what'd I tell you?

In my recent post on the POSCO problem, I wrote:

I'm once again reminded of union strangleholds in France, where les syndicats can shut down public transportation in major cities almost at will....

In the meantime, who suffers? Certainly not the unionists themselves. The citizens of Pohang have to live with the shame brought upon them by this criminal activity. The municipal authorities and business leaders have to wonder whether they can persuade anyone to invest in their city. POSCO itself has to worry about its international reputation, credit standing, and all the rest. The selfish actions of a union may have put all this in jeopardy.

As if to confirm how twisted these unions can be, my brother David sends me a link to the following article about a Hyundai union workers' strike, which says in part:

A partial strike by its labor union has forced Hyundai, South Korea's largest automaker, to suspend vehicle exports, the Associated Press reported.

"Exports have stopped," said a Hyundai spokesman, adding that the company has about three month's worth of vehicle inventory already shipped overseas, so there has been no supply disruption to dealers.

That article also notes that labor strikes traditionally happen in the summer and are part of the negotiation process.


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