Do Unions Contribute to Economic Growth?

The traditional business-economic response is that labor unions benefit their members but they contribute to cost increases in companies that hurt corporate profits, which reduces available capital for investment. You may want to read this article, which suggests that under some circumstances labor unions contribute to economic growth.

The argument put forward is that since consumer spending is two-thirds of our economy, it helps if workers have more money to spend. That, of course, does not answer the question of how companies can remain competitive if they pay workers more. So, where are we? I would argue that you can afford to pay more for something, including labor, that adds to productivity. Skilled workers in manufacturing do that. Knowledge workers in manufacturing and services do that. Read the article and see what you think.