I don't have any issue with corporations making a profit, since I am a capitalist, and have invested in them and those investments enabled me to retire early. However, I am under no illusions of grandeur when it comes to how they treat their employees.
The poster who said that corporations want good employees and are willing to pay them is mostly correct, up until a point. Check out the number of folks who make it to 65 with their companies. You might be shocked. There used to be a social contract in this country that an employee would stay with a company for life, and you would be good to them and they would be good to you. In my opinion, this was contract was broken by corporations in the 80's. This is when layoffs and off-shoring began.
As you approach your late 50's in corporate America, watch out. Two things happen at around this time....you are at or near the top of the salary scale, and you cost your company the most for health insurance. Once again, the numbers of folks who make it to 65 are on record....many years of working for a company could mean nothing when it comes to replacing someone at 1/2 of their salary and 1/4 of their insurance cost. Employees rarely see this coming, yet it happens to many of this age group.
That's the kind of thing that unions do prevent. There is no question that our middle class was stronger when unions were stronger.
As for the longshoremen increasing costs for everyone, this is not necessarily so. Maybe instead of a 350% increase in profits over 10 years, the ports will be happy to share some of those profits with their employees in the form of higher wages and they will be content to make 300% increase in profits over the next 10 years and have happy employees as well.
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