The New York Times [no link], for all its problems, can still do good reporting, one example being its coverage of unions using environmental regulations in California to try to pressure developers into signing "agreements pledging to use union labor."


"If they refuse," reports Todd Woody, "they say they can count on union groups to demand costly environmental

The difference in unions using greenmail and blackmail, says Sherk, is that in greenmail "unions use government bureaucrats instead of armed thugs to intimidate businesses." And "it happens repeatedly."

Companies that are victims of greenmail should stand up to union shakedowns. While refusing to unionize won't allow companies to avoid the snarl of environmental rules, it will improve their chances to operate their businesses at lower costs and provide investors with better returns.

A greedy seller -- one who priced his tickets too high -- was less likely than other sellers were to sell them two weeks before the game. Hence he had to resort to much deeper discounts than others did as game day, and the potential worthlessness of his assets, drew near. The larger the number of seats available in the secondary market, and the more transparent that market is, thanks to the Internet, the more likely it is that greed will be punished.

To give the greedy their due, they perform a service: By overpricing, they preserve an eve-of-game supply of tickets for persons willing to pay a premium for last-minute impulse purchases.

GM factory workers who get laid off typically get "sub pay," in which they receive unemployment benefits, and GM pays the difference, up to most of their salary, for 48 weeks.

After unemployment pay runs out, the laid-off workers would go into the jobs bank, where the company pays laid-off workers most of their pay and benefits while trying to find them jobs elsewhere.