Unions killed Michigan
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THE ONCE GREAT STATE OF MICHIGAN
When I was a boy growing up in Benton Harbor, Michigan, there was gainful employment for anybody who wanted to work. Whirlpool Corporation, founded in 1900 in Benton Harbor, was the largest employer in the area, employing thousands of people, manufacturing kitchen and laundry appliances. Today, the world headquarters of Whirlpool remains (in fact my daughter works there), but nothing is manufactured there. An area that I remember teeming with factories of all sorts, and the thriving commercial hub of Southwest Michigan, is now largely boarded up, run down, with little work for anyone. This is the story of how this tragedy came to be.
THREE FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS
First, I will recount three stories, with which I am intimately familiar. Malleable Industries was a manufacturing company in my home town, which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the late 1960s. I knew some of the 900 men who worked there. Through a series of strikes, the men were making wages usually attained only by professionals, such as doctors or lawyers, in spite of lacking not only an education, but many were barely literate—and I do not mean that to disparage them as human beings. Unfortunately, paying these wages had caused the company to lose millions of dollars several years in a row and they were bankrupt. The reason I mention this case is, what happened in court. A federal judge issued a plan to keep the company alive. He told the union if they would accept a 20% pay cut—back to the wages they earned less than ten years prior—he would vanquish the creditors and give the company a fresh start. Otherwise, he would liquidate the company's assets and close it forever. It came down to vote of the rank-and-file union members. Their leaders told them to reject the judge, because a union should never give up what they called hard fought gains. The workers voted 895-5 to close their own factory, putting them all out of work; and a factory capitalized with millions of dollars in land, buildings and equipment became extinct.
In a fascinating sidebar, Malleable Industries sued the union, seeking to recover damages resulting from three strikes conducted by the labor unions in violation of a collective bargaining agreement containing a no-strike clause. The jury returned a verdict in the amount of $115,000 against the Local Union and $1,210,000 against the International Union—one of the few verdicts in the history of the United States in favor of a corporation against a union.
In 1978 I went to work as a non-union inspector at the Cook Nuclear Power Plant. Most of the workers there were union technicians. It was hard not to notice that, while I put in a full day of non-stop work, the unionized technicians would quit working after about four hours; and go to the basement to sleep, read or play cards the rest of the day. I began an inquiry as to how this can be, knowing this plant cost millions of dollars to construct. What I found disturbed me. Union rules were, that they could only be required to perform a certain amount of work each eight-hour-work-day. They could do this amount of work in about four hours—but they were paid for eight!
A couple of years later, I moved to Detroit, with my rock band, White Summer. We hired a new singer, Joe Smith, who worked as an electrician at the Ford Motor Company River Rouge plant. Joe was the only one of us with a day job, and I asked him how he could play music all night and work all day. He laughed and said, "I only work about one hour a day. They don't have much for me to do. I sleep most of the day there. If a secretary in an office wants to move her typewriter across the room, she is not allowed by union rules to do it herself. A union laborer must be called in [perhaps from a mile away; that's how huge this plant was] to move it physically [while the office personnel stood around waiting—on the clock] and they must call me in, to unplug it before it is moved; and plug it back in after it moves [maybe 20 feet]. Then I go back to sleep." He was making $20 per hour in 1979 dollars. I wondered to myself how Ford could afford this.
HENRY FORD AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY
Henry Ford was the father of the modern assembly line used in the mass production of large numbers of inexpensive automobiles. This was an idea that changed the world. Before Henry Ford there were some automobiles. But they were built by hand, by master craftsmen who, rightly so, commanded very high wages, as the only men possessing the talent to assemble such a complicated machine. Nothing wrong with that except for one thing—only the rich could afford to buy them. Ford had the epiphany that if he could put people to work who were uneducated (even illiterate) and unskilled, with few prospects other than farm labor, on an assembly line, where they would only have to perform one simple task (that any older child of a typical family could do) he could provide America with automobiles that most everybody could afford. It worked, and his ideas soon spread to most other manufactured goods, making countless machines we today take for granted, available to the masses for the first time in history.
Anti-American, anti-capitalist, historical revisionists today paint Henry Ford and his awesome ideas as a bad thing for workers, but this is a false history they create out of thin air. True, Ford, and others like him, became rich from his ideas, but ideas are what advances the human race—not manual labor. And Henry Ford did not exploit his laborers. Ford astonished the world in 1914 by offering a $5 per day wage, which more than doubled the rate of most of his workers. (Using the Consumer Price Index, this was equivalent to $106 per day in 2008 dollars.) Henry Ford created the 40-hour work week and a minimum wage (both of which we take for granted today; but it was common for some of our ancestors to work 80 hours per week). He was roundly criticized by other industrialists and by Wall Street for these ideas, which he had decided to implement on his notion that workers would be more productive during the 40 hours if they also had time off for recreation, and time with their families. He proved, moreover, that paying people more would enable Ford workers to afford the cars they were producing and be good for the economy. Ford was adamantly against labor unions because their leaders were Marxists that he thought would harm—not benefit—the workers, in the long run, partly because they advocated violence and work disruptions, in his view, to maintain their own power. It was well known that one of the maxims of Karl Marx was, "Unionism will lead to Communism."
UNIONS COME TO ABSOLUTE POWER
28 million southerners moved north from the 1920s to the 1970s, leaving farm work, most from picking cotton, which is brutal work that tears up your hands in the scorching sun all day, to work in factories. To all of these people, factory work presented easily the best jobs they had any hope of, with their lack of skills, education and knowledge.
Unions were illegal for many years in most countries (and Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, argued that schemes to fix wages or prices, by employees or employers, should be illegal). There were severe penalties for attempting to organize unions, up to and including execution. The first national union in the United States was created in 1866. By the 1930s, unions, that had gained enormous power through a collaboration of Marxists and the Mafia, conducted hundreds of strikes. During these strikes, business owners were unable to bring in new workers to replace the ones who were on strike because the strikers occupied the factory; and they physically assaulted with bricks and baseball bats, and sometimes killed, replacement workers, whom they called "scabs." This was unlike strikes in the past. Before this time, workers on strike would simply refuse to work until their demands were met. Essentially, this meant that production of manufactured goods in America was halted at will by the unions. Then it got worse.
By the 1940s, unions were successful in creating "closed shops" in Michigan, with the help of the state legislature, which included many politicians who shrewdly recognized the voting power of millions of union workers, who tended to vote at the ballot box as instructed by union leaders. A closed shop is a factory in which union membership is a precondition to employment. In an astounding turn of events in labor history, this meant that if you wanted a job in a factory, you did not apply to the company for employment. You applied to the union for employment and the factory had to hire whomever the union decided they should hire, without the traditional job interview to assess an applicant's qualifications.
