Mickey Kaus says that the Employee Rights Act doesn’t cut it:
The problem with Wagner Act unionism isn’t necessarily that unions aren’t democratic. It’s that they are granted a power–mainly the power to go on strike as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of a firm’s workers without the strikers getting fired–that maybe they shouldn’t have. The UAW is a democratic union. That didn’t stop it from crippling the auto industry. The problem is that the wrong people voted in the UAW’s democratic elections–not the suppliers who would be hurt when UAW members decided democratically to win themselves inefficient work rules, not the mayors whose towns were decimated, not the taxpayers who had to bail them out (in part to save the suppliers and mayors), and certainly not the customers. Making even entrenched undemocratic unions more democratic might have the perverse effect of validating those unions’ exercise of their Wagner Act power. According to Barnes, Sen. Hatch “insists the ERA isn’t antiunion.” That’s not a feature. It’s a bug.
Indeed.
We also need to end corporatism as we know it. Corporations — whether crony capitalism or not — are hardly free, democratic institutions. Your boss screws you over? Tough. Look for another job — too often at a similarly run corporation. This is not a good option.
Expecting workers to support libertarian ideals when their bosses are not is not going to cut it.
Corporations — whether crony capitalism or not — are hardly free, democratic institutions.
They are not intended to be.
So? There are many ways of destroying free societies. It isn’t just the government — even with the help of unions. Too many current corporations seem to be doing just that.
I agree. When limited liability is as obsolete a concept as privity of contract — and I can sue every member, officer, and employee of the UAW and Greenpeace — we’ll see some changes, you can bet your sweet ass.
What’s the alternative? In all seriousness, the only one I can see is Communism. Perhaps it’s just me but that seems to have turned out even worse for the workers.
P.S. Perhaps you should instead of looking for a new job, start your own corporation and get in on the action. If it’s really that much better.
It looks like the way to go is to start your own union.
Yeah, and if you go that route, you don’t have to worry about producing anything. Life is much easier when you’re not the one ensuring survival.
Annoying Old Guy, these are blog comments. Very briefly, corporations arose in the 19th Century. Before that employers and workers were much more equal. Reforming work places can be done. I will point you to Sidney Harman — of Harman-Kardon fame — as one man who did promote more equal and democratic workplaces. There are others, but I am keeping it brief.
You mean like the Latifundia? Spanish mining operations in the New World? Czarist Russia? Pre-Meiji Japan? Ming Dynasty? I hadn’t realized what nice places those were to work before the Evil Corporation ruined everything.
But I will admit, you came up with a different alternative – no large scale economic activity. I think I’ll stick with corporations.
I fail to see how reforming the workplace is dependent on corporations or the absence thereof. As noted above, horrible working conditions (far, far more horrible than anything modern corporations do) long predate the rise of corporations.
“horrible working conditions (far, far more horrible than anything modern corporations do) long predate the rise of corporations.”
But it was more equally horrible for everyone. So, that’s all that really matters when one values equality above all else.
Better than requiring union re-certification at intervals is simply forbidding unions the power to compel membership and support in any form from unwilling workers. 50% + 1 of the workers at a company forcing the remainder to join and support a union that may not represent their interests is tyranny of the majority, democracy at its worst.
If workers could belong to a union or not at their choice, the union would naturally die off if it failed to meet member interest. Even better, there could be multiple independent unions competing to membership in a workplace, as a union need not have a majority of workers to exist under this standard.
My take on curbing union power is to only allow company wide rather than industry wide unions, I don’t think industry wide union monopolies are any different in principle to industry wide corporate monopolies.
In that case, for some industries (like Hollywood), you’d effecitvely have no union. Never going to happen. Better to just level the playing field by curtailing their special “rights.”