Democratic control?

 Unions, good or bad? It is an ongoing debate among the people. Unions exist to protect the workers, that's the narrative most often put forward. Unions control the working hours, the working conditions, and the salaries paid. Unions are controlled by the democratic process, with secret ballots and the majority rules. It is the case where the fifty-one control the other forty-nine. It's a sweet deal when you are one of the fifty-one! Unions are in reality the mob. The mob controls the unions, always have, and don't be fooled, they still do. They may go by different titles these days, but the union bosses are the ones that control all of that. Union leaders' average salaries higher than most CEO's. If you go against the union agenda, whatever it happens to be, you are called a scab and face retaliation. If you are a member of that union and fifty-one decide this is what they want, you have no choice but to comply or face the consequences.

 Unions, better known as the labor movement, were formed to force employers to give in to their demands. Yes, it was to make the fat cat pay! If we don't work, they can't make money is the reasoning behind all of that. Can't argue with that logic, it's true enough, unless that employer simply hires someone to replace you. How do you prevent that? Coercion works best. No job is worth getting your head bashed in. But we are civilized people and won't resort to that. What other methods can we use? The union will pay those on strike. They will take a portion of your "brothers" earnings and give it to you. That's what your union dues are for, but they aren't enough so another 10% may be deducted from your pay to cover that difference. Yes, the Democratic way, take from those working and give it to those that aren't. Again, a great scenario when you are the one on strike. If you are not, maybe next time you will be on strike, if the boss decides you should that is.

 The deal is this. Those in business are in business to make a profit. They aren't owned by the union; they are owned by individuals. Those individuals decide upon the profit margin they want to achieve. They will charge whatever it takes to get that margin. It can be a delicate balance between what the people are willing to pay, and what that cost has to be. The unions are the biggest driver of that cost! The more the employer has to provide, the higher the cost of the product. It's not a very difficult thing to understand at all. It's a never-ending cycle of supply, demand and cost. If you want to make more money your employer has to charge more for whatever product or service is being provided. Simple enough.

 Now the unions were formed initially in response to what? Poor working conditions and low pay. The ethics and morality of the employer being called into question. They simply were treating the workers unfairly. So, the unions are an attempt to force employers to act in a more ethical fashion. You might say to act morally. If they don't, we will refuse to work! Well except we don't want to actually lose our jobs, we don't want to really leave, we want you to pay us what we want and allow us to set policy. In short, we want to run the business! We will do so from the Bully pulpit! That's a Democracy! 

 “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy." (Alexander Tyler) I would say a Union, as a Democracy, will suffer the same fate. The workers will eventually vote themselves out of work! It will become unsustainable. The year I was born the average cost of a home in America was 8200 dollars, today it is 195,000 dollars! The Unions, controlling our workforce has been the largest contributor to that rise in cost! The Unions are running the business, and the business is currently 21 trillion dollars in the red! 

 Yes it's all good when you are part of the fifty-one, not so much when you are part of the forty-nine. The mob often reacts in unreasonable and brash ways. The mob often reaches for the most immediate solution to the problem. Emotions are great motivators but seldom good guides. That's why we say, let your conscience be your guide. It is when we set aside our conscience, making demands upon others, indeed forcing others into compliance that things go awry. The unions throw a tantrum, and we will pay the price. Well, at least forty-nine of us will anyway.