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Re:PG: “Any industry that still has unions has potential ene... by sokoloff on Sunday November 08, 2015 @06:44PM (#10530573)
My experience suggests that the inefficiencies of the unions exist to protect the interests of the unions.

Where the workers are also helped, that seems almost incidental in practice.

Re:PG: “Any industry that still has unions has potential ene... by vacri on Sunday November 08, 2015 @06:54PM (#10530612)
Corrupt unions are a problem, however corrupt unions are still better than no unions.

Edit: to the downvoters: consider what life was like for workers before unions were widespread.

Re:PG: “Any industry that still has unions has potential ene... by krschultz on Sunday November 08, 2015 @07:11PM (#10530674)
For some people. Within the union some members benefit and some members lose relative to individual bargaining. Generally speaking unions base compensation heavily on seniority rather than productivity. That really screws the young, the hard working, and those with the most initiative.

I think the net result is a greater share of the profits for labor, but there are definitely some people in unions getting totally screwed by the unions.

Re:PG: “Any industry that still has unions has potential ene... by vacri on Sunday November 08, 2015 @07:31PM (#10530756)
It's still better than no unions. Similarly, unions don't just do paypackets, they also do things like check OH&S conditions. And from experience, at the low end of town, the young, the hardworking, and those with the most initiative are screwed by capital anyway. You don't get extra money in your paypacket for being a hardworking or initiative-showing bus driver or call-center operator.
Re:PG: “Any industry that still has unions has potential ene... by krschultz on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @04:16PM (#10542553)
In some cases yes, in some cases no. The CAD draftsmen at one of the companies I worked at were in the UAW. The older guys made a boatload of money while the young guys barely made made more than minimum wage. On an open market the managers would have happily paid the young guys 2-3x as much for their work, but that wasn't an option.

OH&S wasn't all that important since we're talking about a desk job.

Re:PG: “Any industry that still has unions has potential ene... by prawn on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @03:57PM (#10542435)
I've often wondered how much of the potential corruption in unions could be minimised through a membership app. Try to take some of the responsibilities away from people in organisational roles.