It’s Time to Outlaw Labor Unions

There was a time in this country when labor unions served a purpose.  Back in the 1800s, the so called robber barons would put profits way ahead of people.   They’d use child labor, expect a 72 hour work week, and spend most of their day waxing sinister looking mustaches.   The corporations that run America today are not like these evil profiteers.  They’re made up of the kind of people you see everyday in your gated community.  Anybody who has seen Undercover Boss knows that most bosses just want what’s best for their employees.  I still remember tears welling up in my eyes when the CEO of Hooters learned that one of his managers was objectifying his female employees.  His outrage as the father of two young daughters was apparent.

Today’s employers like Walmart give a lot more to their employees than just paychecks.  They offer 401K plans, medical coverage, and even a hypothetical pension.  What do unions give them for this?  Strikes.   I’m tired of seeing unions everywhere I look.   Teachers unions protecting incompetent teachers, police unions protecting incompetent cops, even Coal Miner unions protecting incompetent coal miners.

Case in point is the little company that could.   In the heart on West Virginia coal country is a little country with that can do spirit that built this country.  Massey Energy is the nation’s sixth largest coal mining country.  They have such a good relationship with their employees, that the employees don’t even need  a union to protect their rights.  For years liberal do gooders have been trying to get the mine to put in all sorts of expensive safety equipment, but with that rugged individualism that is the most American of all qualities the company decided it was cheaper just to pay any fines and keep mining for coal full speed ahead.  Did the need to keep producing more coal to be able to pay for the fines cause the explosion at a Massey Mine that killed 25 yesterday?  Quite possibly.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the company who has lost so much–it is yet unclear just how damaged the mine is for future drilling.

CEO of Massey Energy Don Blankenship did not want to take responsibility for the mine disaster until it was investigated, but he did offer this piece of condolences to the miners’ families, “”Anything you do in life has risks.”

Massey remains a public oriented company.  In all, people associated with Massey Energy, along with the company’s political action committee, have together contributed more than $307,000 to federal political candidates since the 1990 election cycle, the Center finds. Of that money, 91 percent went to Republican candidates.  I hope that they can continue to remain so public spirited, but I am sure after the last explosion, there will be all sorts of pressure to allow a union into the coal mine and that will cost money.

In an era of fancy benefit packages, labor unions are obsolete and should be illegal.  The United States economy has lost a great deal of business to highly unionized countries like Japan, Singapore, and Germany.  Our only real hope to catch up is to find any advantage we can–and what could be a bigger advantage than not having to deal with labor unions like those countries do?