I think filing for Bankruptcy Protection and tossing these bloated unions is the only solution for the auto sector. A Union's responsibility is to protect its members from unfair practices, unsafe work conditions, and woefully inadequate wages. Essentially, things now monitored by the government and secured by a free and open market.
People who are pro-union, or at the very least sympathetic always say that without unions, these people would be at the mercy of their employer, and that the government would never help. I call BS on both of those. Yes, assembly line workers would have significantly less bargaining power vis a vis their employers, simply because they are more replaceable, compared to highly trained and scarce professionals. Working at an auto plant doesn't require a 4 year undergrad degree or a professional degree. Does this mean it would revert to the time of Dickens? Hardly. It means they'd have to join the rest of the working world and make a median salary with decent (not exploitative) benefit packages. There are plenty of industries in Canada that are not unionized in which their people are doing just fine. As well, the government is always happy to attack an exploitative employer, since it often means increased revenue for them through fines.
Unions were born out of uncaring governments and vicious times. Times have changed substantially and its time to start getting rid of them. This would be a great one to take out first. I'd then take aim at taking the teeth out of the public sector employees (who are already overpaid and recession resistant due to the nature of their employer). How licensed professionals like nurses can be unionized (or allowed to be without violating their ethics) is totally beyond my comprehension.
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