On several different occasions Darwin and I have gotten into arguments about the utility of unions. Coming out of that discussion was the argument unions are a more effective method for operating a company because the democratic nature of a union grants each worker some capacity to determine how the company should be ran. It was argued that this would allow the workers a more satisfying fulfilling work experience. When confronted with the notion that the purpose of company is not to make its workers feel satisfied but provide a good to a consumer Darwin would always respond that the workers would always vote in the best interest of the company.

The recent auto worker bailout has proven a great opportunity to see if unions will vote in their best interest. Recently, the liberal president, George W Bush has decided to lend about 17 billion to the auto workers with the implicit agreement that the workers would slash their wages to be commensurate with the other auto workers. Given that two of the big three are hemorrhaging massive amounts of money and are on the edge of bankruptcy you would expect the workers would vote on slashing wages as a means to save the company.

Imagine my surprise when I read this:

Just days before Christmas, the UAW let it be known it’ll fight any concessions on wages and benefits. “An undue tax on the workers” is how union boss Ron Gettelfinger described it as the UAW reneged on the deal almost before the ink was dry.

This will go down as one of the most cynical acts of political manipulation ever. The UAW agreed to one thing with President Bush, knowing full well President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats were big recipients of union largesse and would let them slide. They read the situation correctly.

How does Darwin explain the irrational act of this union? They are making a decision to benefit themselves that is obviously detrimental to the company. Companies do not exist for the satisfaction of the worker, their purpose is to provide goods for the consumer. It’s foolish to think that workers will act in the best interest of the company when the point of a union is to act in the best interest of the worker.

I would need to know all the details but on the face of it, this seems like a valid issue to strike about.

Union workers on MGM Mirage Inc.’s multibillion dollar CityCenter project struck late Monday after talks broke down between the Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, casino giant MGM Mirage and project general contractor Perini Building Co. Construction workers have also walked off of the Cosmopolitan Resort project, another Perini run project.

The strike follows the deaths of six men on the CityCenter project, the latest death occurred Saturday when 39-year-old Dustin Tarter, a crane worker, was killed. Two workers have died on the Cosmopolitan project.

In a 11 a.m. news conference, Steve Ross with the Southern Nevada Building & Construction Trades Council said every property on the Las Vegas Strip has a safety issue.

“This is the sixth death since the start of the construction of the CityCenter project and this is unacceptable,” said Ross.

Im sure most of you are aware of the current writers strike. For those on the left that complain about the perils of corporations having monopolies on certain industries it elucidating to see your lack of concern when unions flex their monopolistic muscle. Markets find the fair price for all things including the value a writer’s skill. The writers union is unhappy with its market value and instead of finding legitimate ways to increases it’s value it aims to increase its value by forcibly taking other groups market value. The rhetorical story, in which the left buys into, is that the little man, in this case the writer, is sticking it to the rich fat cat producers which are taking inordinate amount of the profits by forcing the producers to pay more.

If unions or people on the left had even vague understanding of economics they would realize that that the cost of any of the concessions a production companies makes to the writers will have to be managed usually by being passed on to the consumer. Of course this is not always the case and as this post notes, another cost to the writers selfishly demanding more than their market value is that other jobs vital to producing entertainment are suffering.

“I respect the WGA’s position. They probably do deserve a larger percentage of profit participation, but a lengthy strike will affect more than just the writers and studios. On my show we had 14 writers. There were also 2 cameramen, 2 camera assistants, 4 hair stylists, 4 makeup artists, 7 wardrobe people, 4 grips, 4 electricians, 2 craft service, 4 props people, 6 construction, 1 medic, 3 art department, 5 set dressers, 3 sound men, 3 stand-ins, 2 set PAs, 4 assistant directors, 1 DGA trainee, 1 unit manager, 6 production office personnel, 3 casting people, 4 writers assistants, 1 script supervisor, 2 editors, 2 editors assistants, 3 post production personnel, 1 facilities manager, 8 drivers, 2 location managers, 3 accountants, 4 caterers and a producer who’s not a writer. All 102 of us are now out of work.

One possible way producers will get around the problem of having to pay more than the market value of writers is to reduce costs with these employees. Be it thorough the elimination of positions to reduction in wages, it’s quite likely producers will reduce the standard of living for some of these workers. Note that the producers will not be able to pay less than the value of these workers because he is not allowed the power of monopoly. Using force to artificially inflate market value is apparently a right only reserved for certain groups of people.