Palladin, you are a smart guy, but I think your ideals cloud your thinking.

The industrial barons of the late 19th and early 20th century were not the benevolent father-figures you profess (with the possible exception of Ford, who was a true visionary... visit the Ford Museum in Detroit sometime, but I digress). In reality, the industrial tycoons used their workers like animals and paid them as little as possible. It was the work hours, lack of safety, and lack of pay in America's sweatshops that led to the union movement. Nearly all of the safety advances we see in factories today were brought about one way or another by unions. I will agree that some unions have become bloated monsters who are choking their industry (UAW comes to mind) but I would insist that most have stuck to their ideals. This is especially true in aviation. Airlines cannot cut safety, service, fuel, maintenance. They CAN cut crew wages and increase crew productivity through tighter work rules. The unions are very necessary in aviation because of this, and that's why it is one of the most highly unionized industries. Simply put, without them, the airline management would squeeze the workers to strangulation.

Since you brought up the Depression, I find it intersting that you bring up Germany. I never thought of that. I would conjecture that most historians agree the Depression was brought on by the stock market crash of 1929, which was caused by Wall Street overleveraging itself and driving up priced in the classic "bubble" scenario. This caused a mass extinction among American corporations, leading to factories closing, and job losses. Then the banks failed and everyone lost their savings. It was exacerbated by extreme drought for several years in the Midwest that caused farms to fail. I would say that the "New Deal" did more to improve the conditions than worsen them. Here in the South, they put thousands of men to work in the TVA, including my daddy. My parents were born during the depression, so yes, i'm old enough to know something about it. They lived it firsthand.

Getting back to the original debate, I will agree with you that there some runaway unions, and in this modern age, not every industry needs a union. I will, however, insist that the airline industry is one that needs unions.