Can someone explain the logic behind union busting to me?

[SmileyRose]

People ( I use that term loosely) claiming to be small government conservatives are all over the country demanding unions representing government employees be stripped of their ability to advocate for their members.

I just don't get it. How is this advocating for small government?

Isn't it big government when they want to intrude in people's private lives? What makes these conservatives think they have any right to tell a person how to negotiate with their employer? That's between the employer and the employee! If employees want to join as a group and ask someone to represent them the government has no right to tell them they can't.

The fact is, the largest companies who actually want to treat their employees fairly have found unions streamline the process and they save money and frustration overall. If these people REALLY cared about streamlining and cutting the cost of providing government services, they would be welcoming the unions with open arms.

I suspect what they really want is to force out unions and union member employees so they have less citizen oversight on whether they are handing out government jobs and contracts to their own family and friends at highly inflated costs. Not only that, since they are clearly lying about being small government, one can only assume their true goal is to force down worker rights so their corporate buddies can more easily crap on the world's employees.

[Taverner]

1. The CEO of Costco SOUGHT OUT unions for his employees

Because he wanted said streamlining
I think it all goes back to old crotchety white men afraid of Bolsheviks under their beds.

[provis99]

18. Costco is anti-union.

They pay their workers pretty well, but the CEO has gone on record that he is against card check legislation.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2009/04/13/707521/starbucks-costco-fight-card-check.html

[Taverner]

21. Not necesarrily

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/166680_costco29.html

[arbusto_baboso]

2. I've stated before that what Walker REALLY wants in Wisconsin...

is not just to erase public employee unions, but to return to political patronage jobs for civil service.

So, congrats to you. You get it.

[HereSince1628]

3. The business of government is to serve the interests of business

Business has worked against unions for as long as workers have tried to organize as unions.

Failing to see contemporary red state government as anything but the hand-maiden of business is probably why you are trying to make a reasoned argument.

[brentspeak]

4. It's also designed as a body-blow to the Democratic party

The GOP knows that vastly weakened unions would undercut Democratic candidates' ability to get elected/reelected.

[snappyturtle]

8. Bingo! Unions are organized groups which trend toward voting for Democrats. nt

[Serial Mom]

19. Yes... n/t

[BanzaiBonnie]

25. Follow the money

The corporations want no competition to their funding of Republican candidates.

[Ozymanithrax]

5. Go to the Rachel Maddow show from yesterday and see who were the biggest...

donors to Republicans and Democrats. Two unions were the only groups in the top ten that donated to the Democratic party. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#41655758

So they bust the unions because its politics to make sure Republicans get and stay in power.

Big corporations want lower wages and fight for Cheap Labor anti-union laws. They have done this for two centuries. They bust unions because it makes it easier to lower wages.

It is about banksters vs. workers.

Pick the side that will come closest to working in your interest.

[drmeow]

6. "Big government" for conservatives

is a euphemism for government that protects the little guy. It has nothing what-so-ever to do with the actual SIZE of the government, it has to do with who the government represents. "Big government" represents a lot of people - the masses. "Small government" represents a small group of elite power players - the corporations.

One way in which unions MAY have an impact on the actual size of the government is by preventing the government from privatizing everything.

[BobbyBoring]

15. Great analogy

And it displays the parallel universe these people live in. The "Small" government that does not represent them and holds them in utter contempt is the one they so blindly support.

"Thank you sir, may I have another"~

[SmileyRose]

27. Now that is profound.

Very well said. Thank you.

[Angry Dragon]

7. I have always held the position

that by getting rid of unions it will reduce wages.
Unions tend to be higher paid and then forced
non-union companies to at least be near that level.
Get rid of unions and then wages will go down
and then you will see an attack on the minimum wage.
We will them approach third world status

[randr]

9. A great explaination of what is going on last night on RM

To boil it down, the top ten contributors to election campaigns, all qualified by the recent SCOTUS ruling on unlimited corporate funding, only included 3 organizations giving to Democratic causes. The other 7 large donors contribute mostly to repubs.
The three Democratic donors listed were all unions. So if the repugs can bust the unions they can effectively cut finding to the Democratic party significantly.
That is what this is all about and has been about since Reagan shut down the air traffic union.
A war between the profit takers and the profit makers is afoot.

