Thursday 11 August 2011

The problem with trade unionism - revisited...

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OK it's America and this sort of thing is illegal in the UK (although don't pretend for a second that no pressure is ever put on non-union labour or on contractors in this country):

A Quincy mom has disconnected her support for striking Verizon workers yesterday after a group of mouthy picketers surrounded non-union repairmen and turned a phone-line fix at her home into what she is calling a “ridiculous” protest scene.

“I looked in the street and there are picketers, 10 of them or more, doing a circle around the Verizon truck,” said Karen Austin, 64, a mother of five who lives on Forest Avenue. “Every time (the repairmen) would walk up to my house they would follow them. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This is ridiculous. Why are they picketing my house?”
 
Now understand this, workers have every right to withdraw their labour. But they have no right - no right at all - to prevent another man from choosing to the job for which he is paid and contracted.

This is absolutely the problem with trade unionism - too many of its leaders and vocal apologists believe that having 50%+1 means they can berate, threaten, bully and cajole others into complying with their wishes.

This is wrong and should not be allowed in a free society.

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