[jcb986]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

^Our industry has seen their U.S. workers increase their productivity 2% a year every year for the last decade, while their company's share prices soared to DOW 14,000 (highest ever), revenues were up accross the Fortune 500 board and not until the markets crashed in 2008 did profits plummett. This meant that union participation fell by almost 2/3's (as did benefits and 401K matches) from the 90's, in other words these corporations had FIXED labor costs for perhaps the longest period on record. So much for the unions getting in the way. Despite these fixed, low wages for Americans they still sent jobs to Asia and India by the fistfull. How else does China go from $1 trillion to $6 trillion in a decade? It took the U.S. from the Civil War to World War I to get even half that much growth.
In the run up to these 'good times' for big business worker wages fell, job growth faded to nothing and household net worth went into the negative. Even now during the weak recovery the stock market is back to its pre-bubble normal, particularly the NASDAQ which has seen tech stocks have their best days in nearly two years, Fortune 500 profits are up again and Wall Street is planning its biggest bonus season on record after holding back for PR reasons last year.

That's a long way of saying that unions or no unions, U.S. corporations didn't skip a beat in the 20 years. It's the U.S. worker that has taken it on the chin. But Wall Street likes companies that hire Chinese workers at 1/10 the cost of $14 an hour U.S. factory worker. By the way $14 an hour doesn't even get you to the U.S. Median income.

I agree to some extent, but the high cost of doing business has underlying problem do the regulations. I remember Stanley Tools starting to outsource some and maybe all to China so it could sell it's product competitively. Now $16 bucks an hour is a minimum requirement for an worker to make if he is getting normal benefits. Now at that rate can we compete with China. ???????