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Comment by WalterBright | Hacker News Reader

Here's an example. Union says "we have ideas that will cut costs 10%. In exchange, we want half of that in the form of higher wages." Business says, "where do I sign?"

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Uh, your thought process is operating on the level of what you as an individual can do. But as a result, you are seeing none of the systemic problems. While your thinking is probably individually beneficial, like that of a salmon knowing to swim upstream, this salmon has no way of addressing the dam that's being built upriver. Regardless of whether the dam is built or not, it is still best to do what you can to swim upriver. But it's better for the dam not to be built and ruin your habitat.

But you're annoyed at other salmon trying to stop it, because they took a break from swimming upriver.

Yoir post reads to me as a non sequitur. The parent mentioned a union making that deal, but you are talking about "what you as an individual can do" which doesn't seem to be what they're talking about, since they're explicitly talking about the union making a deal with the business.

Businesses have such cost-cutting ideas all the time, the problem is that most of those ideas involve firing people. If the deal is: "we will fire 20% of staff, but those who remain will get 5% raise" no union will agree to it.

Taking the position of being the costly solution is never a winning pitch.

That is how you get rooted bureaucracies though. I'd rather be able to fire or get fired than sit through layers of bureaucracy simply because it's too difficult to fire people. I would know, I've been on both sides of the table.

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