Lack of Trade Unions in the USA

[WMS]

I somewhat agree...I think the American trade unions basically did some really dumb things and hurt themselves a lot. I've heard stories about how General Electric workers, in the early 1970's, were making $25/hour!!! and still tried to get raises every single time they negotiated, regardless of market conditions or company finances. That came back against them later, I think. They also failed to reach out to the service sector for far too long in part because of racism on the part of the Irish and Italians who ran the AFL-CIO, and as the service sector is much bigger than manufacturing, unions got shut out for a long time. Their association with the Democratic Party hasn't won them any points with business either. I support the right of labor to organize (as the WSJ once put it, if capital can be combined, why not labor?), although I think the government needs to get out of it altogether (last Labor Day I read a very interesting piece that said that labor unions are hurt more than helped by government laws - and government actions, as any student of the Gilded Age can attest) or at least only moderate disputes. Finally, 10 years or more back, George Will wrote a column which mentioned a case of a company union which bought a chunk of company stock and gained significant representation on the Board of Directors...it appeared to work quite well for both sides, and could be a way for American unions to gain influence.