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Lawmakers in both political parties have often acceded to unions' requests to avoid political confrontations or to curry favor. They have pushed difficult choices into the future.

Unions should not be lapdogs to a political party, they should be watchdogs for their members' interests.

Well, I'm not trying to get rid of the unions, but I am saying that they appear to be an antiquated concept in today's economy.

In the long term, Germany didn't need a finance minister who was absent during important negotiations in the European Council. But the chancellor strongly encouraged me to stay. And everything did work out for the best in the end.

Every individual should have both the right to join a union and the right to not join a union should they so choose. It's about basic human freedom.

Unions go hand-in-hand with a strong middle class.

If you don't have collective agreements between unions and employers, governments have to legislate more.

I think it is just stupid economics for a government to approach economic management from a strand of thinking regarding unions as enemies.

My politics are wildly different from hers, but someone who has been good for women in politics, stamped her authority on European and world affairs, is Angela Merkel.

Now workers should have the right to join unions. But unions should not be forced upon workers. And unions should not have the power to take money our of their members' paychecks to buy the support of politicians that are favored by the union bosses.