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From: bwm@ccieng2.UUCP ( Brad Miller)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Unions, Min Wage, etc revisited
Message-ID: <157@ccieng2.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Apr-84 13:11:27 EST
Article-I.D.: ccieng2.157
Posted: Thu Apr 26 13:11:27 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Apr-84 05:49:30 EST
References: <762@trwrb.UUCP> <154@ccieng2.UUCP>, <142@iwlc6.UUCP>
Organization: Computer Consoles Inc., Rochester, NY
Lines: 27

John Hobson makes a good point, however, I was not speaking from (total)
ignorance. When the unions were formed, they were formed for very valid
reasons. The problem is, that one of the political effects they had
was to eliminate the monopolies and trusts that CAUSED THEM TO BE FORMED
IN THE FIRST PLACE. Given that, they SHOULD have faded away themselves,
but by continuing to exist at the expense of their counterpart, THEY ARE
JUST AS GUILTY as the trusts they broke. You can have both, you can have
neither, but YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE ONE. The unions represented enough people
to get legislation passed (ant-trust). Sort of like Orwell's 1984-- they
have managed to perpetuate themselves without any concrete need for them.

Unions have done some good. They brought the nations attention to a big
problem. Unfortunately we over-compensated and gave the power to the unions.
Now we have unions FORCING themselves on workers if they want to get jobs
in 'union' shops, we have union leaders bashing in the skulls of temporaries
hired when the union walked out, we have threats against the lives of families
who are non-union, etc. etc. ad nausium. All I said, and all I am continuing
to say is that EITHER ONE ALONE IS BAD. In a laissez-faire situation, most
likely both would be present, checkpointing each-other. Legislating one out
of existance and not the other is what is causing our current economic
and trade problems, much as the existance of trusts without unions caused
problems several years ago. 

Brad Miller

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