From here on, the great state of Michigan suffered labor strike after labor strike. I remember when one of the Big Three Automakers, in a rotation they had secretly planned, struck, or threatened to strike, every single year for higher and higher wages and benefits and retirement plans. Eventually concessions were made to pay any laid-off auto worker 95% of his wages, while he sat at home. Many them then hoped to sit at home! Imagine if the Horse and Buggy Industry had had this kind of power when the automobile was invented—The United States would never had led the world in automobile manufacturing. I can assure you of that.
Whereas before, in all human history—to give a simple example—if a man refused to sweep the floor for $9 an hour and another man, without work and equally desirous of feeding his family, was glad to do it for that wage; you—as the owners of the company, who by now have invested millions of dollars and vastly more importantly: have created, designed and engineered, the product that people need or want; have marketed it and sold it successfully; have set up a enormous, smoothly running plant to build it; implemented the means to ship and distribute it; in the extremely importantly timely manner according to supply the demand—had the freedom to hire man number two. Now, you had to hire any man the union said; pay him whatever they said; let him do whatever work they said and none other; and you could not fire him for poor performance, nor promote him for excellent performance. This sort of "Central Planning" has been tried and found wanting in the old Soviet Union. How many cars did they export? What manufactured goods of any kind have you ever purchased that were stamped, "Made in the USSR."
Now ask yourselves, my readers (who have hung in here thus far) about human nature. How many people—if told they will working for the next 25 years on an assembly line; and told that no matter how little or how hard they work, no matter the quality of their workmanship, no matter how many times they are tardy or absent, no matter how many times they are caught (or allowed to be) sleeping on the job; it will make absolutely no difference in their pay, benefits or pensions—will work as productively and efficiently as they are able? One out of a hundred? (Who have an inordinate amount of personal pride, or virtue.)
SINECURES
The 1940s through the 1970s were indeed the golden age for unions but that golden age killed the goose who laid the golden egg. By the 1970s factory workers in the "Rust Belt" were doing shoddy work; vastly overpaid for menial labor; with unsustainable lifetime benefits; with sinecures like ones we can see on The Sopranos where a guy collects a paycheck for sitting in a chair all day; and as a result drove American manufacturing out of business—or the production part of manufacturing goods out of the country—while they continued to go on strike every other year against the companies that had provided their families with the best jobs in generations; while Nero played his fiddle and the unions were controlled by mobsters. They fought automation that would have kept us competitive with the Japanese and other countries. It was state laws in the Rust Belt, particularly in Michigan that did them in, not Federal Law. Manufacturers had no choice to go bankrupt or move their manufacturing to "Right To Work" states, mostly in the southern United States, and eventually out of the country altogether to Mexico, Brazil or China, as the pressures of the shrinking world—globalization—came to bear.
RIGHT TO WORK
The only area of our country that still today has a thriving manufacturing industry is these "Right to Work" states. Consider that term carefully: Right to Work. What does it mean? Simply, it means, that any work that needs to be done—from janitor to rocket scientist—any person has a Right to Work at this occupation; providing he and his employer agree what the work is worth to both of them; which naturally includes the skills, talents, education, aptitude, attitude, hustle and reliability the worker can bring to bear for the benefit of the enterprise.
Right to Work laws guarantee our Constitutional right to freedom of association. Workers are still free to unionize, but with a huge difference from Michigan state law: If the unionized workers decide the work they are performing is not worth what they are being paid—in their eyes—they are free to walk off the job and strike but: The company is free also. The company has the freedom to decide to hire a whole new team of workers to replace the striking workers.
Now, pro-unionists will proclaim companies will automatically choose this route—but that is not true. If you owned a company, that was running smoothly, meeting customer's demands on time, making a profit, highly productive and efficient—which contrary to Marxists, is the sole reason for the existence of a company; not to provide jobs, but to provide jobs AND pay a dividend for its investors—would you want to simply get rid of the people whose productivity had made this possible? And have to train a whole new labor force? Of course not. But what if the demands of the striking workers would make it impossible to sell your product at a profit against your competition in the United States and the World?
In our times, another major issue is that Unions force their members to pay dues which are then used to support political causes that the individual worker is staunchly opposed to. And the fact is, manufacturers today, in "right to work states" are profitable, while manufacturers in Michigan are not; and more importantly, these manufacturers produce higher economic growth and new job creation, as well as lower unemployment rates. In March 2009, Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 12.6%, the highest in the nation.
A March 3, 2008 editorial in The Wall Street Journal compared Ohio to Texas and examined why "Texas is prospering while Ohio lags." According to the editorial, during the previous decade, while Ohio lost 10,400 jobs, Texas created 1,615,000 new jobs. The article cites several reasons for the economic expansion in Texas, including right-to-work laws. Ohio's most crippling handicap may be that its politicians — and thus its employers — are still in the grip of such industrial unions as the United Auto Workers. Ohio is a "closed shop" state, which means workers can be forced to join a union whether they wish to or not. Many companies — especially foreign-owned — say they will not even consider such locations for new sites. States with "right-to-work" laws that make union organizing more difficult had twice the job growth of Ohio and other forced union states from 1995–2005, according to the National Institute for Labor Relations.
JAPANESE CAR MAKERS
When Nissan constructed its plant in Smyrna, Tennessee in the 1980s, it was the biggest investment ever in America by a Japanese company. The Japanese, frankly, had a low opinion of American workmanship based on what it saw—and we all saw, if we care to admit it—coming out of Detroit. The Nissan facility quickly became the most productive, and only profitable, automobile manufacturing plant in the United States. Today, because of the damage done by unions, General Motors loses $2331 on every vehicle they produce, while Toyota makes a profit of $1488 per unit. The plants in Detroit take 20% more man-hours to produce each car for two reasons: the unions protect inept workers; and the unions fight automation. GM has a cost factor of $74 per hour for its workers versus $48 per hour for the Japanese plants in America (all in right-to-work-states).
What is often overlooked is that it is dangerous for a huge world power such as the United States to give up on manufacturing. We never could have won the two World Wars if not for our standing factories that were quickly converted to arms production. If a new worldwide crisis comes and we unable to manufacture anything, we shall be at a terrible disadvantage. The same goes for our loss of capacity for food production. Southwestern Michigan was once known as the "Fruit Belt." But that is another story. Suffice it to say for now, if, God forbid, another World War comes, where will we get food?
I LOVE MICHIGAN
I love Michigan. I have lived in Florida for 18 years—for economic reasons only. If not for the devastated economy caused by the unions and their cronies in the government and mafia, I would much prefer to live in Michigan. I was born and reared there. Still today, when I visit several times a year—my three children live there, as do dozens of my family members and old friends—I feel a sense of community that is always absent here in transient Florida; roots you might say. Where families go back for generations. Where your grandpas went to a little country school together. Where I can enjoy the longest freshwater shoreline in the world, bounded by four of the five Great Lakes. Where one is never more than 87 miles from one of the Great Lakes, the largest depository of fresh water on earth.
