| For the most part, I think unions have outlived their usefulness. Although they were a good idea when they were first developed back in the 1920s and 30s, the dynamics of our economy and the workforce have changed drastically since then. Legislation now regulates many of the things that unions first addressed. Also, since becoming a credit-based economy the relative cost of living is so high that people are dependent on their jobs now more than ever. Workers are no longer willing to "rock the boat", so to speak, with issues such as job actions and collective bargaining. From management's point of view, if you don't want to do your job, somebody else will. And it's largely true, so that mentality takes away a lot of power from the unions. Personally I think that unions cost their employees a lot of money, with very little tangible benefit in return. |