The Case Against Collective Bargaining

Steve Harry, May 2022

Introduction

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About 10 years ago, I wrote a series of essays presenting the case against collective bargaining. I didn't date them, but they seem to have been written in 2010 and 2011. I  posted the essays on this website, but they are a little hard to find and I don't know if anyone ever read them. In May of 2022, I tidied them up a bit, primarily increasing the font size and changing the background color. This was the introduction to the old version:

 

 

I am a liberal who thinks liberals are wrong in supporting collective bargaining. I believe collective bargaining reduces overall income and upsets its equitable distribution. It causes unemployment and increases taxes.

There are lots of people who think unions are - or can be - harmful, but still support the concept of collective bargaining. I don't. I think the National Labor Relations Act, which established collective bargaining in 1935, should be repealed.

I've put a lot of thought into this over the years and although I am no scholar, I've put together several arguments to support my case. Links to individual essays are below.

 

 

 

The Illogic of Collective Bargaining

Job Security

Collective Bargaining and Unemployment

Democrats and Unions

Destruction of the Middle Class

The Employee Free Choice Act

The Wagner Act

What Economists Think about Unions

Ending Fringe Benefits

Market Wage vs. Fair Wage

Imagining a Free Labor Market

Rights and Freedom

Unions are Killing Michigan

Collective Bargaining in Government

Why the Market Wage is Better for Everyone

Social Costs of Collective Bargaining

Helping Low Wage Workers (this one is new)

 

 

The reason I am re-introducing them is that they are pretty good. They are also interesting in that I put all that work into them just for fun, without a plan for getting them published. Finally, at least one of them gets attention on the Internet. A monthly report from Google for the steveharrypublicpolicy.com website says one of the ways people find it is with a search on "fair wages." One of the top results of that search is the essay Market Wage vs. Fair Wage. That essay is even higher on the list of results if you search for "market wage vs fair wage" or "fair wage vs market wage".

 

Some of this stuff is out dated. The economy was still suffering from the Great Recession, which began in 2008. GM and Daimler Chrysler had been bailed out by the federal government. Unemployment was high. Congress never did pass the Employee Free Choice Act. So in one sense, the essays are historical.

 

Send comments to stevenrharry@gmail.com.