On Monday, October 22, 2001, at 06:03 AM, Sampo Syreeni wrote: > > Sure, unions are good and using coercion to stop them from coming into > being is bad. But that only applies as long as unions are granted no > legal > status apart from other voluntary organizations, and participating in a > strike is taken as what it is, a refusal to work. Likely a breach of an > enforceable contract, too. Any "workers' rights" beyond that are > something > you'll have a *really hard time* justifying. Asymmetry does not help, > either. >
"Sure, unions are good" is not at all obvious to me. Why do you claim this? Most labor unions are simply rent-seeking clubs designed to cement the status quo. Teacher's unions in the U.S. are a prime example: once the union got powerful enough, it fought for a tenure-type system which made it nearly impossible to remove those who taught poorly and to reward those who taught especially well. I've never belonged to a labor union of any kind, and they are essentially absent from the chip and computer industries. From what I have seen, labor unions are a collectivist evil. --Tim May "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant." --John Stuart Mill
