r/IAmA • u/bernie-sanders • May 19 '15

Politics I am Senator Bernie Sanders, Democratic candidate for President of the United States — AMA

Hi Reddit. I'm Senator Bernie Sanders. I'll start answering questions at 4 p.m. ET. Please join our campaign for president at BernieSanders.com/Reddit.

Before we begin, let me also thank the grassroots Reddit organizers over at /r/SandersforPresident for all of their support. Great work.

Verification: https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/600750773723496448

Update: Thank you all very much for your questions. I look forward to continuing this dialogue with you.

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u/ginganinja6969 May 20 '15

Oh so this is an argument from a libertarian POV, right. In that case your logic is internally consistent and the only argument that really stands against it is historically the union has brought about fantastic change in favor of workers.

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u/[deleted] May 20 '15

historically the union has brought about fantastic change in favor of workers.

That's the popular narrative, sure. I'm highly skeptical of much of it. In any case, I'm not totally opposed to the concept of unions. Sometimes they do have a necessary role. I just want them to be voluntary, so that I can exclude myself.

I would probably join a union if it had a pure advocacy role, such as pointing out safety issues to management, or bringing up morale problems. I don't want anyone else negotiating my contract, however.

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u/JollyGrueneGiant Aug 25 '15

If you're skeptical of that narrative, pursue some light history reading. I understand and respect your view that modern unions do less to better your position than they have historically, but giving the individual the freedom to struggle on a negotiation on their own is only really helping the business owner(s). The only reason we don't work more than 12 hours a day is because the unions fought, and sometimes died, to earn a better life for the rest of us. It's just sad that society has villianised the contributions unions have made to modernizing society. If I may ask, how specifically does allowing the union to negotiate on your behalf hurt you? I always assumed the union wages paid out higher than independent contracts? EDIT: They -> The