The thread and most posts are quite right, as a Union official I agree, some unions, no doubt at all will end up in a museum.
Some officials from every union I ever knew should not be in the building with a mop and bucket in their hands.
That should be enough to get me in trouble, but again it is true.
It however is also true that the history of the union movement is mostly a proud one.
The future is in the hands of those who sit in yesterdays leaders chairs.
We should not be afraid of change, of constant improvement, and of an understanding our members are the only reason unions exist.
While yesterdays unions used the tools they had, no shame in being a Socialist or even communist once.
Unions should understand our members have moved on, I have no Comrades but an awful lot of mates, every one of my members.
New services new ideas new directions are a must.
Did any one else shudder at the end of the British Labor conference at the singing of keep the red flag flying?
From new Labor? in 2007?
Solidarity is not an old fashioned word just one some refuse to understand.
Unions, some of them, will except the challenge.

i think unions became the bad guys early on, when they tried to create a stable income for the workers, while capital and management had to live in the world of constant change. it seems to me that labor should regard itself as an equal partner in an enterprise, not as a beggar, and not as a bully.

the way to do it is to re-constitute unions as labor companies, owned by their members. in this form they can tender to supply labor under a general contract, supplying x bodies of y skills, for z dollars. this relieves production companies of the need to maintain personnel support departments, and allows workers to manage their own training, super, and insurance.

this isn't going to happen. even if i'm right, even if this would be a better structure for society, no changes are ever made before catastrophe occurs. so we will straggle on, complaining endlessly about results, but never, ever thinking about changing the system that produces those results.

writers have occasionally said that homo sap is the animal that thinks, but that's only half right: we are the animal that thinks we think. habit is our master, with help from doublethink and newspeak.

DEMOS SAID:

"I think unions became the bad guys early on, when they tried to create a stable income for the workers, while capital and management had to live in the world of constant change."

and..speaking as a small business person.. I have to say that is probably the best comment so far.. "exactly".....

You don't know if you will get orders next week..month.. year.. and if something goes wrong with something you have made or sold... it can be quite a worry.. and it could also 'halve' your available cash in one foul swoop.

Well said Demos.

DEMOS I find your post interesting, but to me it highlights a very real problem the union movement has, lack of understanding.
In another forum some time ago the dreadful impact of labour hire / casualisation on workers was highlighted.
Shameful wages conditions are some of those results, and some from within the union movement, rank and file members, lay the blame on union shoulders.
Quite wrongly but if it is what they think try to convince them they are wrong.
Some unions, blinded by the light of the damage have done deals with some labour hire firms, it is a clear danger unless rates of pay and work conditions are far better than the rest.
Unions often, more than you may wish to hear, are blamed for things out of their control.
And unions are far from dieing.
I do honestly think the future for responsive unions following its members is good.
We will always be bad boys for some, remember my post above we have poor performing officials.
But we also have people who have by their own action lost a job unions could not save.
These type are often the ones highlighting wrongs that did not happen.

The Trade Union and Labor Movement were co-invented in a cave back in the dark days. If they can't do any better than their self betterment in order to prop up Labors advertising campaigns, what then is their current need. For that matter I feel that the whole scene needs a major shakeup, as the old Nationals, Liberals, Greens and Labor have been throwing the same tired unbelievable lies at the Australian citizens for so long now, that Humphrey B Bear may as well bash the Unions up at the House of Representatives time. I would believe him more and the ABC could cull a show from Channel 9 in the process.

Are we only talking only about Trade Unions or should we include the other numerous self-interested professional lobby groups (such as the NFF, BCA, AMA and so on) that exert significant political influence and extract financial benefits from the taxpayer?

The reason that Trade Unions were created in the first place still exists, despite all the "fairness tests" and political spin.

Who else was going to fight for the victims of James Hardie for example?