The Transit Strike in New York City by Gary North

Gary North is the author of Mises on Money. He is also the author of a free 17-volume series, An Economic Commentary on the Bible. He has some interesting thoughts on the New York City transit workers strike. He writes:

The modern trade union movement is the product of special legislation. Businesses are compelled by law to honor unions that receive a majority vote by employees. Employees are then able to gain above-market wages because businesses are forbidden by law to make offers to potential employees who would otherwise underbid the unionized workers. These would-be employees are referred to by union members as "scabs." The idea of competitive, open-entry bidding is anathema to trade unions.

The trade union movement is not a pro-labor movement. It is an anti-labor movement. It exists in order to benefit a minority of workers at the expense of a majority of would-be workers who would be willing to work for less, but who are prohibited by law from being allowed to...

Trade unionism is dying in the United States. It has enrolled about 10% of the work force, and almost all of this is in unions working in various levels of civil government. Without the Wagner Act and the National Labor Relations Board, there would be almost no trade unionism in the United States...

New York City is different. The union has New York City's transportation system by the neck. This is because the state of New York and New York City jointly put the transportation system in this position. By outlawing open-entry private competition for transportation in and around Fun City, the civil authorities turned the streets of New York, not to mention the tunnels, into a disaster zone.

The Transit Strike in New York City by Gary North