Fred wrote:You know UK my father was a trade union man. Right after WW2 the electricians union was taken over by the communists and those that didn't toe the communist party line were "sent to Coventary" by the entire membership ( some thing similar to the midnight calls Stalin introduced with such great effect ). It resulted in more than a few suicides . I'll never forget that and I know it sure chnaged the way my father looked at unionism. Apparently nothing has changed and you're applauding it
My father is a management guy.
When I was a kid, we lived up north for a while. At the time, that town had three major employers. My father was in management at the one company which did not have any unionized employees. The other two were hardcore, screw managemenet, union shops.
Like most private employers in the modern era, my dad's company wanted to attract and retain the best. It was an incredibly safe operation. They treated their employees very well. People wanted to work there. People moved from all over to work there because it was a highly regarded company.
Every once in a while, a union boss would organize a big to-do to try to convince the employees to unionize. The employees would vote, and the union boss would get crushed. Intimidation, or at least attempts, took place. Unionized "brothers" looked down at the guys who worked for my dad's company. It was really strange. Unions, to me, seemed very much a tribal thing.
Unions had their place, and in many instances still do. These days, workers have a lot of lattitude to work where they please for the wage they want.
I think professional athletes, wearing their designer shades while driving six figure vehicles, look pretty stupid wearing the union colours. They look especially stupid when they try to drape the CAW flag over their shoulders as "brothers in solidarity" as Fehr attempted the other day.
