As an industry, they don't need monopoly power. Their main competitor, labor unions, has less market share due to regulations that only apply to labor unions.

In addition, the staffing industry lives off the idea of regulatory evasion, which has a favorable side effect of increased disposability. Both of these negate the need to pursue specific monopoly power.

If there's freedom in RTW, it can be found by applying it to all forms of third-party/indirect representation.

That kind of action is how labor unions ended up gaining power in the early 20th Century. If similar happens in the 21st, expect a similar swing.

It is also why Northern companies figured out that being reasonable to their own would get rid of 90% of such threats. By "winning the hearts and minds" of the population, it inoculates the company from many threats, without the financial or PR expenses of litigative hit-teams. Unfortunately, the lesson has been lost on the South.

The day that Google or Apple tries that stuff is when their competitors start winning significant market share from both.

In prior times, there was always a go-to industry that replaced the old. In current times, no such area exists long enough to be viable.

There's more manufacturing, but the quality has declined.

If they're "high-prestige" why aren't you willing to move? It's not like you own that apartment you're renting. Move out when your lease comes up and make sure you tell management why you're doing it. Good tenants are hard to find, if you complain infrequently and pay your rent on time (less common than you'd think) they'll be sorry to see you go and will listen to your reasons for doing so.

Doesn't solve your problem in the short term but it's more effective for long term change than griping about the problem on Slashdot.

Because corporations bad, mmm'kay?

That's really the crux of it. Any argument against this ruling is immediately shouted down. I posited this question on another forum and received the equivalent of -1, Troll: Why is everybody cheering a ruling that attacks hypothetical problems (the oft discussed "fast lane" has yet to actually happen) while ignoring the actual problems that are impeding innovation? The "killer app" that started this whole argument is streaming video, so ask yourself which of these two things are a greater threat to that: The data caps that are currently being imposed or the fast lane that only exists on paper?

Agreed. Companies of Northern/Midwestern states figured that treating their employees with respect was the best and cheapest way to limit (and prevent) unionization.

Unfortunately, most of those states, save Ohio in the Midwest, have been overtaken by political interests that ramrodded the Southern way of business. To undo that will be like Hercules cleaning the Augean stables.

That's not so much Wal-Mart but a prevalent Southern mindset for any company wishing to do business in the South (or in sufficiently Southernized states like Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin). Volkswagen's intent to form works councils was met with political interests that intimidated enough people to vote against it - out of fear. Similar unionization efforts with other employers have received the same "kill it with fire, no matter how much it costs!" philosophy.

The Southern idea is that every resource on Earth and above must be expended to kill off unionization, then follow it up with an employers' union - like a staffing agency or temporary labor service.

Last Halloween I got suckered into running a 13k in costume; since the only costume I own is a TNG uniform and one of my friends wore a TOS redshirt it wasn't much of a leap to get smashed afterwards on Romulan Ale. Alas, I found out the hard way that my Playmates Type II Phaser doesn't work on the bouncer at our local pub. He's a big guy, so maybe I just needed to bump it up to maximum stun....

On the other hand, RTW overlooks the employers' union (which can be a staffing agency, temporary labor service, or similar).

If it's a labor union, then yes.
If it's an employers' union (such as a staffing agency, temporary labor service, or the like), then it can be a condition of employment.

The VW effort was met with intimidation by various Southern political interests, along with the Tennessee state legislature.

On the contrary, Google should give the Teamsters a wide berth since "interesting things" tend to happen to entities that oppose them (which are legitimized by a Supreme Court decision). Such engineers would find themselves on the wrong end of things when their buses have otherwise unexplained low reliability.

I've seen a lot of recipes over the years; the one that comes the closest to the effects of the "real" thing is equal parts Everclear, Bacardi 151, and Blue Curacao. It kind of tastes like gasoline but that's part of the appeal, along with pretending it was smuggled across the neutral zone after you've consumed too much of it.... ;)