Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

The recent Janus Supreme Court decision has disrupted American labor union practices for the better. As long as public employee unions could withhold dues from unwilling workers, all unions got a bad name. The fact is, private unions have experienced a steep decline in membership over the decades, partially because of the reputation gained by public unions, but that's over now. As public unions, and their extraordinary demands, are no longer catered to by politicians under the union campaign contribution spell, the reputation of all unions will recover, and if worker exploitation ever returns, private union membership will respond en mass.

The model for private unions exists: German labor unions are an example for Americans. They have significant representation on the Board of Directors, their pension funds are invested in company stock, and they are certainly more concerned about the company's future and the interests of minority shareholders than anyone else on the Board. They are a bulwark against the shenanigans of corporate raiders and parasitic managers. They also have a reputation for cooperation; helping in layoffs, modernizing factories, and consulting with management. Capitalism's one great weakness is that it inordinately rewards the source of imaginary money while exploiting the value of actual worker production; having equal union representation on the Board would counteract that disparity.