The first thing that must change is union involvement in wage contracts. These contracts stifle productivity and reward poor performance and seniority. Workers have set wages based on their years of experience, so potential top performers have no incentive to produce more and poor performers get paid more than they are worth. It’s time for union labor to compete for jobs in the market place like most other workers. The top-performing union workers will now have the opportunity to leverage their skills for higher wages. Companies can offer the higher wages to them because they will be paying lower wages to others who are not as skilled. Now here is where the union can really add value for the lower performing and novice worker. Various types of training can be offered by the union, including classroom sessions, self-study and tutoring by their highly-skilled union brethren. Workers who are between jobs can sign up for classes to brush up on their skills. The new union would also be able to arrange for development of new skills for individuals who initially chose a line of work that they maybe weren’t very suited for. Also, if jobs are taken over by offshore competition or become obsolete due to technology, the unions could take the lead on training their members with new skills to compete successfully for other jobs. Companies will demand, and pay a premium for, highly trained union workers. Along with this, the Minimum Wage Law needs to be repealed. Companies should be able to offer wages based on supply and demand of the workforce and not be forced to pay a minimum wage determined by Congress. If a company has a job worth $5 an hour and there are workers who want it, more power to them.

The next change for the new union is to provide member benefit packages that they currently negotiate for with the companies. Unions with significant membership volumes should be able to negotiate very reasonable prices for health, dental, auto, life, disability and any other types of insurance that the members might need. The largest unions may even want to underwrite the insurance themselves. On top of that, they could negotiate fees with money managers to set up retirement savings accounts for all members. This eventually will remove the need for companies to provide these benefits to their employees and they can redirect that money towards wages, bonuses and retirement contributions.

Union members may also decide to use their membership fees to offer other types of member benefits such as:

- Education loans or scholarships

- Affiliated credit cards

- Memorial fund for families of deceased members

- Eliminated or reduced membership fees during times of unemployment

- Various types of insurance programs

- Discounted gym memberships

- Day care

- Subsidized transit passes

With this makeover, unions become attractive for all types of workers, including white-collar management and those in professional positions. The objective is for potentially all workers to be members of unions that represent various groups of jobs and professions. Doctors, astronauts, managers, accountants, scientists, journalists, bankers, lawyers, police officers, etc. would all want to unionize with this new model.

It really does become a win-win situation. Workers get training to make them successful, along with benefit packages that are portable between jobs and throughout retirement. Companies are freed up of having to pay for employee benefits and can use the money to attract the best employees (and no more strikes!).