Geez:I was told the following by some some of the union employees that I worked with:
"What do you care what we get for benefits the company will give them to you as well."
When I (and other contractors) negotiated with the unions we negotiated a total wage package - wage plus benefits. We didn't care if they put $10 an hour or $1 an hour in benefits. After the open shop contractors got really strong (after Reagan and Clinton loaded the NLRB with anti-union members) the big benefit package became a problem. We needed young people for entry level jobs. Tell a nineteen year old man with a wife and a car payment that his starting total package is $14 but that only $8 of that goes on his check and that is probably the last thing you will ever get to say to him.