I grew up on Lake Michigan, the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States, the largest lake entirely within one country on Earth. It is 307 miles long by 118 miles wide. The lake's greatest depth is 923 feet. Twelve million people live along Lake Michigan's shores. Lake Michigan beaches, especially those in Michigan, are known for their beauty. The sand is soft and off-white, because of its high quartz content. There high sand dunes, and the water is clear and cold. I still have hundreds of people I care about in Michigan. Sure, many moved on to Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, California. But at least half stayed, bound to the land they call home and unwilling to give up on her. Some of my friends that remain there now feel obliged to vote for the radical left's prescriptions of cradle to grave socialism. While I do not agree, I cannot fault them. What else do they have to hope for except the teet of the government? But I am proud of the many I know living there, that despite their personal circumstances, comprehend what is at stake, and refuse to benefit themselves short-term, while giving up the essential freedoms Americans have long held so dear.
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Comments
Very interesting
John Z— You are so right! Thank you for reading my longest post ever. I try to keep them down to about 600 words, on the advice of my good friend who first told me about HugPages. And I have grown to love Hub Pages but when I started writing this one; by the time I stopped I was well over 3000 words. I thought about splitting it in two but I tried that once and Part Two was only read 1/2 as much as part one (about Chicago Cubs Baseball). So, I decided, in this one special case to just put it out there.
So, I thank you very much for hanging in there through the whole thing and your commentary was delightful to me. Thank you very much!
Kushal Poddar— My poetic friend. Thank you very much for reading.
Hi James, good read. Very compelling. In my business I have seen Unions force themselves into companies only to leave those same companies bankrupt soon after. Unions, in my opinion, take away the ambition of an otherwise ambitious person and leave them holding their hand out, and not holding a tool. In the elusive words of run DMC...."Fight the Power!". Thanks for shedding a personal light on this issue.
James,
An informative and well done hub. I enjoyed reading it. The examples you gave are thought provoking. The Unions did indeed give the workers many benefits, yet few have woken up to the dangers posed by those same Unions. Coming from a right to work state, I have often been leary of Unions and whether or not they had the 'good' of the workers in mind with many of their policies. If I want to move a typewriter or fix a broken electrical fixture I do it rather than wait.
James, You strike straight to the heart! I am with you 100% about the unions. They have destroyed American Business. They started out on the right path, but turned into a monster. No common sense. Bravo my friend! I also love Michigan. Was born and raised there. A beautiful state, but now a sad one. Thanks for a great hub!
Jerrad Grinstead— I appreciate you coming by and reading this long post. I love Michigan and sometimes want to weep, the way Jesus wept when He looked at Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, at the devastation. I empathize with the multitudes who struggle mightily there today. Thank you for your insightful commentary!
J D Murrah— Thank you. I am pleased that you enjoyed reading my Hub today. I am not certain unionizing was a bad idea 100 years ago, but in Michigan (and Ohio) they gained an inordinate level of power that eventually ruined the state economy. I mean, there is a limit to how much one should pay a man to screw a nut onto a bolt. I appreciate your comments.
Julia B— Hello my fellow Michigander! The entire state of Michigan was once a forest—all of it. That's a big forest! Still today, the verdant rolling hills, the multitudinous lakes, rivers and streams; it is simply a beautiful place that I yearn for. Thank you for reading and leaving your thoughtful words.
Very good and on target article. Unions are troublemakers. The same description was in my socialistic former country. People did have the jobs but did not work. When socialistic block fell, Japanese were interested to take factories over. They thought people are on strike, reading sport in newspapers.
Vladimir Uhri— The beauty of capitalism, which naysayers notwithstanding improved the standard of living for the average American 17 fold in the last 100 years, is that you can rise above by learning, working hard, and giving a damn about your craft—whatever it is. I know you get it. Thanks for your fine comments!
How very sad. I hope you find a way to return to Michigan one day. Two thumbs up for the hub
James,
How painfully true that story is and how painful is it to know that most union members could care less. Where you and I were raised was so vibrant when all those businesses were there and now it is a mere shadow of its former self. I remember a Rotary meeting I attended with a well known business man and Jim Delapa was the speaker(Owner of Saluto Foods). He spoke of the business climate in Michigan and how Workers Compensation, Unions and the government were going to run them all out. That was 1974 and he fortold what has happened since. I too worked in a union environment more than once. As a worker it was rediculous because hard work was not rewarded but frowned upon by fellow workers and as a manager where I had to watch the useless protected while the diligent went unoticed by the union. Very well done and appreciated by all of us from Michigan.
Hi James,
Although I knew more or less what you were going to say, I read your hub to the last full point. How terribly sad story! Look at the automakers now: they are gone.
One thing I don't imagine, for instance, about GM (I don't want to talk about the tremendous dammage that was inflicted on so many small share and bond holders), jumping to the new GM that supposedly is going to emerge from Chapter 11 as soon as August, they say, is it going to stay again under the same laws that you describe?
You should send the link to your story to President Obama, he receives these things and they say he reads them. I imagine you are not a democrat but this president might, who knows, really want true change, and what you describe qualifies the unions as the most fascist, conservative bunch one could imagine.
By the way, this is another level in the hub community: depth, insight, knowledge. Very useful.
A comment to both James and Rosariomonetegro: My impression of the recent goverment bail out of GM, and I am not registered with any political party by the way, is that it was nothing more than a union bail out - not a corporate bail out. I just don't get it - the rust belt, esp. Michigan, has been in ruins for 30 years now and they still vote for the same cronies. I was a former resident of Philadelphia, which is a staunch union town, and you couldn't even screw in a lightbulb in your workplace because the electricians were unionized and would jump down your, and your boss's, throat. This was at the University of Pennsylvania. To say it was ridiculous doesn't even begin to describe the situation. Furthermore, until recently you had to reside in the city limits to apply for various city jobs - a ploy that was underwritten by the unions to keep their base (democrat) strong in the city machinery. Well, it's biting them in arsh. The city has lost close to half of its population since the 1950s and urban blight, much like Detroit, is rampant across city blocks. Unfortunately the people who can least afford to leave (the poor) are left to pay city taxes that go nowhere, except pay for politicians' salaries. I don't mean to sound partisan, but I just can't help noticing that unions and democrats are handmaidens. Name one large US city that isn't controlled by the Democrats? or doesn't have a Democrat for a mayor? I can't think of one....
I fully agree with you. Why do you think the unions did not want to run GM. They know they couldn't do it. Unions fight corporation constantly. There is a time and a place for unions, but they can't be allowed to get out of control.
Where I work, the union guys in maintenance thought it was the laborers job to clean up before and after them. We told them to go fix the equipment, and if need cleaned up first, to grap a shovel and wheel barrow and clean it up. They did not like it, but were told do it or else, and they finally accept that they can do a little bit of clean up.
Keep on Hubbing.
Gypsy Willow— Sad indeed. I do hope to return home someday. Thank you for your comment.
