Originally Posted by trackhub
Yes, that is important. But it is not a guarantee is it? Just come to Massachusetts and ask any of the PhD scientists, engineers, IT pros, and optical networking folks who have been laid off since all those industries took a dive five years ago. Some are just now starting to find jobs again, at lower pay than they were getting before. (and yet, housing prices continue to go up, in defiance of basic economics. Fancy that.)
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True, it's no guarantee, but neither is Union employment. I was a carpenter for many years (non-union). It was always amazing how many union guys would come out and work with us. They would constantly complain about the pay, the work, the conditions, etc. When I would suggest that they might be happier in a union job the answer was usually "There's no work right now" or "We're on strike". I don't know how many of those guys we fired because they were not very good at the job or just plain lazy. While there are no absolutes (of course) I don't think a good employee needs a union.