Quote Originally Posted by jjsrp View Post
it was written: Far, far too many people still have the idea that unions are in actuality as strong as they think they are. I have watched automation slowly taking over and all the union I was a member of could do was to negotiate various ways of easing the inevitable job losses but automation kept going.

It is worth noting that high wages motivate increased automation. I would assume that automation increases productivity or the owners would not do it.

I remember that someone posted a video on this forum of some workers operating a grinding wheel with straps (no motor - one man making the wheel turn, one man grinding the steel). That does not look productive to me - but then, I do not know what their wages were.
For sure it can increase production "if" all the automation is working properly. The other thing is automation/machines do not require wages, benefits or a pension. Even if automation did not increase production it will increase profit especially if the retail price remains the same and it usually does.

Unemployed workers buy very little and are a drain on whatever government assistance they are entitled to. There is a cost to the economy and the tax payer and none to the company, only increased profits. I think that is well illustrated in the documentary film Roger and Me Roger & Me - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .

Bob