Robert— My grandmother for for Delapa 25 years at Saluto! I remember, as you do, when you had to drive around downtown Benton Harbor searching for a parking place, the commercial activity was that strong. Not one vacant building was there. Now, it looks like a city in the aftermath of a war.
And yes, many people have told me they joined a union as a young man, full of energy, and went in there and started busting ass only to be intimidated, physically, by older workers, who threatened them against "showing them up" by working too hard.
Thank you for reading, my fellow ex-Michigander. I appreciate your excellent commentary.
rosariomontenegro— I so appreciate your fine comments. Thanks for reading, for the compliment, and the good suggestion. I think the President is going to try and save GM somehow. My car is a General Motors vehicle—so I hope my warranty stays intact! There is a big problem with the billions (might be trillions) owed down the road to GM retirees and no money for to pay it. It is a tough situation and I empathize with the GM workers up there, especially the ones with many years of devoted service in already. Unfortunately, the solution being implemented now is for the US Government to own it. That has been tried by the French with Renault. How many of those do you see driving around? :)
jvhirniak— A big thank you for your outstanding commentary! I totally agree with everything you said. You couldn't have said it better. You and I bear witness to the destruction of some of the once finest cities on earth. I am not opposed to most any public policy—if it works. Anyone can see that big city politics has brought ruination to countless places. I can't add much to what you said. But I surely appreciate you saying it. Thanks!
eovery— Thank you for reading and your inside point of view. Well said.
Great piece of writing. As a union employee of over 25 years, I have seen it from both sides of the fence. The unions were too powerful in the 60's and 70's. Then Reagan fired the air traffic controllers in 1981, and the pendulem swung in the other direction. Corporate greed has flourished in this climate, putting us in the mess we are now in. We need a balance between management, and union for free enterprise to truly work.
muley84— Thank you! You are so right. Corporate greed is a huge problem and one I shall address in a different Hub. A balance is definitely what works best. I am not necessarily anti-union but I mostly am speaking to my own experiences in Michigan—before I had to leave there to make a living for my family.
James, I posted about corporate greed in Hurray for Me (and F#&k You)
James,
Thanks for the history lesson told from first hand experience.There was a story a few years back, reported by the A.P. of a forklift operator at one of Ford's plants who donated 1 million dollars to charity.I though it was a very inspiring display of charity but something lingered in my mind.In the article (from 1999) it said that he routinely earned over $100,000.00 per year.I cannot say whether or not he works hard but still,the average pay for a dentist with 10-19 years of practice is $122,430.00(as of 5/29/09!)
I don't know of many uneducated people who would turn down 100k per year,to drive a forklift.Of course the person making that much would love their union and consider themselves lucky to be blessed by the ministry of U.A.W.The man who donated this money was a good man as I'm sure their are many other good people in unions but they are limited in vision if they see this as a sustainable path.Thanks for pointing this out it is a great hub,I like the long ones.
I am thankful that at least the Postal Service is losing money but still operational because the thing that fell from your mailbox was...
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!!!!!
muley84— Thanks for letting me know. I will read that one.
TheMindlessBrute— Oh yes, I didn't mean to cast any aspersions of the good men and women who are union members at all. A couple of my Uncles and Cousins were or even are. You can't find gainful employment otherwise up there. I am happy for them. For the individual who is in, it's great. It has not been a good thing historically for the economy of the state of Michigan.
As always, you have interesting commentary to add. I always look forward to your visits. Thanks.
I am so greatful to live in a right to work state! There are union and non-union companies in my area, and the mix helps to keep a good balance for the worker and the company.
Ivorwen— Well, yea . . . I would think a Right to Work should be alright. I recall many times that good people I knew, and cared about, were on strike, and earning maybe 70% of their working wages and you know what? They hoped the strike would go on. Of course they did. Who wouldn't want a few more weeks on paid vacation with their families? But I also knew good people I cared about, who said to me, "I wish I could take that job. I'm only making five bucks an hour working at this hardware store (in 1970) and these guys are on strike that were making $15 an hour!"
I have lived some of the things you have described. I am impressed that you have not been attacked by some of the left loons on Hubpages. I appreciate your hub and shall be checking in to see if the loons continue to keep away
Verax— Attack as they might; I am not speaking through ideology; I was there. And I had people I loved in family and close long time family friends who were union guys. They would spout off to me the usual union rhetoric, when I as a boy, and I believed them. The thing is, I know now that they believed it, too. They never knew they were merely pawns in the game. God Bless Them.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Excellent hub and well worth reading. I've been to Benton Harbor 20 years ago. I can only imagine what it looks like today.
Thank you, PeggyE. They have built a few pubs and a little arts district in the past few years. Most of the downtown is deserted. I'll be up there in a few weeks for a visit.
I could tell a few stories about union folly. What you wrote is typical. In addition to being self employed, I have held many jobs in the past 40 years. I have turned away from some jobs because I would have to join a union. I am proud of the fact that, having worked in factories, in teaching, and a variety of others, I have never joined a union.
As for these old US owned auto companies, the situation would be funny if it wasn't so sad. The management of the companies may not have been the best, but it has been government interference and union contracts that have been killing them. So now someone thinks the government and the union should own and operate them? How insane!
100% spot on. Unions are an entitlement program that removes any incentive for quality work. That loss of work ethic is like a virus that will destroy America. Globalization has revealed the truth, and we will pay for it for awhile.
I found this Hub informative and well written, and one that is particularly worth reading.
John Juneau— Thank you for your insight. It is unusual, to say the least, to see our Auto Industry owned and managed by the Federal Government. I wonder what old Tom Jefferson would think of that one?
Kidgas— Like a virus! I love that analogy, as well as the other thoughts you expressed. You packed a ton of truth in just a few words, friend. Thank you very much for adding to the conversation.
Lisa HW— It is nice to hear from you again. Thank you for reading and your kind response.
Fantastic read! I am also from Michigan and can attest to the truth in here.
Thank you for the informative hub. I tend to be on the very liberal side but also am frustrated with the lack of basic common sense in these situations. I work 8 hours for 8 hours pay, I also cannot return to Michigan (my parents just retired and moved to be closer to elderly family). I am trained as a teacher and cannot get through the politics and crap to get into a job right now, but that is another topic. Since I went to work after all this happened I never had a shot at the higher paying jobs, I am in the glutted job market where I cannot pay my loans for the education that was supposed to give me a better chance. I applaud you for being able to write this honestly but not with bitterness.
I grew up outside of Kalamazoo and spent every summer at the shores of Lake Michigan until I was browned and toasty. It was (and is) a really great place.
So true, so true. Unions may have started for a good reason; to protect workers from insufferable conditions and so forth. Unfortunately, they got out of hand. My parents worked for GM in the 60's and 70's, retiring in the mid-80's. Although they enjoyed the benefits they got, they complained bitterly about the slacking workers that the company could not reprimand or fire and about the over-the top benefits and wages that eventually became standard...they predicted the end of the company long, long before it happened. In my experience unions eventually close a business down and until such time hinder quality.
syphrix— Welcome fellow Michigander! I see you are also a musician—as am I (retired). Thank you for your kind comment.
