Inexplicable Factory Workers
CBS News reports that factory workers in Ohio doubt that either Obama or Clinton's ideas go far enough to stem the tide of manufacturing jobs leaving Ohio.
Those ideas are welcome here in heavily unionized and heavily Democratic northwest Ohio, but at the same time, no one seems to believe they go far enough to reverse the powerful tide of globalization that many blame for the constant manufacturing job losses.
Democrats love labor unions. Labor unions love Democrats. Labor unions are the biggest reason that manufacturing jobs first migrated South and now migrate abroad. Factory workers love unions and Democrats. Go figure!
Factory workers that make washing machines want their pay forced up as high as possible, but they don't want to have to buy a television set built with the same high-cost labor.
High pay rates seem nice but if your cost of living increases proportionately you haven't improved your life style. In fact you may have lost ground due to having to pay a higher tax rate.
Democrats and labor unions (and Republicans) should get out of the way and let the free market work.
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Even without unions, a lot of those jobs are going to go abroad because foreign labor can be a lot cheaper.
If anything, the emphasis needs to be getting the skills necessary for our changing job market. But what about the guy who's been a factory worker 25 years who won't find it as easy to change jobs? Might as well fight for what he can get.
No, getting rid of the unions won't keep all the manufacturing jobs from being lost, but I believe it will save a lot of them.
Factory workers are free to fight for whatever they want, but that doesn't mean we have to let them win. People can organize and demand a national minimum wage of $1000 per hour, but that doesn't make it right for all workers or the country as a whole.