01/11/2005
(Courtesy Dissecting Leftism)
Here’s an Australian labor union that believes its job is to protect its members, and has the courage to do so:
A major union has called on the Federal Government to block a move by a Victorian fruit board to import up to 10,000 fruit pickers from China.
The Australian Workers Union (AWU) national secretary Bill Shorten said “no growers or employers should be allowed to undermine the job opportunities of Australians and their legal wages and conditions… We are concerned that the mass importation of cheap Chinese labor will be used to drive down Australian pay rates, safety standards, workers' compensation and superannuation conditions." (The Courier-Mail Dec 30 2004)
Granted this is naked self-interest — but of course the economic analysis is correct, as George Borjas, and Ed Rubenstein have repeatedly demonstrated.
Samuel Gompers would have agreed too. (And of course immigration enthusiasts are similarly motivated.)
Why do modern U.S. unions fail their members in this regard so consistently?
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