[eleny]

10. It boils down to cheap labor

The unions and the Dem Party are in the way. Two birds with one stone could be gone if the corporatists win this round.

[damntexdem]

11. There's labor and there's management -- and management tends to oppose unions.

The reason is the answer to the old question: which side are you on?

[LaurenG]

12. So the bosses and owners of any business can now say

You'll take what I give you and you'll like it and there will be no recourse for workers. It's very simple, more for them.

[du_da]

13. Putting opinion aside for a moment

The logic is based around the voters as the owners of the company these employees work for and subsequently wanting to get cost of running that company under control which includes benefit packages. So in a nut shell, the voters have taken the Walmart position that they don't want their business being "held hostage" by unions.

<Opinion = enabled?>
They are being short sighted. It would have been much more effective to approach the next negotiation with benefits packages that are both better for the individual and the employer. They are shooting themselves in the foot by making this law because they will find it hard to compete for quality workers if they don't provide good overall benefit packages.

[madfloridian]

14. Breaking down the middle class.

Then they will not be a threat. A well-educated middle class is what makes a nation strong. Break it down, turn the schools over to corporations...suddenly no strong middle class.

[Drale]

16. When it comes to Conservatives

there is no logic. All they care about is making as much money as possible before they die and leave behind a blotted ugly corpse.

[The2ndWheel]

17. One form of organization meeting another form of organization

and the interest conflict between them. Pretty much the story of life.

Only when everyone's interest is the same, and any sort of diversity of opinion is gone, will the conflict cease. So I'd say be ready to fight the same basic fight again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and.........

[WinkyDink]

20. 1. More $$ to rich; 2. Fewer labor rights/less $$; 3. Less $$/power to Dem blocs; 4. ALL $$ to rich.

That is it succinctly.

[OHdem10]

22. Some have forgotten, the Republicans have a goal of having

a 50 year long rule in this country. Rove explained
this when GWB became President.

There are two parties. One Dem One Repub

The Repubs have the Support of Business, CofC, Koch Bros and all
their organizations

The Democrats have one major organization on which they can depend
THE UNIONS

If you want your party to have a 50 year rule which is the
quickest route there???? Kill Unions and thereby weaken
the Democratic Party so badly they cannot win for at least 50 years.

Secondly, the GOP is the Party of Business. Their first
loyalty is to Business. How can business really make lots
of money (profit)?? Cheap Labor. No unions and there will
cheap wages and no benefits. A great big present to Big Business
by the Republicans.

A perfect example: They destroyed Acorn. an organization
which helped Democrats with enrolling new Democrats into
the party.

These people are serious.

[spanone]

23. cheap labor...no benefits...no pension

plus labor tends to support the party that supports labor...the democrats

[howaboutme]

24. It is about the elite wanting it ALL

Remember how Bernie Marcus the billionaire founder of Home Depot, rallied his uber rich peers in 2008 to block the the card check / Employee Free Choice union act that would have made it easier to unionize? They don't want to give up a dime to the working and middle class.

These people (and I use it loosely too) have it all times a 1000 and never seem to have enough.

Greed must flow in his veins like blood. Marcus was literally foaming at the mouth on CNBC calling on all CEOs and Wall St. financiers worth their weight in greed to pull out all stops to kill this bill, and they did.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Rank.html

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

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[SmileyRose]

28. I'm honored

that you joined specifically to fertilize the world in my post.

I'll be a celebrity for at least 3 seconds!!

[Starry Messenger]

29. The owner class has hated unions since the beginning.

A demoralized workforce is a cheap workforce. Hell, if they could get away with it, they'd just enslave us all.