Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Unions destroy what they build

A letter writer recently wondered why some people hate labor unions.

First, it is the big labor organizations I despise, not union workers. Modern unions do not put the rank-and-file workers’ interests first.

I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and worked in a union shop for one summer. I was taken aside multiple times and told in a paternalistic way by the union shop chief that I was working too hard. My friends had similar experiences in other companies.

I delivered the Pittsburgh Press for five years. Over those five years, I endured five strikes by the nine labor unions that the paper had to deal with. These work stoppages cut my income to nothing and did not benefit me in any way once the strike was settled. I couldn’t understand why people would walk off a good-paying job.

As I grew up in the ’70s and early ’80s, I watched as labor unions and poor management that agreed to the ridiculous demands of the unions slowly destroyed companies and industries.

Public-sector unions are on a path to destroy state and local governments. Politicians agreed to outrageous retirement benefits. Most of these public-sector agreements are not sustainable, and unions will either have to renegotiate their agreements or face the layoff of large portions of their members. If the Clark County Education Association is any indicator of what other unions will do, we can expect a lot of layoffs over the next few years.

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