Hi Bill,

I don't paint all union members as being unskilled or uneducated, or at least I don't mean to. If that's what you've gleaned from my posts, that's not what I'm talking about.

I champion people earning what they're worth. I don't believe that joining a union should be an entitlement to instant higher than what the job generates wage. As a matter of fact, it costs me the wage of a skilled employee to train an unskilled employee when I hire an unskilled employee, so I not only lose some productivity of the skilled employee, I'm paying the new employee during training. That individual's training costs are at best a gamble. I like gambling, but am leery of investing in people who don't have the interest of the business in mind. If there is no business, there are no jobs period.

As both an employer and a private contractor (a hobby turned into income,) I'm in the unusual position of sometimes viewing every side of labor issues. The private contractor job is one that was offered to me. I didn't apply for it. At this time, I can't devote as many days a year to them as they wish I could, but that should change next year. ...I very well might make a career change.

I didn't get to this point by paying someone else to tell an employer what my work is worth. That's another problem I have unions. You have to pay someone else to let the people signing your paycheck know what you are worth. Union dues are just another tax on talented people, and an unjustfied inflation of starting wages that raise the costs of goods and services to everyone.

Bob