Biblical View of Unions

There are some great things unions have done.  They have brought us shorter work weeks and safety in the work place.  Most anything beyond that has been more devastation than benefit.  Employee benefits in the workplace may seem great, but in the end it actually comes out of your paycheck whether by lower wages than they could otherwise afford to pay or in the cost of goods.  Either way, you eventually end up paying for those benefits.  Some of those benefits you may not actually need or might be covered in services offered by companies you choose outside of the workplace (health insurance for example).  You could actually make more for your family and create a healthy savings account/investment portfolio for your future if unions didn't steal money from your paycheck for their own ambitions.  Hence why before unions caused money to be taken from your pay against your will people could afford to retire with a healthy savings and now few people are lucky enough to retire without having to pull 2 or 3 jobs to still get by.

Matthew 20:1-15

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

² And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³ And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

⁴ And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

⁷ They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

⁸ So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

⁹ And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

¹⁰ But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

¹¹ And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

¹² Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

¹³ But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

¹⁴ Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

Employment is a contract.  Your employer notifies you of that which he is willing to pay you and the benefits he is willing to provide.  You then decide whether you are willing to work at that wage for that benefit package.  If at any time either of you is unhappy with the arrangement either one of you has the ability to step out of that contract.  The company via lay offs and you via the two week notice.  Unions utilizing the strike option forcing employers to be unable to operate while you refuse to work is a violation of that contract.  It is holding your employer hostage.  You and your employer have come to an agreement and now you are attempting to force the employer to give you that which was not agreed upon.  This would be akin to me buying your house and then deciding that I no longer like the price and refuse to pay you any further money until you agree to reduce what I owe you by 50%.  It is unfair to you and while in reality you would be able to use the legal system to force me to abide by my contract, the union has set laws in place that prevent the employer from being protected from such dishonest tactics.  When you participate in such activities, you are a kidnapper and the wage/benefit increases are the ransom you are demanding.

In Birmingham, Alabama there was an issue with funds in the education system.  State auditors determined that the best means of reducing spending to ensure that the students would be able to retain their education resources was to fire employees in the Birmingham Board of Education.  The Birmingham Board of Education felt, however, that teachers (who are paid far less by the way) should be fired instead despite the fact that schools in the area did not have enough teachers and this under staffing had resulted in crowded class rooms already.  A clash then resulted.  The state fought to protect teachers while the teachers' unions backed the Birmingham Board of Education fighting to ensure that teachers would lose their jobs instead of overpaid Birmingham Board of Education employees.  Fortunately for teachers, the state won.

When it comes to protecting the workers, the union will always protect those that provide them the most power at the expense of the very workers who need them most.  Take for example the Hostess Company.  Over 18,000 families now don't know how they will pay their rent, provide food for their families, or how long it will be until they can find another job.  This in the midst of an economy in a downward spiral the President's policies have only made worse.  Companies are fleeing the U.S. in droves taking their jobs to other countries.  Unions don't care about the worker.  If they did, they wouldn't have strong-armed the Hostess company into bankruptcy causing their workers to all lose their jobs.  Ask those employees now what they would prefer...a reduced paycheck or no job at all.  Unions don't have your best interest at heart and the use of unions to get what you want rather than what is mutually best for you and your employer is theft, it is dishonest, it is immoral, and it hurts the economy nationwide.

Unions Strike Again - Hostess Workers can thank union for their new-found unemployment.

Unions claim to be the backbone of our great country.  Unions have done some good things for workers over the years but these few instances are but an oasis in the desert of evil and vile consequences that only workers and the innocent citizens of this country truly have to face.  Union officials often are able to sit safely exempt from any negative effects.

Take for example Hurricane Sandy in which union officials turned away voluntary help from non-union power company employees who traveled at their own expense from Decatur, Alabama.  Who faced the consequences of this?  Not the union officials sat in their safe homes with power, food, and drinking water.  Meanwhile, over a million people suffered without power...some without access to food and many without safe drinking water were the ones who truly suffered.  As these innocent people suffered, a project was under way to ensure that the Statue of Liberty would have its power restored.  Millions may have had to continue without power as volunteer power company employees were turned away for not being in the union, but at least we can rest assured a hunk of metal offering no food, power, drinking water, or shelter to anyone has had its power restored.

Now, we can see the power of the Unions at work again.  The Hostess company employing over 18,000 people has lost enough money from a week long strike they have had to declare bankruptcy.  Now, due to a union's greed and hunger for power over 18,000 people have lost their jobs.  They now have to concern themselves with the fear of where they will get the money to pay their rent, feed their families, etcetera.  Of course, the media may try to twist this into blaming the Hostess Company, but if not for the union these people would still have their jobs and the means to take care of their families.