I had a friend who was a union carpenter. (I was a private contractor/carpenter) His job was finish work. He could cut and install. But a laborer had to get the wood for him to cut and carry it over to where he was installing. If he went to the supply pile he would get in trouble. I don't think the kind of things we're talking about were why unions got started. The different companies that have union labor can't spend as much on research and development or the actual product when their workers are getting paid twice as much as a non-union worker. Here in the socialist utopia known as Massachusetts you have to pay union wages whether you are hiring private contractors or a union crew on a public project. Stifles competition and falsely raises the cost of projects.

 

Like I said Moose, I believe the problem is not the pay scale, it's the laziness that usually comes along with union labor.

If they would accomplish more, the cost would go down.


Here are the instructions for changing a light bulb in a union shop near here.......

Get laborer to bring scaffold and set up. Have laborer bring ladder to electrician holding bulb. Go up 2-3 steps on the step ladder up to the scaffold. Now electrician can walk on scaffold to replace light bulb.

I know that much is true. After that, not sure. The may have a Haz-Mat suit for the pig tail light bulb, in case they drop it.

 

From what I've seen nobody likes the union unless they happen to have a union job...Personally I think the unions where good back in the day, but anymore they're overpaid whiners.....Just my opinion.
I worked for a short time on a government installation as a plumbing laborer; the rules where ABSOLUTELY outta control..I was not allowed to put glue on a fitting even if the plumber had his hands full and I was just assisting. Also the plumber was not allowed to go to the stock area to get his own fittings/material. In my opinion it was just stupid!
The pay rate was also through the roof; I made nearly 30 bucks an hour to labor! No wonder our damn debt is so high in this country! Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining about the money but in all reality the job should have paid 15 bucks an hour;it sure wasn't rocket science! Oh well like I said just my opinion and usually no one likes it...lol!

 

I can see where unions, at one time, were a benefit to the workers. But now, with all the workmans comp laws and lawyers, it seems to me the only one that really benefits are the union leaders. If the union workers that are lazy, not all of them are, had the worry that they could be replaced with just cause, and not go crying to a labor board, maybe they'd work a little harder too.

 

It would be my bet, getting back to the subject at hand, that Arctic Cat and Polaris, (the two "American" ATV manufacturers) are not union shops. They can put out a good product at a good cost. Japanese makers move their production to the US to compete with the "American" companies. The market sets the price of what people are willing to spend, the competition makes the producers think of new features that the other companies don't have, and the products typically get better over time. It's a great system.