This is a free country. If people want to join a union, thats fine. They have the right to do that.
The problem is not unions. The problem is that the governments that negotiate with unions, and the corporations that negotiate with unions do not have the balls to tell them “no.”
We expect these mealy mouthed losers that are elected to stand up to unions. They cannot say “no” to anyone.
Don’t get mad at the unions for asking. They have that right. Get mad at the people they are negotiating with—they are the ones you can exert some control over—through elections and through ownership of their stock in your pension plans.
The people on “our side” need to tell them “No.” Just because the unions have the right to ask, doesn’t mean the government has the obligation to say yes.
WE cannot just sit back and allow this to happen. DO Something about it. Complain to your school board. Complain to your city council. Get involved. And tell them to learn the word “NO!”
People have the right to join unions. Agreed. But they should also have the right NOT to join (or pay a mandatory agency fee). I.e., we should have a national right to work law.
Public employees, as a group and on average, should not earn more (including benefits) than private sector employees. I don't begrudge anyone his paycheck, but public employees work for us, not the other way around. Collusive bargaining between the unions and union-client pols has reversed the relationship in too many places.
Penson benefits should be fully funded, in the public sector (including Social Security) as well as the private sector. That implies finishing the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans, and it means no more kick the can down the road public sector sweetheart deals.
The problem with this reasoning is that US laws for the past century have tilted in favor of unions. Unions, for instance, can collude to target the weakest company in the industry, but if the companies collude to sustain that company, the CEO's go to jail. Similarly, unions in states that don't have "right to work" laws collect dues from members who don't want to belong to a union.
For your system to work, the playing field needs to be leveled.