Consider if a contractor says “Pay this price or we won’t build your road.” Is that extortion? No, it’s a job offer. Same thing. If you had a contract and it lapsed, you would be negotiating whether or not to continue work. You don’t have to work without a contract.

AND
“If employee (singular) and employer reach an agreement to provide a service for a rate of pay, that is called negotiation.
When a group does it, normally it is called a mob, unless it is a government protected body called a union.”

“This is my brother Earl and my other brother Earl. We’ll do the work for $100 and all the peaches we want to eat but we get to take off every third Thursday to go to the Moose Lodge hoedown.” not a mob, just a group negotiating to provide a service for certain considerations.

To insist each worker negotiate individually would be totalitarian statism, especially if either Earl didn’t talk so good.

AND
“A union is only concerned with the contract at hand and it not interested in the health of the business; not unlike a common parasite on a host.”

The smarter union negotiators know they make nothing if they aren’t hired because the company died or workers voted to reject agreement. It’s a balancing act.

AND
“Collective bargaining has no value; individual negotiation for pay, benefit, etc., is more capitalistic and is supported by free market.”

Refusing to allow people to negotiate however they offer, is restraining the free market and essentially socialism in practice, since it decides the needs of the workers rather than letting them speak for themselves.

If employee (singular) and employer reach an agreement to provide a service for a rate of pay, that is called negotiation.

When a group does it, normally it is called a mob, unless it is a government protected body called a union.

A union is only concerned with the contract at hand and it not interested in the health of the business; not unlike a common parasite on a host.

Collective bargaining has no value; individual negotiation for pay, benefit, etc., is more capitalistic and is supported by free market. Unionism is darn near communistic and socialistic in practice.

Unions have done many illegal things. Those should be addressed, of course. However, saying something like, “We will work for you under these specific conditions….” should not be illegal. So, no, I don’t consider it extortion as long as they are saying they will not work for less or other than any given set of conditions . It might well be called “conspiracy” but for legal purposes, not illegal ones.

One thing a union does is keep up with promises the employers made and which employees made and see that they are straight with each other.

As soon as unions no longer serve a useful purpose, they will fade away.

David considering merits of collective bargaining

The right to form a union and collective bargain was given by Congressional Acts. Unions are not good for business; they certainly should not be allowed in the public sector. They may have had their place once, but now Unions are nothing more than government protected extortionists. Businesses can’t legally resist the formation of a union because the government won’t allow it.

At least in a business (private sector) situation, the business is using its own money to pay the employee and can do whatever the market will allow; in the public sector, the employee is paid with our tax dollar.

I am not against a merit based employment so as to protect against unfair labor practices; I am however, against unions for public sector employees.

If people wish to assemble, that includes forming Elks Club, Rotary Club, AFL-CIO, they can.

If they wish to speak through their assembly, they can.

Doing away with unions would do away with their right to assemble and to speak as they chose.

David thinking it’s no stretch

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

(Retrieved from http://www.usconstitution.net on 2/2/2011)

Don’t see ‘Right to form Unions’ in the First Amendment, David; maybe in an extreme liberal interpretation, but it don’t say it.

(I believe that’s why the NLRB and the DOL were formed; to support the unions.)

David the doubtful