Unions and Violence

An April 10, 2006 post called "Surrender Monkeys Again" from the Let's Fly Under the Bridge blog, commented on the recent events surrounding French Union protests. According to the post, union members ultimately won their battle against the possibility of an Employment Contract, with their country's president opting not to mandate it. While unions members are obviously happy with the decision, many worry that such a decision could be detrimental to France's economic competitiveness. While I am usually in favor of unions, I have been dissapointed by some of the violent behavior that has been displayed by different union members in France. Peaceably protesting is fine, but violenting demonstrating is another, and in this case, I think that the decision to bow down to union members' wishes almost reinforces such behavior. It will be interesting to see how France's social and economic state ultimately hold up as a result.