[craigimass]

If you read my post you would see that I 100% agree about excesses. That's the nature of power - in ANY case, whether it is in the hands of corporate boards and CEOs, or in the hands of Union negotiators. As ss alludes to, some stupid person signed off on all that stuff.

But much of that stuff is self-correcting, as we are seeing now. The gravy train has left the station, and many Unions have been "giving back" for a decade now.

Oh, another function of many trade unions over the centuries has been....to TEACH TRADES. This was very important, as having people who don't know what they are doing building your bridges or even plumbing you houses could be a bad move.

The lesson of history is that any group which obtains power tends to abuse it. Unions are guilty of that just like EVERY other group. At the same time, it would be foolish not to understand that vast improvements in working conditions and other factors which were pioneered....here and in other countries around the world....by organized labor.

A recent example might be Poland, where the revolution to democracy was formed in the cradle of trade unions.

I think it could be summed up this way. The very IDEA of trade unions is a great one. After all, how the heck is a corporation with 100,000 employees otherwise going to bargain with EACH employee? However, in the USA specifically, some Unions have become one more cabal of self interest and power. I certainly don't approve of that, but they will get their due - in fact they already have in many areas.

However, the ideas of workers rights, collective bargaining, 8 hour days and 40 hours weeks, ability to air grievances, etc. - those I see as very good things.