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0 pointstomohawk7y ago0 comments

There are lots of reasons people may think unionizing is a good idea. Maybe they think the grass will be greener. Maybe they think it will get the man off their back. Maybe they think they're engaged in some sort of class warfare, and this is their duty. Maybe they are people who focus on what they don't have instead of what they do have.

All I know from friends/family is all a union does is put another group of people over you to tell you what to do. Only, these guys don't really have anything to do with the business. Their interests are not aligned with the business or even with yours. As time goes by, they just use their position to further their own other interests and power.

These are the lessons we already learned about unions, and why they're so unpopular these days.

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2 comments · 2 top-level

jakelazaroff7y ago

> All I know from friends/family is all a union does is put another group of people over you to tell you what to do… Their interests are not aligned with the business or even with yours.

Your employer is already a group of people over you who tell you what to do, whose interests are definitely not aligned with yours.

At least your union is ostensibly on your side; your employer is incentivized to wring as much out of you as they can, for as little as they can.

Frondo7y ago

> All I know from friends/family is all a union does is put another group of people over you to tell you what to do

This is an unfair characterization of what unions are. They're not a second set of bosses; they're democratic organizations, no more, no less. What you get out of them is largely up to you and your interest in being involved.

Saying they're "over you" and "tell you what to do" reminds me of people who complain about politics but don't vote (let alone be politically active). For people unwilling even to show up to the discussion and use what little power is literally given to them, it's unsurprising that they'll get more than the minimum from such organizations.

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