Unions: German Solution?

- Labour laws serious hamper to mass industrialization

- Powerful union/labour vested interests blocking reform
- Current strategy= mechanized industrialization, plight of mass worker
uncertain
- Possible solution through unions?
- German style professionalized unions
- Applicable to list of specified industry for units above certain size
- How units, industries to be determined?
- Individual workers association for each company
- Overarching government agency dealing with each union as individual
unit (e.g. like a citizen)
- Provides education (training courses), justice (settlement courts, pooled
legal defence fund) and other functions like a government would deal with
citizens
- Organize retirement and insurance plans, large pool, give individual unions
freedom to pick own providers (that are approved by the gov for such use)
- Promote/Legislate self-investment (individual unions investing in own
company shares) as well as cross investment (unions investing across
other union-registered companies)
- This gives workers stake in own companys growth, as well as gives
workers stake in success of other workers companies successes
- Thus, if one union or a group of unions goes on strike, other unions stand
to lose financially
- Access to fund only to government bonds and other union-approved
industries, gives companies incentive to unionize to access pool.
- Government can directly provide for retraining, insurance, health, etc
through the unions
- Act as a support structure for workers
- Could encourage unofficial coorperation via multiple channels at localized
level (e.g. Unions from multiple industries In one area can combine to
provide feedback and demand services from locality)