On Unions

I've heard some scuttlebutt in the news lately about unions, namely, old arguments revoiced in the "unions are now evil but once were good" vein. For those unfamiliar with this line, it is basically this: We needed unions when they first came into being; they were the only check that was able to stop industrial concerns from exploiting workers through low wages, too many hours, safety issues, and child labor, to name the majors. Now that those problems have been remedied, however, unions are not necessary, overdeveloped, overreaching, and crippling to industry.

But then I see something like this: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-spill/. In this clip from a documentary soon to air on Frontline, Oil Workers in Prudhoe talk openly about the problems with the aging infrastructure in the oil facilities there. What strikes me is this: the narrator says that local management can't say anything about this problem even if they would, but the local workers can because they are protected by their union. Wow. And talk they do - in this little clip they speak candidly and clearly about the problems facing the project site, and their company's attitudes towards equipment repair and maintenance. 

Without this kind of information, we as a society can't do anything about this sort of problem - you can't fix it of you don't know it's broken. Without the union, we wouldn't know. So I guess there is at least one really good reason for unions - They can be our conscience. 

There are still many good things brought to society by unions. However, it's also true that unions often prevent things from being done in a much more efficient manner. Industrial unions may have to face the fact that some of their regulations, particularly regarding pay, are complicit in creating an environment where manufacturers find it cheaper to do that most Un-American thing: outsource.  

So where do we draw the line? Are we heading towards regulation that limits the abilities of unions in general? Who should be the watchdog? Why do we need so many?