Unions are good for workers

In response to Gary Reighard's letter about not being able to buy briefs made in the USA and blaming it on unions – that's just what big business wants him to believe. The workers in Asia are being paid a lot less than what the minimum wages are in the USA and Canada. Unions have been proven to better the working conditions of workers, improve workplace safety, increase wages of union members and also non-union workers. Does Gary believe that big business is not united? Their association or by whatever name is about the same as a union of companies. Multinational corporations' greed for profit is all that matters to them. Example: the only Walmart that ever closed its doors that I know of was in Quebec, Canada, when workers unionized. Wal-Mart's excuse – lack of customers! Ever seen a Wal-Mart that wasn't busy?

I am a proud trade union member (retired) who receives a good pension monthly from my local for life. If I die before my wife, she will get 60 percent of my pension until she dies. If we don't stand together, surely we will fall alone. If you believe in “Right To Work,” you must also believe in the “Right To Pay Lower Wages”

My union, the United Association Of Plumbers & Pipefitters Union, based in Washington, D.C., is doing their part by getting as many veterans as possible into the trades, where they can get a job and earn a living wage.

Bob Irwin

Yuma