How Unions Are Destroying America

From Girish Modi, Decatur, GA

America has a free market economy. Many nations look up to America to model their economy like America’s. After India adopted free market model under MP Modi’s leadership, its economy is skyrocketing making 7 percent GDP per year. Japan, Vietnam, and South Korea are other nations whose economy is flourishing after they adopted American style free market economy.

Free market economy works only when owners have freedom to run their companies the way they see fit. That means owners or board of directors decide what salaries they give to their employees based on how much is their profit margin.

American economy had flourished during industrialization in Fifties due to steel, textile, and auto manufacturing. However, steel and textile industries are dead now because of unions. Auto industry is in trouble due to big union called United Auto Workers or UAW. Though there are roughly 400,000 active UAW members, who dictate how big three car companies operate in Detroit.

This year’s strike, which the union calls the “Stand Up Strike,” is targeting specific plants of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Their demands include a 40% wage increase over the life of the contract, restoring the cost-of-living allowance adjustments to counteract inflation, defined benefit pension for all workers, the right to strike over plant closures, a reduced work week and more paid time off, limiting the use of temporary workers & increased benefits to current retirees.

Union leaders have said they will select new target plants to take out on strike in various waves if negotiations continue to fail to land new agreements with the auto companies. The strategy is designed to keep the automakers off-guard and leverage the union’s position to secure a better contract than the offers the Detroit automakers have made so far.

 If their demand is accepted, it will have ripple effects throughout the industry. Politicians always make hay of UAW strikes to advance their agenda. Biden went to Detroit and supported UAW strike. Trump also went to Michigan. Though he sympathized with the workers, he warned them that their strike would hurt them in the end.

Amazon, Wal-Mart, and other businesses are also impacted by strikes, which weakens American economy. Wages have more than tripled in the last 25 years. As wages increase, the cost of living also increases. As a result, inflation takes hold, government borrowing increases.

(This submission is not edited.)