Robert Murphy, Mises Institute, 1/10/2008
We can now return to the original issue: if union agitation leads to
wage increases, will that cause prices in general to increase?
The quick answer is, "No, not if the demand for money remains the
same." If unions succeed in wage hikes, and employers raise the prices
they charge consumers to maintain their own profit margins, and the supply of money remains the same,
then something else has to "give." Either the prices of goods and
services in nonunion sectors have to fall and offset the union sector
hikes, or people's cash balances need to fall, in terms of their
purchasing power.