[Lagrange]

Most libertarians I know have a knee-jerk opposition to any form of organized labor. While it's true that unions have promoted political causes antithetical to libertarianism, what's to explain the blanket condemnation of labor by libertarians? Is it classism against the lower-income working class? And is this evidence that libertarians are in the pockets of the rich?

[Soix]

I don't mind laborers unionizing themselves just as I don't mind businesses cartelizing themselves. Where I have problem with both is when they start rent-seeking.

[mikema63]

I have never hear a libertarian (exluding Kman) give a blanket dismissal of labor unions, government support of unions is perhaps more what you mean.

[lucky]

It's because libertarians value economic efficiency very highly, and monopolies are inefficient. Labor laws typically provide unions with monopoly power, that's the whole point of their operation.

Moreover, they create much bigger inefficiency than a typical monopoly, because labor unions are not run as a regular company structure with shareholders sharing profits. When you quit or get fired, you lose your "share" in the labor union "profits". This creates various perverse incentives. Also see this writeup.

[Kman]

I have never hear a libertarian (exluding Kman) give a blanket dismissal of labor unions

Define what you mean by blanket dismissal please.

[Rothbardian]

Sounds like the OP has confused the TEA party with libertarianism.

[Nunt]

Most libertarians I know have a knee-jerk opposition to any form of organized labor. While it's true that unions have promoted political causes antithetical to libertarianism, what's to explain the blanket condemnation of labor by libertarians? Is it classism against the lower-income working class? And is this evidence that libertarians are in the pockets of the rich?

I have no problems with workers organizing to address common causes such as collective wage bargaining, or labor unions providing legal assistance and information to workers. So I am not sure where you get the idea that libertarians condemn labor unions.

[Kman]

Anyways I suspect the reason why libertarians are hostile towards labor unions is because they are based at their core on economic fallacies, on the fallacy that you have to threaten the use of force in order to get a decent wage, if a libertarian understands economics properly he will understand how incredibly useless and unnecessary labor unions are, wages will stay high without the fucking anti-production labor unions.

[Lagrange]

Anyways I suspect the reason why libertarians are hostile towards labor unions is because they are based at their core on economic fallacies, on the fallacy that you have to threaten the use of force in order to get a decent wage, if a libertarian understands economics properly he will understand how incredibly useless and unnecessary labor unions are, wages will stay high without the fucking anti-production labor unions.

What about imperfectly competitive markets for labor? If a firm has monopsony power in the labor market it can hire workers at substantially lower wages than their marginal product. Then you run into issues of exploitation because you have an asymmetry between the power of firms and of individual workers in the labor market. Unions tend(ed) to fix this disparity.

[Kman]

What about imperfectly competitive markets for labor?

All markets are imperfect, I dont see your point, a market will never reach perfect equilibrium. Perfect equilibrium is a non-existant fantasy.

If a firm has monopsony power in the labor market it can hire workers at substantially lower wages than their marginal product.

If they do that they will earn massive profits and companies that earn massive profits will quickly find competing businesses bidding away their laborers with more reasonable wages, you dont need unions for this.

Then you run into issues of exploitation because you have an asymmetry between the power of firms and of individual workers in the labor market.

There is no asymmetry of power of firms vs workers.

[Nunt]

What about imperfectly competitive markets for labor? If a firm has monopsony power in the labor market it can hire workers at substantially lower wages than their marginal product. Then you run into issues of exploitation because you have an asymmetry between the power of firms and of individual workers in the labor market. Unions tend(ed) to fix this disparity.

Does monopsony seems like an accurate way to describe the labor market to you?

[Eran]

So I am not sure where you get the idea that libertarians condemn labor unions.

Libertarians do condemn (actual, current or historic) labour unions because such unions (to my knowledge, without a single exception) advocate the use of aggression (either directly or using political influence).

Libertarians do not condemn the concept of labour unions or any other form of voluntary and peaceful association of workers or any other group of people.

[Soix]

Eran, I think you do have a point. Libertarians do and ought to condemn violence and aggression, i.e. the behavior of the association, but not the association itself, of course.

[Rothbardian]

I believe the first labor unions in the U.S. started popping up during the era when federal goons were murdering people who refused to send their children into coal mines. They became a government entity a short while later, and here we are.

[Baff]

For me it's because unions have become the enemy of a free society.

They seek to use denial of services as method of control over people unable to seek those services elsewhere.
They do this solely for the purposes of their own individual gain.
It's a form of tyranny.

No different in it's abhorrance to the ability of a big corporation to monopolise an industry sector. No different in it's abhorrance from the ability of a rich company to sponsor a politcal party and exert more influence on the democratic system than any individual can do on his own.
Much different however in it's power to deliver these things due to it's willful reliance on militancy.

A bunch of thugs.