Unions: Good or Bad??

[JerseyMike]

Recently in the Garden State Governor Christie has asked the NJEA (New Jersey Education Association) to have its members forgo this years salary increases and have teachers put 1.5% of their salary towards their health benefits to close $11 billion deficit. So are unions good or bad in your opinion? Have fun.

[Jericho]

Both good and bad.
Are you the one doing the shitting or the one cleaning the kharzi?

[Faldur]

Started as a true cause for the worker, grew out of control and completely lost its way. Nothing more than a PAC today. Usefulness is gone.. and yes, member IUPAT since 1978.

[bte]

I think it has it advantages and disadvantages. Unions communicate with the business in order to provide better working conditions for the workers, ie: break times, break areas, pay, and etc. It can be beneficial for anyone to join an union if they feel they will be represented properly.

Although it does have its disadvantages, which could lead to unions asking for too much and the company having to cut back in order to accomodate the unions. As I said good and bad when it comes to unions.

I only been in one union, and thats the extent of my knowledge of unions.

[buckjohnson]

I was in a union once that went on strike the very first day I went to work. I just like to remind people that the 40 hour week, time off, safety, and a lot of other work place improvement were driven by unions.

Also the people who ran into the burining towers were union members.

[bte]

I was in a union once that went on strike the very first day I went to work. I just like to remind people that the 40 hour week, time off, safety, and a lot of other work place improvement were driven by unions.

Also the people who ran into the burining towers were union members.

Good point, although just like to make a note on your last point. The fact that they were union members doesn't hold any special status (guess thats the word I am looking for). They were doing their job and doing what was right. Regardless if they were union or not. I would think a non-union member would go into the burning towers and save people.

[hippifried]

Unions have been & still are a vital componant to elevating the economic status of wage earners. They have their flaws like any self interest organizations.

I just wish they'd expand to developing nations instead of embracing nationalist isolationist policies. I understand the conflict of interest between lofty organizing goals & protection of dues paying members, but getting workers in the developing world organized is the best way to combat the sweatshop mentality of globalization.

[JerseyMike]

Probably should have asked if teachers unions are good or bad? But personally unions were needed for safety issues but most of those issues are no longer there, except in the case of mine workers. Unions however seem to be messing up things more than they are doing good examples: United States Postal Service, GM, Chrysler.

[trish]

Safety is one major issue of interest to workers and their unions. But so are: work conditions, health, hours, advancement, wages, pension ... anything an individual might consider to ask for in a contract so too a union will ask for. There are good contracts and bad contracts. It's not the union's fault that GM made some silly contracts. History shows the that corporations will exploit workers to inhuman ends to gain a dollar on the bottom line. Unions are the defense.

[evilernie]

I appreciate the concept of having a union. Like communism, socialism, democracy, capitalism and totalitarianism, it starts as a well-meaning concept, but ends up being used by its leaders for their own advantage.

As with everything else, power corrupts and lemmings blindly follow. That's the failure of every system (government, church, corporations and union).

If I have to one item in specific that I don't like about the NJ teachers union is
the high regard for seniority.