Labor unions are still needed as the common man has no other protection from the whims of his manager. While they are still needed, fewer are doing what they were intended to do, and that is, as you say, protect the common man. There has been talk of forming alternative unions that will take that job upon them once again.

A company that claims they have been sucked into financial trouble by unions is not a good company, they are a dishonest company. Unions negotiate with Management. The job of the Union is to represent the workers (not the stockholders or owners). The job of the management negotiation team is to represent management, stockholders, and owners. If the union makes a demand that would cripple the company, it is the responsibility of management to decline. That is their duty. By accepting terms, management is putting their stamp of approval on the terms, they are promising the stockholders, owners (and workers) that they can operate that business on the agreed-upon terms, and still make a reasonable profit. Management has done a poor job, which is why they are in financial trouble. They have been unwilling to take a strike, because they did not plan for a strike in their risk management planning. Any good company, especially one with union negotiations, should have a certain amount of funding set aside for strikes, but they have not done this and are unwilling or unable to take the hit because of their own incompetence, lack of discipline, and greed. The unions have planned for strikes and layoffs, that's why they continue to get paid through strikes (to some extent). They are willing to take the hit, they show discipline and plan ahead. They know what demands they are willing to stand by and they say so. If the management/ownership team would do the same, they wouldn't be in trouble. Instead, management signs an agreement, promising everyone that they CAN operate under the conditions, then fail to love up to it. AFTER they fail, they point fingers at everyone but themselves.

My Father was in the teamsters, my brother has been in the UAW for 32 years and my wife has been in the NEA for 20 years. I was in the AFL-CIO Glass Blowers and Plastics union. I made less than $9 per hour making glove boxes for Ford. The "good companies" were (and are) constantly trying to balance their budget or provide higher stock dividends on the backs of the workers rather than on the quality of the product, good planning and a good business model. Our local teachers have been told to take a $3,000 to $5,000 cut next year, while the school goes on with new sports complexes and a millage for technology, everything under the sun except for teachers. Then we wonder why the best and brightest won't consider teaching? Starting pay for teachers will soon be close to $27,000. Would you go to five yeas of college at $15-$20,000 per year to get a job (maybe) that pays $27,000? I made more as an office temp.

I think unions do still serve a purpose.

You can see one reason by just looking at how salaried, non-union people are treated in the same company as union people. Salaried people are expected to be there and do the work until it is done. Family, hours worked, a life outside of the company are all frowned upon. You are not seen as a team player if you choose your family over work, even after you have put in your 60 hours already that week. Union employees on the other hand, have to be treated with some respect and can't be worked to death because of the unions. I see this as a benefit to keep companies in check.

Next if you look at groups that are still trying to unionize, you will see that they need to in order to be treated fairly. One such group are graduate assistants in some colleges. Many colleges have unions for these students but some still don't. The Universities will take full advantage of these people, who usually live at below poverty level in order to get an education to move up in the world. They have to fight for things like health insurance, a decent pay rate (as a research assistant - I received about $8k an academic year plus tuition stipend - it's really tough to live on $8k an academic year).

Some people think that unions ask too much. I think teacher unions get a bad rap for this. People that that because teachers are in unions and have tenure that they can get away with not teaching and still get paid. I will admit that there are probably some that do bilk the system. However, the vast majority of the teachers I know and meet are very dedicated. They work hard in school and out of school; they spend their own money on classroom supplies; they are required to work in after school programs or attend meetings after school; 12-15 hours days are fairly routine during the school year; etc etc. I could go on and on really. Unions are a way to ensure that teachers are treated fairly because like the above salaried employees, they are expected to just do whatever until whenever to make sure everything is done.

So, yes, unions are still needed. Many companies are only interested in a bottom line, at the expense of the workers and consumers (thinking of toyota here).

Unions are still necessary and provide benefits to the workers. If it were not for unions companies would have went after the workers to keep out of financial trouble. It also keeps companies from firing higher waged workers for new ones to save on salary. On the flip side some unions that took on the upside refused to give back on the downside. This has sent the garment industry overseas and is killing the auto industry. When jobs become obsolete they need to let them go. If a robot can do the job to work on a car it would keep the costs down for the buyers. On the piers there are still union workers who call in every morning for work as coopers even though there is containerazation. They get paid for the day as long as they call in. So it goes both ways.

.Just take a look at why states are in the red ,it can be directly traced to big union contracts with big retirements and medical .Now for you union rats which one off you will start the ball rolling with voluntary give backs to the tax payers .Also pay some of that big wage into your fat cat banker retirement system and stop skimming money that could be used to 'feed the chilren". Unions are obsolete.