Doug Bandow explains why without mincing words:
I have to say that I've seen that first-hand. At my Teamsters job people with more seniority--and much higher pay--actually are usually no more productive than people earning much less. In a few cases they are less productive. So it's totally unlike the unfettered private sector where one's pay is contingent on one's productivity. There's one woman who can walk only slowly but has over thirty years with the company and probably makes over $30 per hour. She doesn't do much in the otherwise hectic environment.Only in government--monopoly public services--are unions advancing. Which is what one would expect from organizations which typically promote inefficiency and waste as a means of enriching their members.
People wonder why I am anti-union, having been a dues paying member of the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) for 20 years.
I saw the same institutional inefficiencies, feather-bedding, and out-right laziness. The only reason my employer didn't fail was because it was a defense contractor. If it had been a commercial operation it would have gone under decades ago.