Back in the 1970s, the UK was the sick man of Europe, and “over-mighty” labour was seen as a main cause of its malaise. But rather than adopt the German route to more flexible labour markets – a consensual approach in which unions are treated as partners – the UK sought to emulate the American model, which “saw labour as an enemy”. Forty years on, that strategy is looking ever more like a mistake. Today’s US is blighted by high long-term unemployment, and median real wages are no higher than they were in 1979, while those at the top have tended to capture the proceeds of growth. In the UK, real wages are above 1970s levels, but have been falling in real terms by about 2% a year since 2008 – a situation “unprecedented” in British history. UK policymakers assume that a return to growth, and a tighter labour market, will lead to a recovery in wages in coming years. But in the absence of strong and confident unions standing up to capital, that assumption looks questionable at best. (Larry Elliott, The Guardian).
Epicurus believed both in moderation and in treating every, man, woman, slave and master in a considerate way. Thus, were he to have experienced the hyper-capitalism we now “enjoy”, he would have advocated a counter-weight to the currently unassailable power of capitalism. This can only be achieved if workers band together and pool effort and resources. This is not, as the Republicans claim, communism – it is good for the general well/being and the economy. Why? Because poorer workers spend all they get and the more they spend the better the economy is. What do the super-rich contribute? As little tax as possible, and the purchase of yachts and WestIndian islands.I believe in the sort of enlightened unions That have made Germany a power house. I do not believe in unions who are greedy wreckers. This is why trade union leaders ought to be Epicureans!
It is not generally known, but large companies (no names, no pack drill) have employed groups of thugs, many straight out of jail, to beat up American union members, disrupt there meetings, threaten and blackmail them. Many officials have given up. The coup de grace has, conveniently, been the wholesale decampment of manufacturing to China, which finally solved the problem of pesky workers who wanted decent wages (this applies to many European countries, too), The jobs of many thousands of factory workers have disappeared.
The United States and Britain have made a serious problem for themselves going forward. The CEOs might be good company smoogers and politicians, but wisdom have they none!