(November 9, 2016 at 12:22 pm)Whateverist Wrote:(November 9, 2016 at 12:13 pm)Kingpin Wrote: Actually quite a few truck drivers in the U.S. exceed $100K/year. Most automotive line workers also exceed $50K/year thanks to union deals.
Trump won't allow unions in his businesses. Wonder how that bodes for the soon to be working-poorer.
Unions indeed had their place to provide better collective bargaining, but like most deals involving money, greed reared its ugly head and unions turned the balance of power in their favor and it nearly crippled the industry. I have grown up and worked in the heart of the auto industry in Detroit and see the incredible power the union has. My uncle worked in a GM plant as a hi-lo driver and was making $95,000/year when he retired at the age of 44 and was offered a pension of 70% his salary. Poor work habits are protected by the power of the union. It's extremely difficult for a union worker to get fired. No matter if they steal, take excessive time off, slack on the job, employers must have a solid burden of proof and even then arbitration often causes the worker to simply be reassigned. Through the power of collective bargaining, workers were even able to get 95% of their salary plus benefits while they were on layoffs during recession times. There was always a fear of the striking if they did not get the concessions they wanted.
Here was a great article on GM's struggle with this: http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/201...18310962ce
The bankruptcies and bailouts helped diminish some of that power and has lead to incredible turnarounds and profitability for the auto sector.
We are not made happy by what we acquire but by what we appreciate.
