@ISIDEWITHQuestionseconomyStarted 10yrs agoActive 3mos ago

Do you believe labor unions help or hurt the economy?

Do you believe trade unions help or hurt the economy?

Since 1996 Union membership in Australia has dropped from 40% of all workers to 15%. Unions bargain on behalf of workers over wages, benefits, working conditions for their membership. Larger unions also typically engage in lobbying activities and electioneering at the state and federal level.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 39.6k Australia voters.

73%
Help
27%
Hurt
49%
Help
24%
Hurt
14%
Help, in theory but have recently become corrupt and should have their powers limited
3%
Hurt, I support some private unions but am strongly against public unions
9%
Help, but ban their ability to make political donations

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 39.6k Australia voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 39.6k Australia voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from Australia voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @9VJBDL3answered…3mos3MO

Hurt, but they have the potential to help. Also ban political donations and they need to be held accountable for illegal activity AND major economic damage.

 @9K8TZN2answered…10mos10MO

Define 'the economy'. Unions as devised help people, but my hurt the 'economy' of profiteers, rent seekers and speculators whom pray on people.

 @9GBPPS2answered…1yr1Y

Unions should NOT be affecting the economy, instead they should assist with the workers to help increase worker's rights, workplace democracy and increase wages to where it is a living wage.

 @932MZ4Zanswered…3yrs3Y

Help, in theory, but have recently become corrupt and should have their powers limited, and ban their ability to make political donations the same as big business & the rich

 @92ZK8V6answered…3yrs3Y

Neither, they are in bed with government and businesses

 @92NZR2Nanswered…3yrs3Y

again, not all are the same, hence, each one should be examined based on their policies.

 @92N3D7Wanswered…3yrs3Y

Technically hurt, but are necessary to mitigate abuse and ensure workers are treated fairly

 @92LPKSSanswered…3yrs3Y

I feel that my opinion of unions has been skewed by outside influences, and I don't trust my understanding of them.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…4wks4W

Volkswagen Faces Explosive Strikes Over Plant Closures and Job Cuts

Tens of thousands of Volkswagen workers will participate Monday in strikes at plants across Germany, labor union IG Metall said, marking the largest walkouts at the carmaker’s domestic operations since 2018.The walkouts, which are planned to last several hours, follow weeks of collective bargaining negotiations during which VW refused to rule out mass layoffs and potential plant closures in its home market — drastic measures the company says are necessary to prop up its fortunes amid competition from China and weaker European demand.A so-called “peace obligation” between workers and the company, which prohibited industrial action, expired on Saturday, allowing strikes to take place from Sunday at virtually all of Volkswagen’s German factories.“If necessary, this will become the toughest wage dispute Volkswagen has ever seen,” IG Metall’s chief negotiator Thorsten Groeger said in a statement Sunday. “How long and intense this dispute will be is Volkswagen’s responsibility at the negotiating table.”“Volkswagen has set our collective bargaining agreements on fire, and instead of extinguishing this fire during three rounds of negotiations, the management board keeps throwing open barrels of gasoline onto it,” he added.The walkouts will be the first large-scale strikes that Volkswagen has faced since 2018, according to IG Metall, when 50,000 workers idled plants over pay. Although the work stoppages will last only a few hours, it is possible that 24-hour warning strikes could be called later this year. Indefinite strikes could also be called as a last resort, but only after members have been consulted again, IG Metall said.The strikes represent a fresh headache for Europe’s largest automaker, which saw operating profit for the first nine months of the year tumble by a fifth from the previous year, as its flagship brand struggled. Vehicle sales also slipped on particularly weak demand in China, where it is losing market share to Chinese electric vehicle brands.

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