I am only a armchair observer, and I believe that unions are certainly needed ...
but also by fighting for short time issues, unions might also sometime jeopardise more long term endeavors.
See for example:
Though it was a blow to national pride, the U.K. has learned to live without a British-owned motor industry. The U.S. could probably do the same.
www.cbsnews.com
But in a scenario that should sound eerily familiar to watchers of the decline
of the U.S. auto industry, the management of Great Britain's largest carmakers
proved slow to adapt to changing markets and were handcuffed by their workers as well.
Output at overmanned plants was hit by constant labor disputes from the 1950s,
making them unproductive and unprofitable. British firms lacked the flexibility
to compete abroad even as European manufacturers began targeting the U.K.
market with exports of right-hand drive models.
And British vehicles often failed the technical standards set by export markets.
It seems that the Japanese, and European, legacy car manufacturers, by providing some sort type of
lifetime employment protection, are struggling at shifting away from the ICE industry to the new EV future,
Evidently some of the engines and gear boxes factories would need to close or to be reorganised into
other type of manufacturing, such as batteries or electronic assembly, leaving very specialised
mechanical worker without possible new assignment.
www.bloomberg.com
