Labor Unions very much had their place in the 1900's - they did a lot to bring us the modern work week. Unfortunately, they have not advanced with the times and are now a dinosaur twitching in its death throes. It doesn't help them that they tend to have a lot of lawlessness and corruption at their core. Case in point this story from The Wall Street Journal:
Texas Janitors Mop the Floor With a Bullying Union
Big unions play hardball, and most of the time it works. Not this week in Texas, however, where a jury awarded $5.3 million in damages to a local cleaning firm targeted by the Service Employees International Union. Although disparagement claims are difficult to prove, the owners of Professional Janitorial Services of Houston showed that SEIU Local 5 had tried to destroy them with a campaign of misinformation about how they treated workers. The firm’s attorney, John Zavitsanos, says that this is the first time a jury has held the SEIU responsible for defaming a business.
In 2005, the SEIU decided to try to break into Houston by pushing “justice for janitors.” It began persuading the biggest janitorial companies in town to accept Local 5 as the representative for their workers. Five firms agreed. The sixth was Professional Janitorial Services.
The union wanted to organize workers through “card check,” which allows it to pressure workers one by one to sign an “authorization for representation.” But PJS insisted on a vote by secret ballot, as is its right.
The union responded with a campaign whose goals (more here and here), according to internal emails entered into evidence, were to “cost PJS money” and “cost PJS accounts.” It accused the company of withholding workers’ pay, forcing them to work off the clock, and firing those involved with the union—none of which was substantiated.
A bit more:
The union sent letters to the building-management companies that contracted with PJS, spreading accusations. It circulated vicious fliers at disruptive demonstrations. One building manager said in a deposition that she fired PJS after protesters stormed her conference rooms while tenants were using them. PJS lost a dozen contracts.
Just shows how desperate the union is to retain its power - it serves zero function at all except to collect union dues from the workers.
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