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I don't think the anti-union sentiment is specifically
associated with technical writing.
Here in the US, unions are (rightly or not) frequently
seen as being linked with organized crime - which one
reason folks are wary. Think Jimmy Hoffa and the
Teamsters, a union whose leaders are (again) under
Federal indictment for corruption.
Unions are also associated with the most inefficient
and overpriced services/organizations here in the US.
For instance, our Postal Service is heavily unionized,
takes a week to deliver a letter across town, had a
billion dollar surplus last year, and raised postage
rates again this year. Lines in post offices are long,
and the people behind the counters are not trained in
customer service (read: rude). There are frequently
four or five employees wandering about, taking breaks,
etc. when there are dozens of customers waiting in line
for the one "available" window.
Don't even get me started on the Department of Motor
Vehicles here in California.
Unions are seen by many of us as an excuse incompetent
workers use to get more money for the work they aren't
doing. For a good portion of those who are required to
join unions as a condition of work (something I have
experienced in a former career), they're an extortion
scheme designed to redistribute money for political
purposes.
All-in-all, a "Bad thing"
Hope this particular US perspective helps.
Dan
It is the mark of an educated mind to rest satisfied with
the degree of precision which the nature of the subject
admits and not to seek exactness where only an approximation
is possible. - Aristotle
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