Unions - past their time and time to go

This post was originally published in May, before the web of connections between the SEIU and the Obama administration was so glaringly clear.  More of this to come.

Akron is dead. Pittsburgh for all intents and purposes is dead. Detroit is dead, but the sick interns in the emergency room keep shocking the guy over and over again. Public education in most places is an abysmal failure. What do these things all have in common? Unions. Unions plain and simple have destroyed more communities and industries in our country than any other force. Wanna unload a container off a ship in the port, you gotta pay the crane operator $80/hour plus some sweet benefits. Do you want to check on a part at the Delta hanger in ATL at 12:00? Sorry, you have to wait, the Union guys are on a break. Need an employee to work 30 minutes over, sorry have to clear that with the shop steward. Run a business and need to stay lean and competitive? Sorry, man, you got to pay up.

Plain and simple, the companies and industries that are not plagued by the scourge of the union and competitive, agile, and profitable. Did the unions have their place at the turn of the century, yes, I believe they did - but who wrote that history? Whose perspective do we have and have we taken as fact, my guess is the same folks who support and join unions today. What legitimate purpose do unions serve today? I'd say, none.