Union thugs on the company boards in Germany would definitely explain VW's support of the unions here in the US.

Threatening union thugs at gunpoint would be fair, in my opinion.
After 18 years at my current job, the "union" bought off our governor and forced all state employees to become dues paying members. The gun that they pointed at our heads was "join or be fired".
Like I said, I had worked here for 18 years and now was going to be fired if I refused to join the union...not because of poor job performance...only if I didn't "pay" to keep my job.
With only a few years to retirement, I caved and paid their ransom. At least, I took the easy way out and pay only for that which is used to represent my interests. That fact requires the union to refund a portion of my dues, every year.
I can't think of the term for "de-unionizing" my job, but I'm ready to take the vote, when and if it comes up. Scott Walker...where are you when we need you?

Good for the Boeing employees. There was a time when we had a mail-order firm and a publishing co. An employee brought in a union organizer for the mail-order. I explained to the employees, all 18 of them, that all that would happen would be that there would be a new sizeable deduction from their paychecks, we would go from salary, which allowed for adjustable hours as long as the work got done, to hourly paychecks and a time-clock. To no avail. Turned out that the publishing firm was growing while the mail-order was stagnant. Add to that, the aggravation of dealing with the union. So -- we closed the mail-order firm, sold the inventory and concentrated our efforts on publishing. !8 people lost their jobs and life goes on.

excellent observation and explanation.

Unionism is a very different can of worms in Germany as VW learned. Yes, VW Chattanooga, TN employees sent the union away several times. Unions have given up on Nissan in Smyrna, TN because they have been rejected so many times. Unions are desperate to get a toe hold in the auto manufacturing of the South, but Southerners continue to think for themselves with minimum gov't interference. With the safety protections offered by various overlapping gov't agencies coupled by the fact that corporations now recognize the difference between employees and GOOD, sober, responsible, hard working employees and those who show up on the job chemically saturated and under educated if they show up at all. Corporations recognize the need to retain capable employees and therefore reward them with little prodding from an outside entity.

+1 for cronymals!!! -- j

+1 for Demonrat -- great name!!! -- j

couldn't have said it better;;; Thanks, kevin!!! -- j

If they were threatened at gunpoint, where is the evidence, where are the photos. What a bunch of BS!

... and you are correct about the thumb of justice on the unions side... also employees can quit without notice/no reason to their employer while in many cases the employer cannot just terminate an employee.

Depends on the strength of the unit. I worked as an engineer for Boeing in Seattle. The engineers were represented by SPEEA but it was an open shop (not truly open, everyone still covered by the contract). Membership hovered in the 30%-40% range most of the time. My observation was the company officials liked the balance of power.

Interesting point. When people were less mobile I imagine it was easier to push the idea that people had a right to those jobs because that's all there was and get laws passed that forced the companies to stay at the bargaining table with the unions. And from there force the people to "join" the union in order to get the jobs.

It's worse in Germany, where the law gives unions the right to seats on company boards.

Yes, unions are inherently evil. They're gangsters, who should never have been given their legal license to extort money from workers. The only thing they're good for today is making their opponents pay for Demonrat campaigns.

Hearing of union leaders getting a taste of their own medicine just warms the heart, doesn't it? Just imagine the nature of those threats that scared off the union thugs who usually are the instigators. Would love to have been a fly on that wall.

I would think it would be easier for a group to get more out of the employer than an individual could. That is a legitimate point of a union. The individual must have the right to join with other individuals to bargain "collectively". But it can only be proper when any party can walk away of their own free will. The current laws in many states protect the unions and force the companies to sit at the bargaining table.

I think they are laying the ground work for their own violence.

Not just the control of the workers. Access to vast sums of money so they can control the political process... Anybody ever heard of Sacramento, CA? Criminal, yet institutionalized!

Historically, I think that unions did necessary work when people were less mobile. Now, I see them as being parasitic and destructive - and the workers are beginning to see how union representation erodes their long-term employment.

As long as the area is 'at will', then unions can compete with free workers - and win if they can. It is when there is a closed shop that unions become frightening.

Jan

A huge cheers to those who stood up to the unions. I worked in management at a facility that abolished a union and paid the employees on what they produced both in quality and quantity. The employees made more than what the unions bargained for them.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers canceled the election, claiming threats from workers created a hostile environment. Most likely these unsubstantiated claims were invented by leadership as a way to 'save face'.
In any event, it is an interesting turn when union leaders, who historically have used violence or the threat of violence to intimidate workers, are now complaining about threats.

Labor contracts are collusion between labor and management against the consumer. They cause unemployment when employers pay wages and benefits that are above market value for the skill. They crushed the steel, auto, railroad and other industries in the US. Labor unions are political tools used in a deceitful way by politicians to exploit workers.

in the late 70's and early 80's I lived in Columbia s.c. there was a textile mill and the union tried to get a raise for the few union members all to no avail. the union members went on strike for a few months and then the mill gave all of its employees a raise so the strikers came back to work and the union told them the union got them the raise. I observed that people from the south are very independent and do not like what to be told especially when and where to work. good for them.

It can be easier for the employer to get a deal out of a group by appealing to the lowest common denominator than by having the deal with 1000 individuals.