Progressives love unions.
Not only do unions protect workers, they say, unions gave us the weekend and the middle class.
I say, capitalism created the middle class. Employers, competing for better workers, gave us the weekend.
But whatever you think about capitalism, few people question the claim that unions help workers.
But I will. It’s the focus of my new video.
A couple years ago, the Teamsters demanded more pay from UPS. Seemed like UPS could easily afford it. The company made almost $13 billion in 2021.
UPS used some of that money to hire more union workers. Then they offered them raises.
But Teamster boss Sean O’Brien wanted more. He threatened a strike.
UPS gave in.
MSNBC called that “collective bargaining at its finest!”
Today, full-time drivers make $170,000 a year.
Good for them — for those who still have jobs.
But paying for the new Teamster contract meant UPS wasn’t as competitive as before. They raised some prices and lost business to other shippers.
Profit dropped.
In 2024, UPS laid off 12,000 workers. The next year, 20,000.
It wasn’t just the wage hikes; it’s also the work rules.
The Teamsters agreement includes hundreds of pages — limits on subcontracting, bans on employees working long hours, etc. … many of which made it hard for a company to adapt and cut costs.
“These headline-grabbing union deals are delivering short-run sugar highs with long-run hangovers,” says Mercatus Center economist Lily Palagashvili, “UPS is just one example of this.”
Another was Yellow Corp — once one of the largest freight carriers in America.
Then the Teamsters threatened to strike, demanding faster payments of healthcare and pension benefits.
The company warned that a strike could bankrupt it.
But O’Brien kept pushing, saying, “The company has two more days to fulfill its obligations, or we will strike. Teamsters at Yellow are furious and ready to act!”
Yellow gave in. The strike was averted.
Days later … the trucking company shut down for good.
Thirty thousand people lost their jobs.
Asked if he felt responsible for the lost jobs, O’Brien said, “No, not at all … they were so mismanaged.”
“That’s true,” says Palagashvili. “(Yellow Corp) was having a lot of financial issues. But if you’re on the verge of collapse, the last thing you need is a Teamsters Labor Union contract that says you have to increase labor costs. Yellow is basically covered in gasoline, and Sean O’Brien comes and lights the match.”
Meanwhile, union leadership help themselves. The Teamsters now brag that they have $1 billion in assets. Sean O’Brien pays himself more than $430,000 per year.
The same year Yellow went bankrupt, United Auto Workers went on strike against Stellantis, the company that owns Chrysler. Stellantis gave in, giving the UAW a pay raise and promising to open a new plant.
But then Stellantis started laying off workers: 1,340 during the strike and 2,450 more the next year.
In 2024, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers walked off the job demanding better pay from Boeing. Boeing gave in.
One month later, Boeing announced a 10% workforce cut.
When I grew up, Midwestern states were called the “Steel Belt.” Now they’re called the “Rust Belt.”
The media blame, “Free trade!” and, “Globalization!” On social media, people say, “Foreigners took our jobs.”
But Palagashvili says, “It wasn’t trade that killed the Rust Belt. It was labor unions. Unions in the Rust Belt were striking. Companies said, ‘Higher labor costs, tons of strikes, productivity isn’t going up, we’re going to relocate,’ and they did.”
Unions help some workers. But they hurt many more.
Photo by Salvador Rios on Unsplash
There is nothing wrong with unions. The Constitution acknowledges the God given right of free association. The problem is the laws that give unions great power over the work place. Get the government out of picking sides and allow market forces to prevail.
….and the workers say, “corporations are greedy”, but they don’t mind being greedy themselves. Most workers have no
idea how much strikes, union work rules, excessive pay for the work done, excessive benefits, and other demands hurt
a company. I used Yellow Freight for years, and I was sad to see them go bankrupt and shut down. UPS is running into
the same obstacles Yellow did. Look how many people Boeing laid off, and look at how difficult it is to keep on schedule
and lose business to Airbus. I worked for Boeing, and the union did nothing for us – even some supervisors were promoted
from union jobs and favored the unions in all disputes. I had Boeing stock too, and another thing that hurt Boeing was when
Boeing stopped paying dividends and people sold off their Boeing stock. In my younger years, I worked in mining, construction, machine shops, automobile parts plants, and even a gas station union. The two worst unions were the Teamsters, and the UAW – their work rule demands were laughable. The best union I ever worked under was the WSSEU – a union that thrived at Standard Stations of Californa. Standard Stations provided uniforms, laundry for uniforms, replacement uniforms when the uniform was torn, worn out, or corroded due to acids and had a no strike clause, and get this: There was none of that “It ain’t my job” stuff. Everyone pitched in and productivity was excellent. Labor relations were excellent too.
It was a union for adults who knew the importance of the employer over the union.
Unions may have played a role in Boeing’s downfall, but the company also cut corners on product quality.
Unions in Europe are symbolic, they work closely with businesses both working to ensure business is healthy and profitable, while protecting workers.
Here in the US, unions are adversarial, with little regard to the health of the business, willing to create a temporary victory while destroying the host.
Al — also over in Europe low cost housing is more plentiful and they have universal healthcare which would drive down costs for employers. Healthcare costs and pensions (what is left of them) are the number 2 cost behind wages in the USA. Full disclosure: I am a 23 year member of the Teamster Union. Why won’t anyone mention the CEO pay as well. Not saying that higher wages hurt costs but when a CEO is making millions, it’s a bit of a hypocrisy.