Quote:
Originally Posted by RainMaker
How does someone who supports a free market not support unions?
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I support unions in fields where the market will not balance out the compensation. There is no revenue brought in by police or fire, so local areas could vote to cut their salaries until they were non-existent with no checks or balances. For a software developer, the company they work for either generates products for sale or their skill has a value to the company at a certain rate. If a company cuts a software developer's salary 30%, there are dozens of other companies willing to pay them a market rate. If a city cuts a policeman's salary 30%, his options are to either move to another city/state or find a new profession. Plus, you have the city safety aspect of having all the police officers leave.
This isn't Upton Sinclair's jungle when it comes to most jobs in the US. But, we do still need unions for public good professions to protect the workers and ensure they get a wage that keeps good people doing those jobs. I'd even classify Teacher's unions in the police/fire as needed areas.