Are Unions Good for the Economy?

Here is an interesting poll that illustrates the disconnect between liberals and reality: Are unions good for the economy?
http://www.zogby.com/blog2/index.php/2009/12/28/are-unions-good-for-the-economy/

As I read the numbers, one thought occurred to me. The very first comment summed it up well: "To me, the most interesting stat here is that only 57% of union members/union families think that unions are good for the economy. Democrats [68%] and liberals [76%] are more likely to believe unions are good for the economy than union members themselves! I wonder what reasons the 43% of union members/union families who do not believe unions are good for the economy would give?"

I can answer that question. Because people who are union members see the abuses every day.

How would I know, you ask? Several direct ways (in addition to the many experiences of friends in the auto industry, when I lived in Detroit):

1. Because I was a member of a union for 4 years, Hotel and Restaurant Employees (HERE) Local 122 in Milwaukee. In my direct experience, this union's main function, the only way in which it materially impacted me, was to protect drunks from losing their jobs. The union fought to keep drunks on the job. These are people who couldn't do the work and as a result the rest of us had to carry their dead weight. We would have loved to see these drunks fired. The union worked AGAINST the vast majority its members. And we paid the union for this.

2. Later in life I also did a lot of work in Ford plants, primarily in the Detroit area. I had to work with union electricians as part of my job. Precious few were qualified and/or motivated to help me. In one plant in which I worked, the Ranger plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, there was only one electrician I really trusted. That's not an exaggeration. I had some work to get done and I couldn't get it done without working with this guy. When he alternated to night shift I actually changed my schedule to keep working with him. I worked night shift with him for a week or two, which was a pain in the ass, rather than work with the other (barely knowledgeable, but secure in their jobs) electricians.

3. Also while in Michigan, I played hockey with a guy who was retired from GM on disability. Think about that sentence for a while. Hockey is a physical sport! Now, I don't doubt that there was some reason for this. But I am saying that he was not "disabled" in a serious sense. To give him disability retirement (with pay, benefits, etc.) shows that unions go too far.

Unions are NOT good for the economy.