AnneMH—You are welcome. I forgive you! :D
JK- I am always pleased to meet a teacher. I would have enjoyed teaching, maybe History. I am sorry about your job situation. I didn't know there was a glut of teachers out there.
And yes, those beaches—particularly Silver Beach—are beautiful in the summertime.
Thank you for reading my Hub and leaving your thoughts.
mulberry1— Thank you for contributing an insider's view to the discussion. It's human nature I suppose that people need to be incentivized to get the best out of them. Your comments were insightful and I appreciate you for them.
This is the best piece of writing that I have ever seen that points out the horrible consequences of union and most govenment and press thinking. I think it's power is derived in part from the numerous personal experiences as well as the obvious sadness at the destruction to what you remembered as the greatness of the place you grew up in.
I have worked all my life from the time I was eight years old and have been successful enough to retire at 50 years old and go sailing for several years For the past three years I have been getting an online business up and running successfully (silverlandjewelry.com) but I have been astonished how hard it is to find younger workers that will actually work. I can't afford to pay high wages but they are better than working at many jobs and the jobs are fairly easy and even fun.
Even though I work 50 hour weeks and provide most of the income of a student going to college full time,a mother who wants to stay at home with her one year old son and several other people who have been laid off and can't find any work- Mr Obama and the state of North Carolina only considers me as someone that is not paying them enough taxes.
Seabastion— I am humbled by your opening praise. Thank you very much. You indeed perceive what pains me about the whole thing—love of place, of home.
I see on your profile that you are a veteran. I appreciate your service to our country, sir. And you like History. Well, I have a whole library of grand history books and delve into them regularly. How else to make sense of it all?
Thank you very much for your commentary. I enjoyed your visit. Au revoir.
What an interesting hub and so relevant especially today with GM. My husband works for Ford and so far has been safe from any cut backs or layoffs. These are scary times for this great state.
Thanks for visiting Anne
Anne,
Thank you for saying so. I have owned Fords most all my life! My first car was a 1969 Shelby GT350 Mustang. A beauty! My dad raced Fords for quite a while, first in circle burns and then at the drag strip. I will wish the best for your husband, Ford and the Auto Industry.
James, Incredible article. The amount of information and objectivity make a compelling argument. A good friend of mine and I often discuss the pros and cons of the unions. In my very limited understanding of their history, I was told that the unions were very important and necessary to help protect the employee; right up to the time that federal labor laws came about. Once federal labor laws came into existence, the unions primary reason for being was eliminated. I write that as a statement but I am really asking a question.. Is that the case? Do the majority of unions exist simply to serve their own agenda? I understand better wages and all of that but can it be argued that GM collapsed under the weight of its commitments to the UAW? Just a question... Great hub
Jimmy Fuentes— Thank you for reading and the gracious compliment. I see nothing wrong with collective bargaining through a Union. My experience in Michigan is that the power they wielded was just too great and then abused. It is true that some gains unions fought for and won later became law. But as I say in the article, Henry Ford was very good to his workers for 20 years before they unionized.
The involvement of the mob didn't help either. GM did collapse under the weight of its own union yes. As did hundreds or thousands of companies in Michigan and Ohio who either went under or moved away.
Thank you for your fine comments and thoughful questions. The blame certainly does not lie solely at the feet an an individual union worker. The leadership of the union; the mafia; the politicians; and the management all have some blame to bear.
Good stuff James. My dad was a union man most of his career, and he saw this coming 30 years ago. He retired from Ford. I only wish that more people would open their eyes to the undermining (I don't know if undermining is unionized) of employment by the unions. They have served their purpose. They have oultived their usefulness, and they are the reason that corporations are looking for cheaper labor. Now there is a good possibility they will own a portion of GM. If you want a recipe for success, just put unions and governments in charge of a company. I'm going into the scissor making business. I'm going to make a fortune when somebody starts cutting through that red tape.
puppascott— Thank you. I think you are on to something. Scissors will be in big demand! The cost of labor did get too high up there but I think they union work rules were far more detrimental, and the outlandish benefits. When I see once thriving cities such as Flint reduced to a shambles, it's a shame. Then Michigan ends up with a huge public dole for all those unemployed people, which results in extremely high taxes—further driving business out of the state. It is a death spiral. Thank you for your fine commentary.
James I saw your comment to John Juneau about the auto industry being owned and managed by the federal government.I think you may have said that without thinking because although the people or our representitives voted to loan them money to keep them afloat I see no sign that officals in the government are going to do the day to day decision making of any of the auto companies other than to keep an eye on any rash unethically or unreasonable moves that may derail or destablize the company once more.
In my personal view ,I don't see why we the people can't have a government by the people where all proposals for needed manufactured goods can be scrutinised by a board of qualified engineers and other specialists in fields involved in the processes of manufacturing for the purpose of choosing which processes and materials are to be used in production.
We should build rent or leasing the plants required by a manufacturer like an auto company We could built structures to suit the company,and they would pay rent instead of property taxes to the government and we the people in a common wealth would subsidize the structures needed by the manufacturer and keep those structures maintained and in view of all the competition there is in the world ,with all the duplication and production of inferior as well as better quality goods.Why should any large company be allowed to manufacture inferior goods,and compete with a company that clearly has the best methods of manufacturing in a time when energy ,money and time are at a premium why should we all waste our time money and energy subsidizing a clearly inferior product .If you were an investor you would feel the same and that's what we are now with the auto companies now ,investors.As for union's hopefully they will be reasonable and hopefully the companies as well.
someonewhoknows— The planning of manufacturing by an government has been tried many times and it just doesn't work. See The Soviet Union. Did you ever buy anything stamped "made in the USSR?" China has gone away from centrally government manufacturing to the private sector and as a result their economy has boomed and lifted more people out of poverty than at any time in their history.
In general you seem to be talking in favor of collectivism. That has been thoroughly discredited as an ideology long ago. It is a utopian dream that always ends in a murderous, totalitarian nightmare bloodbath. We don't want to go there.
But, thanks for your readership and offering your opinion.
I understand your point.It would only work in a perfect society. China though is producing many inferior products and poluting their air soil and water to boot I understand that some of their toy manufacturers had to layoff some employees too.
And as we all know China is still a communist country
I, too, wish we had a perfect society. And yes, China has its problems. They have made incredible strides, though, considering where they were. Thank you for your comments.
very well researched..I dont no much of it but u have the passion to write..
