Unions in America

Thomas Sowell over at Capitalism Magazine has written a great article about unions in the United States. The recent financial debacles over at GM and Ford are the latest evidence of how unions are making it impossible for unionized companies to compete on the global market. In the case of the auto industry, GM and Ford are laying off thousands while Toyota, who also builds cars in the U.S., is hiring. Why? Because GM and Ford have become healthcare providers instead of builders of cars and Toyota is not saddled with pensions or excessive healthcare costs. Perhaps at a time earlier in the last century unions had a role to play in improving treatment of workers in the U.S. but those days are gone. Consumer Reports just released their Top Ten Car Picks for 2006 and not a single domestic model was in the list. Just one more nail in the coffin for domestic auto makers unless some big changes take place and fast.