Hacker News Reader

What is the point of a union without collective bargaining is what I want to know.

It sounds like what anti union people like to portray them as. A tax on employees and nepotism.

I'm part of a union in Sweden and my employer does not have a CBA, I get from my union: income insurance (up to 12 months covering 90% of my current salary), access to free consultation with lawyers, discounts on a few services (even driving schools), and a few other benefits.

It's not a tax on employees, I consider it a quite cheap insurance.

Yep. The main reason I joined a union was for unemployment insurance. If I lose a job I get 80% of my salary for 6 months. I also get discounted home/personal insurance and better mortgage rates. Once you include standard employer perks and you get a pretty decent quality of life without government intervention.

Insurance makes sense. It's a different kind of collective action so my brain kind of routed around it. But it's not capital C, capital B Collective Bargaining, so I can see how you'd pretty easily get the one and have more trouble getting the other.

You can shop around for insurance, you can't shop around for employers.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com