I enjoyed reading this very well written hub! I only worked around a union once. I was 16 at the time, and thought I would do something myself only to be yelled at by 3 people. They had to explain to me that I needed to find a different someone to do pretty much anything. I was astounded that I needed to waste so much time instead of just doing it myself. LOL, I learned to ask first if I was allowed to do a task. It was just a summer job, so I wasn't there long.
apeksha— Welcome new visitor! Thank you for your kind words.
k@ri— Thank you for expressing your enjoyment! I see you got a taste of what it was like. Though the pay and benefits were exorbitant, they might have still pulled the whole thing off if not for the work rules. Imagine if for 50 years, they all would have busted their rear ends with as much energy as they could muster, doing whatever tasks needed to be done at the moment, we may never have lost being the by far worldwide leader in manufacturing automobiles—and anything else.
Actually the economy is not doing much better in some right to work states such as Arizona, such as Phoenix. There are block, upon block of foreclosed houses there. I have not worked at a union job for several years, but there is a reason unions came into existence. If we had never had a push for unions we still would be observing the antiquated labor trends of the nineteenth century with kids working on machines and fourteen hour work days.
I have studied history extensively and I will argue that labor unions did not kill Michigan, but a change in economy and competition with car makers from overseas. As America grows and changes, one day we will realize things do not stay the same forever, such as the states demanding a great deal of autonomy. We learned the debacle of the argument over states rights, which lead to the Civil War, and known need for a stronger union. People think the Civil War was about slavery, but it was really about the Southern states interpreted the US Constitution to mean they should have more autonomy than the Northern states wanted.
I am not saying everything about bureaucracy is peachy, but things are getting better now that we have an intelligent man such as Obama in office. FDR actually handled the Depression very admirably, and I chuckle to see that seventy years later people are still calling him an out and out socialist. Time to move on and get with the times I say.
People think things should stay the same forever, but economies are fluid and we have depressions and recessions through out history. This economy will improve one day, but it is not going to happen over night. America is going to have to reinvent herself once more and help displaced workers find new lines of work for the twenty-first century.
America is still one of the leading producers of food by the way, and we ship a great deal of wheat and other food stuffs overseas.
Well done James A Watkins. Have never been to Michigan though as you explained I would like to see what it's like around Lake Michigan . Very informative information regarding unions in America. I've only lived in California and I can't say that I have much knowledge about this subject but learned a lot. thanks.
Sweetie Pie— Thank you for your rational response. I do know what is happening in Arizona with the foreclosures. The same thing is going on here in Florida. Property values have dropped by 40 to 50 per cent in two or three years.
There is a bit of a difference between these two states and Michigan, in that Michigan's strength was as the manufacturing center of the world; while Florida and Arizona never had much industry, but largely built their economies upon sustaining the engine of growth; and the constant expansion of the construction industry, and ancillary businesses.
I especially appreciated your remarks about change and I concur wholeheartedly. One of the few things constant in life is change.
Thanks for lending balance to the conversation with your fine remarks.
jajeisan5892— You are welcome and thank you. I would recommend a visit sometime. Of course, the Michigan side of the lake is the most beautiful. :D
I have heard for years Michigan is a sad state of affairs when it comes to unemployment, so as a former resident what would be a good way to revitalized the economy there? I just would like to hear what you think it would take to improve things there. This is a very interesting hub.
SweetiePie— Tough question. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." It is hard to bring back what is gone. Honestly, I think if Michigan became a "right to work" state, with their location, transportation infrastructure, population hungry to work, we could make things again there. Plenty of old factories could be retooled. The problem is more than paying $30 an hour for assembly line work. The chief problem is real, hard work, and giving 100% is strongly discouraged. If people loaf around all day making big bucks it will not work. Unsustainable.
Very well researched and a fascinating read. Now I understand why my dad left so long ago and joined the Army Air Corps!
I wonder if eliminating unions would get some of our jobs that have been shipped overseas back?
Dink96— Thank you for the accolades!
nebraska66— If we had done so 40 years ago I doubt the jobs would have left in the first place. Now? Yes, I think we can get some of them back—maybe half. It is important to have a manufacturing base in this country if the pay and benefits are set at market value. Market value? What someone is willing to pay to have something done well; and what someone is willing to do something well demands to be paid to do it—where those two meet. And they always do meet, provided the meeting is not skewed artificially to throw the market out of kilter.
Thank you reading and posing the all important question no one had yet asked.
What a sadly typical load of anti-worker rubbish. The greatest period of American economic prosperity, the Eisenhower Era, coincided with the highest level of union membership in this country.
The labor movement largely created the American middle class. Corporate America was more than happy to have a serf population doing its heavy lifting prior to unionization. Wages were penurious and benefits non-existent. Look at the mining industry. In Appalachia prior to the rise of organized labor, workers weren't even paid in real money. They were paid in Company Scrip, redeemable only at company stores, where prices were so vastly inflated as to make a paycheck almost meaningless. As a result, my forebears were litterally slaves to the corporations who kept them mired in grinding poverty. Only the unions could put an end to that.
Every anti-union apostle who speaks of his ability to earn a good wage usually deigns not to mention the fact that he is able to do so ONLY because unions set the wage scale that force non-union operations to compete on a similar wage level.
"Right To Work" laws? Why do so-called "Right To Work" states have the highest numbers of undocumented immigrants working in their economies? It's because those "Right To Starve" laws allow the bosses and CEOs to depress wages to the point that America's working class can no longer afford to do them. That's where the undocumented immigrants come in, willing to live ten to a room in order to make the meager wages support them.
Is that the America we want? I think not.
Propaganda like this hub notwithstanding, the real reason for America's economic decline lies with the Wall Street Banksters and the Corporate GreedMongers who sacrificed America's working class in order to better themselves. Union workers didn't invent credit default swaps; corporate America did. Union workers didn't design miserable automobiles; corporate America did. Union workers didn't send Whirlpool's and Amana's and Frigidaire's and GM's and Chrysler's and Ford's jobs overseas; corporate America did.
Do you have a five day work week? Thank a union.
Do you have a 40 hour work week? Thank a union.
Do you have workplace safety laws? Thank a union.
Do you have unemployment compensation? Thank a union.
Do you have workers compensation? Thank a union.
Do you have a vacation? Thank a union.
Do we have any middle class left at all in the United States? Thank a union.
Mr. Kincaid— I appreciate your commentary. Thank you for presenting quite well the other side of the argument about unions killing Michigan.
You are absolutely entitled to your own perception of history. And there is a thread of truth in what you say. I notice you did not address my personal stories of my experiences with union workers in Michigan, probably because they are irrefutable. And that is the crux of the matter. Workers extorting their employers for 8 hours of pay while working one hour or four hours. No business can survive that level of mandated sloth, sir.
You would call 19th Century Americans serfs? The most hardy, industrious, successful set of people who probably ever existed? Whose standard of living from 1800 to 1900 increased 20 fold—with barely any unions representing them? Serfs?
Your best point is about the coal miners. They were mistreated and their unions did them a great service. But I was addressing Michigan, where I lived for 36 years and never met a coal miner. It is well documented that Henry Ford—not any union—instituted the 40 hour work week (and five day work week) 20 years before Ford unionized.
