[WastingMyTime89]

> I’m Irish. Having studied Economics does not make me an American. Economic surplus can either go to consumers in the form of lower prices, the firm’s owners in profits or current workers in wages.

Don’t worry I studied economics too.

You are confusing value added and economic surplus. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of your argument.

A change in labour costs is a shift in the equilibrium point. It doesn’t come from a surplus.

> Cartel isn’t a term of abuse. It’s a description of the entire point of a union. They monopolise labour and negotiate with employers to the benefit of the average worker.

Of course it is a term of abuse.

Collective representation isn’t about monopolising labour as a casual glance to any union in a western country like France would have told you. In France no union has more than a measly 2% of the work force. Yet they play an important role.

[prox]

I watched this interesting discussion, suffice to say there seem to be a big difference between to two. Roles of the unions seems so vastly different, they might as well use separate words.