Re: The Power of the SCOTUS VIII - I am certiorari we'll be arguing until Thanksgivin
I ask this question completely out of ignorance, but what is the hold on business by today's union framework? Compared with 10 years go? 50? 100?
IMHO, the private sector unions' "hold on business" is far greater than it appears, because the private-sector unions have been so very successful in their mission.
To some extent many employers simply capitulated to the most important union demands and in effect co-opted the unions at their own game. This move caught some unions by surprise, and since they weren't nimble enough or adept enough to adapt, they saw their membership fall just as non-union employees received the kinds of benefits that in earlier years were only provided to union members through hard and arduous negotiation (e.g. health insurance, employer contribution to 401k, paid vacation).
Even more, the government has co-opted the need for private sector unions through increased regulations. Think of OSHA, for example. A major union demand used to be on-the-job safety, now OSHA takes on that role instead of union negotiators. Or unemployment insurance, COBRA continuation of benefits to terminated employees, etc.
Finally, it looks to me like some private-sector unions misplayed their hand by emphasizing the wrong things. When I first started work, it was hard to be a union plumber, electrician, carpenter, because in order to receive full union certification, you had to undergo a rigorous training and certification schedule. "Union made" back then was a sign of quality, membership in a trade union was an exclusive privilege only available to a select membership through the dint of hard work and extended effort. Since then, union leaders and union members have had a divergence of interest. Union leaders wanted more income to spend, which required more dues to be paid, which led them to dilute membership standards and led them to emphasize job security over work quality. The most skilled union members chafed at having their incomes held back by less-competent people and left the unions because they could demand better incomes and benefits outside the union than inside it.
