@MR: Leave aside whether all of the items on your laundry list are net benefits, and to what degree we ought to chalk them up to the influence of organized labor. It still doesn’t mean they’re right on every issue in every circumstance.

Moreover, there is a huge difference when it comes to unions representing government workers. By definition, these unions campaign expressly to prioritize their own PRIVATE interests against the PUBLIC interest.

Strange, this kind of religiosity. IIRC, there was some talk about camels and the ‘eye of the needle’…?

Here are 36 reasons why you should thank unions. This is especially for people like j.a.m.

Weekends without work
All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks
Paid vacation
Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Sick leave
Social Security
Minimum wage
Civil Rights Act/Title VII – prohibits employer discrimination
8-hour work day
Overtime pay
Child labor laws
Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
40-hour work week
Workers’ compensation (workers’ comp)
Unemployment insurance
Pensions
Workplace safety standards and regulations
Employer health care insurance
Collective bargaining rights for employees
Wrongful termination laws
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
Whistleblower protection laws
Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) – prohibits employers from using a lie detector test on an employee
Veteran’s Employment and Training Services (VETS)
Compensation increases and evaluations (i.e. raises)
Sexual harassment laws
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Holiday pay
Employer dental, life, and vision insurance
Privacy rights
Pregnancy and parental leave
Military leave
The right to strike
Public education for children
Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 – requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work
Laws ending sweatshops in the United States

Yes, that is the problem with consumption taxes.

With many in the US though, especially in the GOP, there is a different attitude. Personally I think it is attached to the type of religiosity there, where so many believe people are poor, sick etc because they deserve it. A flat income tax there is known as a “fair tax” and those that run on it tend to be the most extreme of the Protestant religious – the Dominionists – like Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee. Of course, a flat income tax is about as unfair as they get. Others who favour them are Libertarians, which imo is an extremely selfish outlook.

I would agree with your comments in general. However, we also know the tax laws in this country give plenty of alternatives to the higher income groups to wipe-out those progressive income taxes. So the rich or well to do get the benefits either way. Home ownership for a start, and the ability to use Schedule A can turn those higher taxes into greater savings. You only have to look at anyone with a 2 to 3 hundred thousand income to see this. This is also why Warren Buffet, who does pay taxes as appose to Trump, said many times that his secretary paid higher tax rates than he did.

I wish people would remember all the gains that have been made because of the union movement. The 40 hour week, the 5-day work week, annual leave (not that USians get much of that), sick leave, health and safety regulations, minimum wages, and more.

Excellent!! There’s little the federal government actually can do to reform education policy, but having strong pro-choice and pro-reform leadership nationally nevertheless is a wonderful and very welcome change. Let the unions squeal and holler — that’s the sound of progress.

Yes there are other reasons but currently I think that’s by far the most important. If that was fixed it would make a huge difference.

Very scary!