state of the union

I was surprised to hear President Obama make the comment the other day that "unions were not part of the problem but were part of the solution".

Somehow I couldn't reconcile this in my brain. I couldn't think of any obvious examples of unions being the solution in the last 10 years but could think of several problems.

Part of the problem at GM, Ford, and Chrysler are the expensive union benefits that make these manufactorers already $1500 in the hole on each vehicle in comparison to their foreign competitors. Part of the problem with the public school system is the resistance of the teacher unions to new ideas and changes. Part of the rigidity in businesses with unions are union rules that one person who does one kind of job can't pitch in to help someone else doing a different kind of job. The unions seem to be made for another time long ago when America's Industrial Age produced mass products. As the future moves toward highly customized products in niche markets, its difficult to see how unions will survive.