers", "American Federated Union of Widget Makers", etc.)was strictly forbidden.

So not only was the American worker was forced to join/contribute to "the Union", he wasn't even given a choice of which union he joined.

[Mr. Silverback]

Bump!

[Remember_Salamis]

"In a study published jointly in late 2002 by the National Legal and Policy Center and the John M. Olin Institute for Employment Practice and Policy, economists Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway of Ohio University calculated that labor unions have cost the American economy a whopping $50 trillion over the past 50 years alone."

[Intolerant in NJ]

...Economists Vedder and Gallaway find that New Deal labor legislation played a significant role in aggravating the unemployment problem...and the sad consequences continue today - back in FDR's days the US had a near monopoly on the capital and means of production which allowed American workers to demand and win ever higher wages without competition - now that labor bubble has burst, and employers are finding capable and educated workers in other countries who will sign on for much lower pay than those in this country have come to expect is due them - they've priced themselves out of the market, and their jobs won't be coming back for a long time, if ever....

[Remember_Salamis]

"the US had a near monopoly on the capital and means of production..."

That's not true at all! In fact, the majority of capital that was invested in the US came from Europe, where legislation was already choking off economic grgowth and opportunity. America's strong laissez-faire system at the time was a vacuum cleaner for capital and production was increasing at exponential rates due to a fully free labor market, among other things.

If we want to re-attract global capital, let us remove the regulation that is holding us back. - Let us repeal all corporate taxes!

- Let us repeal all corporate subsidies that protect big business and stifle competition from up-and-comers!

- Let us implement tax-free health savings accounts while removing the tax break for companies to provide it, allowing workers to freely change jobs!

- Let us implement nationwide right-to-work laws!

[Intolerant in NJ]

America's strong laissez-faire system at the time was a vacuum cleaner for capital and production was increasing at exponential rates...I thought that's what I was talking about - whatever the source, capital was being concentrated here and the expanding production which it both attracted and supported allowed labor to take advantage and establish wage and work standards which are no longer sustainable.....

[ryanjb2]

I know this feeling isn't entirely Conservative, but I get a good feeling when I see the poster listing the labor laws employers are required to hang up. When you dislike your employer, it is comforting to know that something limits his power.

[Jotmo]

Bump.

[Remember_Salamis]

Why have laws though? Wouldn't it be better if you could simply sign an agreement when you started working there that stated your rights and protections? If the protections provided in the contract were not up to snuff, you could go somewhere else that offered a better agreement.

With multiple employers competing for labor, employees would tend to recieve better and better offers in their aggreements.

A one-size-fits-all plan for everyone is not in anybody's best interest.

[Hank Rearden]

Government-subsidized extortion rackets.

I go out of my way to do whatever I can to piss off and harm union interests. Screw those thugs. Unions must die.

[loboinok]

When you dislike your employer, it is comforting to know that something limits his power.

Yep...like 3 million "other" employers!

[Old Professer]

The simple version is that the union needs the laborer more than the laborer needs the union.

[First_Salute]

May interest.