I know people personally, sir, who work at the BMW plant and the Nissan plant in "Right to Work" states and unlike the nonsense you spout above, they tell me they love where they work and feel extremely blessed to have those jobs. Are you also going to tell us how great the Industrial Workers of the World were; when their stated charter was the abolition of Capitalism and establishing a Soviet style state in America. The Soviet has been tried, sir, and found wanting.
I hate to say it, but it is you, sir who are a victim of Marxist propaganda, considering these erroneous points you keep making. I don't doubt you believe them, but they do not match reality. Workers compensation laws were generally not opposed by big business, as it protected them against lawsuits. Unemployment compensation was passed by Roosevelt during the depression—hardly under pressure from any union.
I never said the current worldwide economic crisis was the fault of unions. I addressed that in a different article:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Mortgage-Crisis-caused-Wor
Michigan was ruined when the rest of the country was flying high. I visit there several times a year and maintain relationships with a hundred people there and they were struggling mightily before this crisis hit. If those manufacturing jobs had not gone overseas our country would have no say or stake in manufacturing at all. You cannot have a labor cost of $75 an hour to do assembly line work, sir. That is way out of line with other professions in America. If Whirlpool hadn't moved their manufacturing, they would be out of business period—unless you want to pay $1500 for a washing machine.
And while the 1950s are one of my personal favorite decades of American History, the most prosperous decades were the 1980s and 1990s; by any standard of measurement except one: far less union members.
I have not worked at a union job for over two years, so in principal I do not have any problem with right to work states. However, these would need to be kept in check because at the moment in a right to work states they can ask people, such as teachers, to do ten times more than teachers in union states do, and for less pay.
In theory it would be good to say we should pay workers less in order to stretch dollars, but I still think this would not solve the problem. One of the big problems has to do with back in the seventies when US car makers were unwilling to keep up with the advances made by foreign automakers such as those made by the Japanese.
The Japanese economy was a power house during the seventies and eighties, and they did not have to pour their money into unions as here. However, there is also a downside to not having unions because Japanese workers are expected to devote almost their entire life to a company, and working sixty hour work weeks in not unknown.
Interestingly today many Japanese women are unwilling to marry early in life because of the work ethic that drives men to devote more time to their job than the joint effort of raising the kids.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic
Many modern Japanese women observed their mothers waiting on their husbands hand and foot, which is not what they want for themselves. Although culturally Japanese men are more prone to not help around the house and expect their wives to wait on them, we must keep in mind Japan is the epitome of a right to work state.
Yes in America one spouse would not purposely leave the other hanging with all the domestic duties, but without the protection of unions people are asked to work more and receive less in return. Some think unions are evil and draining the country of resources, but what about all the corporate CEO's of companies that gave themselves big pay checks?
The reason the economy is unstable is because it is not an exact science and Americans still have a fear of anything slightly socialistic. At least in Europe or Australia there is a lower homeless rate, which is because there are social safety nets in place for those who are not able to find work right off the bat.
In America we expect continue along the industrialized labor of years past, but this is really impossible with so many jobs being sent overseas. The world is chaning and we must adapt with it. I believe Obama and other moderates are more in favor of social safety nets, while helping people find work, but a right to work model would not be worried so much about people losing their job, or what people would do in that event.
Economies wax and and wan, and eventually this downturn will correct itself, but America can no longer rely on the auto industry as being a staple. One thing we must do if we are serious about helping American workers is developing alternative career paths for the population.
SweetiePie— You make many good points in your thoughtful commentary, for which I am grateful.
The lack of automation in the 1970s to keep up with the Japanese in both quality and man-hours per car built, was directly the result of union power. They stood firm against modernizing the factories because more automation would mean less union members—in their short-sighted opinion. They couldn't see that building poorly constructed cars for a far larger price tag would eventually cause so many factories to close forever.
I have not observed workers in "right to work" states being asked to work longer hours. I will tell you that the workers are expected to work—while they are there on the clock. That is the big difference that cannot be glossed over in this discussion.
Corporate CEOs probably have been overpaid and this surely has contributed to the problem. But the CEOs can work anywhere, virtually. Moving a huge factory is more difficult. And once its moved—it is gone forever.
The instability of the economy is surely unpredictable, as you say. Life is unpredictable. What is reasonably sure is what people will pay to have a service done or buy a product. For instance, you might pay $3 for valet parking but not $20. You might buy a new Blackberry for $100 but not $500. What I am addressing is this: What if I told you that you were going to be forced to buy the Blackberry for $500, whether you liked it or not—and since I didn't have to provide value to justify the price (since I am forcing you to buy it), it would be shoddily built and only work half the time, too. That is what the unions did to the automakers and that ruined the state of Michigan's economy for years now.
The homeless is another issue altogether and it is widely known to have been exacerbated by the emptying out of our mental institutions by political activism of the same sort who know moan about them being on the street. None of these activists have taken any of them into their homes, it is noted. And most all are offered shelter and job training with very few takers. We certainly have a social safety net here. We spend trillions on our social safety net and remember—unlike in Europe—private charity for the downtrodden in enormous only in America.
If those jobs making things had not been sent overseas Americans would not have the standard of living we do today. It made the things we need (or more so want) affordable. I agree, the economy in America will correct itself someday—Michigan I am not so sure about. Sadly.
Finally, I try to avoid commenting on Obama, knowing his worshippers easily take offense but "moderates like Obama?" I nearly fell off my chair laughing when I read that. Obama is the most radical liberal to ever come close to the White House. He makes FDR look like a member of the John Birch Society.
I agree with much of what you say about the automakers. One big problem we have in America at the moment is people buying products from overseas, and honestly we need to stop doing that, no matter how protectionist that sounds.
Obama is slightly on the liberal side, but so am I. I take pride on being a Democrat in my way of thinking, and that is not a joke to me. Not sure why you would laugh at what I said, but I can laugh at a few things you said too. I was just too reserved to say it.
Yes the emptying of the mental institution is an issue with homelessness, but not all homeless people are those who are mentally ill. Some people just are down on their luck and there is no safety net to safe them. Believe it or not when given a chance some homeless people will work and maintain a house, but they need someone to help them first. However, here it is not really popular to help people get back on their feet, but in Australia and Europe the government helps to take care of the poor via the social safety net. Sweden does not have a homeless population, but there are still mentally ill people in that country too. It is good to keep these things in mind, but that is just me.
Americans would balk at having a dole system here, but at least my friends in Australia never had to want for anything financially while looking for work. If this is socialistic so be it, but I never claimed to be conservative.
SweetiePie— I try to buy American. But the Walmart crowd cannot afford to be choosy with limited funds. All of my cars in my lifetime except a Jaguar have been American. I drive a GM car right now, probably for the same sentiments you are expressing.
