[mreid]

Needspace, far from being as empirically based as your research, your point about employee engagement is in my experience spot on. Another point that I will add is that the bulk of the middle class jobs that went overseas were union jobs and while unions like to point at management, in most cases it was the union's horrible behavior that motivated the exodus.

Also, the war for talent is inversely proportional to the BLS unemployment rate. Over the next three years it is projected to dip down near 6%. Couple this with baby boomers retiring and the lack of motivation/capability of many Americans and not only do I worry about finding the right talent, I am particularly concerned about how our competitors will behave in trying to steal talent from others. Unions have so missed the boat here and are about as useful as a buggy whip today. Unfortunately, while my company is primarily US based, we are finding the need to import workers from other countries in order to procure both the skills and motivated workers needed. Unions stand in stark contrast to this, attempting to force companies to retain poor workers and to bar companies from bringing workers in from outside the country. They are truly the biggest obstacle to productivity and success today.