On balance, government employee labor unions have a positive impact on the United states

Resolved: On balance, government employee labor unions have a positive impact on the United States. The crux of this resolution lies the in the philosophical analysis of unions and their role in a, relatively, free market society. While I respect that you present arguments based on the current economic condition of the United States I have to draw your attention to the fact that Unions have existed since the Industrial Revolution and have been present during times of great economic prosperity. Unions, and the right to become a unionized labour source, are fundamental in protecting the safety and rights of workers while ensuring against a disparity of wealth. This can be easily seen by examining the nature of a union. A union, despite being demonized in recent years, is no more than a group of workers who choose to negotiate with the employer en masse. Unions in general do not prohibit their employer from refusing to negotiate with the union and hiring outside labour. Employees feel the need to do this because the government does not provide them adequate protection against exploitation by their employers. If one is to reference the 1920s and 30s it is easy to see that employees have been pushed into unsafe situations by their managers and the the inception of unions was responsible for creating an objective standard of behaviour in workplace. The union movement was also responsible for the creation of 'danger pay' where a job which must be performed by an employee is inherently dangerous. This type of unionization preserved the lives of police officers and firefighters across the United States and contributed to the growth of the nation. In your fourth point you discuss the fact that government unions have unfair resources to draw from and thus they could cause a hike in taxes of a lack of funds in the welfare system. You cite that these are unfair to the private citizen. I must first argue whether the welfare system in itself is fair to the private citizen. Why should a private citizen who makes a wage be forced to support those who do not support themselves. Does this in itself not create a system of dependancy which is detrimental to the economy? (I apologize for the sidenote) In response to this I would state that while a government union has more resources to draw from they also have a greater number of employers to respond to. Mainly all the registered voters of the United States of America. Given that no unions have the ability to restrict the government from hiring outside labour, and that the government is accountable to the people if they hope to win another election, the union has VERY restricted influence on the administration and legislation. A union which pushes too hard against the government will face a massive public backlash and as a result will be unable to achieve their end goals. In this way we can see that even a government employee union is a situation of free exchange and barter which allows employees to be better represented. Finally, you discuss the unfair contributions to government that labour unions are responsible for. While I agree with you that an unfair influence over the federal government is undemocratic, I contend that these labour unions are driven to this point by corrupt and exploitative corporations with much deeper pockets than the labour lobby. Picture if you will two debaters trying to win over the mind of one audience member. If both speakers use only their audible voices, the effect is fair and only the argument process will prevail. However in our metaphor the private sector is able to purchase a megaphone to amplify their argument. If this disparity is allowed to continue the labour lobby will be overrun by private interests and worker's rights will be trampled upon. I contend that not only is it the right of the worker's union lobby to attempt to contribute as much as the private sector, but it is their DUTY to do so in order to properly represent those whose union dues their paycheques come from. In summation, I oppose your viewpoint that unions have a negative effect on the United States and will strive to show that a properly constructed union, operating in a free market economy, is integral to protecting worker's rights and will benefit the United States.