I've got nothing against Democrats. I just laughed at the word "moderate" that's all. No offense intended.
I have a friend who became homeless and he has lived for a year at the Orlando Rescue Mission. They have replaced all his teeth and trained him as a pastry chef and he is now getting a job and an apartment! So, for those willing, there are programs out there, for sure, and God bless them for the work they do. I have personally worked as a mentor in the Jobs Partnership program, a great employment skills class that absolutely works.
Thank you for your level headed comments. There is much wisdom in what you say. I appreciate the dialogue.
James,
I am a confident lady, so I find a great deal of wisdom in what I think. Unfortunately in some cities there is a high homeless rate, but you are right it is up to the individual person to rise above their situation.
Great work James, not only in researching and writing this piece but in defending it.
You have shed great light on an area of pain and for some who are unable to understand competitive economics, they will defend their ground and the largess of unions as has been shown by one of your respondents.
Keep your great works coming.
Thankyou for your point of view.
Douglas D Schumann— Thank you very much for taking the time out to read my work. I very much appreciate your insightful remarks above, too.
Well worth the read! Clear and concise. You taught me alot and cleared up some things about unions I suspected but could never really put my finger on. Yeah, the whole union idea seems un-American when you stop to think about it. I'm in Ohio, also "rust-belt", and love my Lake Erie! We, too, have to stare at empty factories. They just turned a big industrial area into a mall! As if!
Lady Rouge— I have been out in Lake Erie in chest deep water at night "dipping smelt" I think it was called. Not my usual thing but I was invited so I'm usually up to try things. I am glad you appreciated the article. Positive feedback always lifts my spirits. :D
James- love this hub and the amount of work that you put into it. I also love Michigan and feel drawn to its waters and ways of life despite the horrible economy. My worst nightmare would be having to leave my family and the Michigan way of life and move elsewhere. I pray for the return of cities like Detroit,Flint, and Benton Harbor. I my husband and I are fortunate to still be employed at the moment and I hope we never have to leave. My maternal grandfather helped to open the Ford plant in Wixom and my paternal grandparents raised my dad in Detroit during the 50s. Best to you and your wonderful writing!
RVilleneuve— I've been gone 18 years but still have a large contingent of family and friends up there. I would love to move back if I could make a living. I will be up there Wednesday for a six day visit and I am so looking forward to it!
Thank you very much for your gracious remarks and the affirmation. Always welcome.
Hope you enjoy your trip up here James! I really enjoyed your article. It was very fact-based and informative. If I ever need help convincing someone that unions hurt our economy, I'll be coming back to this hub. Thanks, and keep it up!
comp3820— I see that you are in Kalamazoo. I just got home from a vacation/ gig playing music in St. Joseph—but I guess you knew that!—and had some Bell's two hearted ale while I was at it. I appreciate your comments and I intend to get back to writing now that I am back home.
Man I thought Ford was disliked for the most part. I always hear plenty from both sides of the union influence. My Gandfather watched a strike breaker get lynched amid several other murders during the union riots.
I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT MY WRITING IN HUB PAGES HAS COME TO AN END
why?
Before you disapear. My take on union is they turned to be protective instead of being watchdogs, the misguided principle turned them to promote ineffiency instead of efficiency. There is misguided principle if you cannot fire ineffiency employee without going through union, or place unreasonable demand without thinking about consequences.
Onusonus— I had a couple of uncles who were staunch union guys—and good men. But to paraphrase Neil Young, with a slight alteration, "I see the union and the damage done!"
Like a bad penny, I have turned back up! :-)
mosesm— You are exactly right, in my book. I think there may have been a good reason for them in the beginning, but as you say, the main problem is promoting inefficiency. That was a deadly mistake. I appreciate you for seeing that clearly and saying so in this forum.
I think Unions did some good and bad things. I was employed at a company where we had a union that was helpful at times, but if we went against what the company wanted they frowned on it. They also went out of business. Your hub is worthy of front page quality! You never cease to amaze me, keep it up!
KStyle— Why, thank you! :)
I agree with you that unions accomplished some good things. They went out business? Well . . . there you go.
I enjoyed your writing, too. I'm a new fan of yours!
Hey i was born,raised and lived in michigan all my life, born in detroit, raised in warren we moved to grayling michigan in 1994 then ohio in 2005..michigan is so much better..so much cleaner with their water ...
jesusmyjoy— Welcome my fellow Michigander! I have been to Grayling many times. Back in my rock and roll band days they had a classy club up there that we played in a few times. Nice crowd of people up that way and beautiful country.
Michigan has cleaned up their water tremendously. I remember when there were warnings against eating the fish out of the lower Great Lakes. Thankfully, those days are gone.
It is nice to hear from you. Thanks for visiting my Hub.
Oh man! It was so great to read a thorough explanation of MY thoughts and feelings regarding productivity, labor unions, and the American dream.
Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into this wonderful hub!
broussardleslie— I am glad you concur. I hear a lot about unions, but I felt I had something special to add since my hometown was a hotbed of union activity, and mostly pro-union, as I was growing up.
Thank you for reading and commenting. And you are welcome.
You set the standard for what a hub should be. I think government and unions have cost American's millions of jobs just for the fact that they interfere and try to manipulate free trade, comparitive advantage,and the supply and demand of workers.
estopher— WOW! That's high praise indeed! Thank you so much for that affirmation. :)
I agree with your comment 100% and I thank you for making it.
This hub is so right on! My husband was born here in Michigan I spent most of my childhood here and then my son was born here. Both of my parents were born and raised in Michigan as well.
I have many aunts and uncles and a ton of friends who live here as well.
My husband and I moved back a couple of years back and are now thinking of relocating out west, plans are in the works.
It saddens me so much to think about what you wrote here and how right you are.
Lately it is just getting worse as the stimulus money we were supposed to get and what it was intended for went to I am sure, the unions. Now we have state senators angry over the whole deal.
It was supposed to be that the money would help generate some 350,000 jobs and instead we lost 350,000 and are expected to lose another 300,000 by the end of this year! State senators are questioning Obama over the whole mess.
Michigan is in an all out depression with very little if any light at all at the end of the tunnel. I have been told from several business owners that if they had the money to relocate out of state they would. Many of them are going out of business. It is so incredibly sad for this beautiful state.
atomswifey— I absolutely love Michigan. It is my home. If I could make a living there I would move back in a heartbeat. Such a beautiful place!
I still have a large contingent of family and friends there and they are scuffling to get by. It's a tough situation.
I so appreciate you for coming to my article and leaving your comments. Thank you and God Bless You!
John Z says:
7 months ago
This is a comprehensive and well written article. It is also spot on. 4 years ago I went to work in a union plant for the first time in my life. I was astounded at the lack of production and organization in the facility. My personal work ethic got me in a lot of hot water more than once. It was a difficult balancing act between company desire and union solidarity. I was actually relieved when we were laid off this year. Never again.