quote:
I work in labor relations and fight unions for a living. I can go to bed soundly every night, knowing I help fight corrupt union leaders who take workers' money in the form of union dues and offer them absolutely nothing in return. So what do unions really do?

Which union is this that you are fighting the corrupt leaders of everyday? I would posit that is a bit of hyperbole....

Good, from a management perspective, employees seldom need a grievance process...they do whatever they are told without question. Those employees also do not need a union because they will tolerate anything and do anything asked of them. For anyone not built that way having numbers to back your position is ALWAYS favorable...that is wht management will belong to their own unions in the form of the JayCees and industry groups...they know there is strength in numbers but employees are too stupid supposedly to know or benefit from the same strength in numbers.

There is NO union which would prevent a company from rewarding a good employees. Not a single one. There is no CBA which prevents an employer from paying more, offering bonuses and all kinds of incentives for employees to perform above average. If you are telling employees that you are lying and exactly kind of employer whose employees need a collective bargaining agreement from.

The most successful companies and businesses in the US are union employers. These companies do not see the time spent in managing their workforce as a waste of time, they see it as an expense of doing business and one that is focused on their biggest cost and their least predictable variable.

Management only wants labor to be on the same team when management is trying to get something for nothing. When labor needs ANYTHING they are told immediately that the company is ALL that matters. Capital and Labor are not and will never be on the same "team" anymore than a fox and hen will be.

Union members make about 117% of what their non-union cohorts in the same industry make across the board AFTER paying for dues and assessments. Union members have better benefits with nearly 100% having work related health insurance compared to about 68% of non-union workers, nearly 100% having some form of retirement benefit compared to about 43% of non-union workers. Union workers are safer in the work place by almost 70%. Union workers are FAR better trained and educated than their non-union counterparts with most of that training and education a result of their employment with a company with a CBA. Union workers live longer, retire earlier and are healthier than their non-union counterparts. Salary alone is reason enough to pay dues and assessments...earning nearly 20% more per year after paying those costs is a no brainer for all but the dumbest among us...coupled with the other benefits that union members have that their non union counterparts do not it really is a wonder anyone doesnt belong to a union.