Are Unions special interest groups?

[ermoore]

Just curious. Are they the Democratic version of special interests? I mean, how are they different, not just in terms of what they are, but in terms of what they do?

[BayCityProgressive]

1. WELL

I am a liberal. My family is all union and I do support unions but many of them are corrupt. I think in a way they are special interest groups because unions have a lot of self interest buerocrats and sometimes they hold back national progress on certain issues. Overall all unions benefits far far far far far outway their disadvantages but they are not perfect.

[Valjean]

2. Special Interest???

unions have a lot of self interest bureaucrats

So does the United Way and the US Olympic Committee. It's still not considered a special interest. If there were stronger laws against union busting, unions wouldn't have to turn to large power structures that allow opportunities for corruption.

Average working folk making a decent wage ISN'T a special interest. It is a very common interest. The special interest is business elites busting unions so they can pocket more money.

[mindless]

15. I know this will be unpopular

The only union I was ever in was so corrupt. I know this from within the company. I was just a normal hourly worker and was asked to go to management. (This was in like 1980). They agreed to keep me on hourly as long as i quit the union. I then got into the discussions about keeping raises down if the owners paid the union officials off. That is exactly what happened and the workers got BS raises while the Union got more dues. I think unions are Bull Shit. Sorry.

[morgan2]

3. every group, except the entire us population,

is a special interest. The term is meaningless. Its used by politicians because people tend to think of small groups of people exterting undue influence on the government. The reason this is, is because smaller groups can organize easier and for less of a cost. The term itself though is not specific and therefor worthless.

[Ernesto]

4. Yes it is true: unions are a "special interest group".

Unions represent working people and their familys. This "special interest group" does not advocate war, relaxing enviromental standards, or creating tax breaks for generous patrons..... What Unions are is people that get together to work withen their community to help each other out.

[FDRrocks]

5. They are different

in that unions function democratically usually, and they represent the interests of the common person in said groups. Corporations are not democratic, imo authoritarian, and represent the interest of board of directors, often at the expense of the commong person.

If that makes, any sense its early.

[rman]

6. of course. as are corporations.

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[ElsewheresDaughter]

7. NO....unions are the collective voice of THE PEOPLE!...

Fact: Workers (people) are the union. A union is simply a democratic organization of working people standing up for their rights on the job and in society. Unions also bring people together in the community to stand up for issues that matter to all working people.

Fact: It’s a tragic situation when a trusted leader betrays the membership in any kind of organization. However, for every high-profile story that is in the media about a corrupt union leader, there are tens of thousands of regular, honest leaders who are never profiled. During a union organizing campaign, the employer drags out stories of corruption, never telling the whole story. It’s all part of its campaign of deception.

Fact: Unions do a lot more than politics. Most of unions’ work involves fighting for good contracts, helping workers improve their lives and standing up for all working families. Through their unions, workers support candidates who support working families’ issues and who work for good laws. Unions’ political work is not about electing Democrats or Republicans—it’s about electing people who stand up for working people.

[mdmc]

8. yes

some of the best we got!

[OneTwentyoNine]

9. Yes!! They have a special interest in actually having enough to live on..

Move to Wichita,listen to the non-stop Union bashing that goes on here because of aviation plants. Most bitchers are disgruntled workers in low paying jobs like Walmart who can barely survive on their $5.50 per hour.

But...they don't want to actually go to the trouble of learning a skill and getting paid a high wage,they just bitch because someone at Boeing makes $15.00 per hour. They always touted as overpaid,do little work,blah,blah...

All I know is when my ass is sitting in an airline seat at 37,000 feet I'd like to know that the people who put that aircraft together gave a crap about their skill and wanting to keep their job.

David

[Hubert Flottz]

10. No more so than religious groups that support republicans are!

The differences is the unions support democratic politicians with money they take from all members and the unions pay taxes and are hounded by the republican thugs regulations in Washington!

The religious groups support republican politicians with money they take from all members and don't pay any taxes and are never bothered by accountability or regulations!

The good rule of thumb that you need to ALWAYS remember is, that you will run into far more HYPOCRITES in Church, than you EVER will at the Union Hall!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

11. "what they do"...a list of just a few things they have DONE!

Eight-Hour Day

Five-Day Workweek

Health Insurance

Good Pensions

Paid Sick Leave

Fair Treatment for Women, People of Color and Workers with
Disabilities

Higher Wages

Overtime Pay

Job Safety

Paid Holidays

Job Security

Severance Pay

Paid Vacations

Family and Medical Leave

The preceding benefits were brought to you by the working women and men of America's unions, who won them at the bargaining table and set the standard for all working families!!!

[LiberalFighter]

14. Without this "Special Interest" group where would we be?

Labor unions provided the benefits that ElsewheresDaughter listed through the political activism and forming coalitions with those of similiar interests. Would we have those benefits if labor unions had never existed?

[durutti]

12. Wait wait wait...

First of all, it's entirely wrong to describe interests as being "special interests" but "for Democrats". Both Democrats and Republicans are backed more by business interests than by labor.

If you attended public school in the U.S., you probably were indoctrinated with the "pluralist" model of governance. That is, we were taught that there were competing interests that there were competing interests that balanced each other out. You had "big labor" and "big business".

The truth is that big business has always had the upper hand. At its height, organized labor included no more than a third of the workforce. Today, it's something like 13 percent. And the unions themselves are often in thrall to the bosses, thanks largely to the labor bureaucrats who attend the same $5,000-a-head dinners as the CEOs.

[Bridget Burke]

13. Yes.

What's wrong with a "special interest group"? Most of us belong to at least one. Unions, Veterans, people interested in education (teachers/parents), the elderly--these could all be described as special interest groups.

Those who use "special interest group" as a pejorative term wouldn't dream of using it against the military/industrial complex, heirs of great fortunes, or religious fundamentalists.