Senator Jim Bunning, union leader

 

In a recent comment thread, someone asked for a libertarian case for unions.  Very quickly, a few people pointed out that it was a freedom of association issue, which is the correct answer.

Okay, article is done.  Time to comment off-topic.

This article is actually mistitled, as that was too easy.  What I am instead going to discuss is what I would think a good union would look like in a much more libertarian society.  To get to the place I am reaching would require the removal of lots of laws and regulations.  I have discussed some of these ideas on other sites, and it has been pointed out that I have basically reinvented the medieval guild.  The problem with the guild system, IMO, is that they got the government involved, creating monopoly situations.  My idea doesn’t make that mistake.

Where do we start?  My idea is that I want to create a union that workers want to join and that the business owners want to deal with.  First, I want to discuss the benefits that the union would provide that would encourage joining it.  The union should provide health care, unemployment benefits, retirement benefits, disability insurance, job training, and the like.  That whole package of extra benefits that employers provide now.

A decent size union in a decent size town would have a free clinic for basic health care for members and their families.  GP, dentist, optometrist would all be union staff positions.  They may or may not have a network of specialists, but those would be covered by an insurance policy.  As a union member, your insurance wouldn’t go away if a job went away, it would be tied to union membership, not to employment status.

Employers would love not having to provide all of that, can cut back on HR departments, they would be competing on wages, not on some hard to measure package of wages and benefits.  Would employers want to hire union members vs unaffiliated?  Maybe, especially if most of the talent was a member of the union.  Especially if it made hiring easier…”I need a senior python programmer, send me 10 resumes please.”  The union of coders, dbas, and tap dancers would quickly provide available talent.

Could something like this really develop if allowed?  Look at the MLBPA.  I have problems with it (like the fact that they are the MAJOR league baseball players association and refuse to cover minor leaguers), but it isn’t far off of the ideal.  While the baseball owners would be willing to hire outside the union (and have hired scabs in the past), no one refused to join the union.  It’s benefits are so huge to the player, that there is no reason not to join.  The only non-members have been players who have crossed the picket line in the past and been banned from union membership.  To be fair that is an odd situation due to the amount of money involved, but in a more libertarian society the same kind of organization could from for other workers.

Am I wrong?  Am I missing something?  Probably yes on both, so feel free to attack in the comments.

Also, if you made it this far, you get a music link.