Tag Unions

The Fruits of Our Labor

Michael 2 Comments

Hello! I would say “Happy Labor Day” but to those who know the origins of the day that would be just as offensive as wishing those who understand the meaning of that spring holiday a “Happy Memorial Day.”

I wonder if even the organizers of big labor know why we have today. Last month a new group voted to be represented by a labor union in their quest for more equitable treatment in the workplace. Those were the local librarians. They are now represented by, and pay their dues to, the same union protecting the interests of that other maligned worker, the part time graduate assistant. No, I’m not making this up.

According to the U. S. Department of Labor, “Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” Noble sounding. Actually Labor Day is a commemoration of when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York on September 5, 1882. They weren’t looking for lower deductibles for their health insurance or a guarantee 5% raise every year without a corresponding 5% increase in productivity. They were protesting 12 hour workdays over 7 day work weeks with preteen co-workers. They were protesting violence in the workplace ending in deaths of employees and employers over working conditions that would have resulted in their deaths anyway. They were protesting not having a life while at the same time not making a living. They were truly under appreciated, maligned, and frankly endangered.

Please take a moment today to pray for those killed in the 1800s so 59% of the American workforce can have today off with pay. Just don’t try to return a book to the library.

(In case you’re wondering, the union representing graduate assistants and librarians – the United Steel Workers. I guess even union officers have to find creative ways to continue living the life to which they’ve become accustomed.)

 

Strike Three

Michael Leave a comment

Twinkie, Twinkie, little cake
No longer now will you bake.
The salaries were much too high.
The union said pay up or die.
Twinkie, Twinkie, little cake
How much did they think they’d make.

Unfortunately there are over 18,000 workers with nowhere to go on the next regularly scheduled business day and who knows how many investors (you remember investors, they are the ones who actually put up the money) have no next regularly scheduled business.

Nobody wins win you have to strike for money.  You can strike to prevent workers from entering dangerous conditions.  Back when mine workers had to send in birds then wait to see if they died from methane gas exposure there were dangerous conditions one should strike against.  Back when seamstresses were locked in textile mills and not permitted to leave until an arbitrary but always high number of garments were finished regardless of a workers physical condition there were dangerous conditions.  When delivery personnel had to handle unbroken horses pulling unarmored wagons across often violent territory, there were dangerous conditions.

Because a worker wants more money is not a reason to strike.  Everybody wants more money.  Even the President of the United States wants more money but he doesn’t go on strike, he gets another job.  For him it was part time author while he wasn’t busy dong presidential things.  If the bakers at Hostess wanted more money, they could have worked harder.  Instead, they were sold a bill of goods by a union (whose officers and employees still have jobs to go to) that if they paid their union dues the union would get them more money.  We don’t recall ever seeing a news article that a union has offered to reduce their dues for workers who have been asked to work for less than what the union demands.  

As a matter of economics, and recognizing that owners are just as greedy as workers, those who lose the most during union negotiations are, well, everybody.  Take this example.  Let’s say that it takes $100 to build a chair. The chair company has 10 workers and each builds 10 chairs a year.  The workers each get $50 a chair and the company spends $5,000 on salaries.  They also pay $3,000 on health insurance.  Electricity costs $1,000 and the wood, glue, and nails cost $1,000.  That’s $10,000 for that company to build those chairs this year.  The owner who puts up all the money sells each chair for $125.   And he makes $2,500 a year if he sells all 100 chairs.  In year 2, the chair makers go to the owner and ask for 10% more this year raising their salary from $50 per chair to $55 or $550 per worker or $5,500 in total salaries.  The owner asks how many more chairs the workers will make.  No more chairs, just the same 10.  So at the end of the year 2, if the owner sells all 100 chairs he will lose $500 from his previous salary.  Instead of risking that, he’s going to raise his chair prices to $130 to make up the $500 difference.  Across the street at the table factory the workers are demanding more money this year.  Why?  Because the cost of living is going up.  Have you seen how much chairs cost nowadays?

It’s a very simple example but it’s the core problem with unions.  Every time someone gets more, somebody else needs more just to keep up.  All for money.

Someday somebody will buy the trademark and rights to the Twinkie name and the world will be happy again.  Except for those workers who will now want more money because the price of milk just went up.

Now, that’s what we think. Really. How ‘bout you?

(For more of our thoughts on unions, See Union Made, June 18, 2012 in Humor.  Yep, in Humor.)

 

 

Union Made

Michael 1 Comment

The news is such a great source of comedic anecdotes.  Here’s one we couldn’t resist.  The adjunct faculty of a local college has asked for a mail ballot to determine if they should be represented by a union.  An adjunct faculty member is one who is not on a tenure track and is usually part time.  He or she often applies to a college to instruct in a specific class based on his or her life experience rather than based on his or her academic research that tests the tenets of the material.  These are the teachers that have other “real jobs” on the outside.

This particular college is a Catholic institution and petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for an exemption to the regulation that allows faculty to organize.  The union says the faculty needs them “to improve job security, pay levels and working conditions” and that the college’s attempt to block them from organizing is “legally and ethically offensive.” 

Oh yes, we can see the arguments from both sides.  Certainly someone has to look out for the faculty.  Teaching one, or possibly two classes a week, in air conditioned discomfort, having to share offices with other part time faculty members while still getting free sporting event tickets, free parking, free lunch.  Yes, those are terrible working conditions.  And of course the college has to look out for itself.  Its average tuition brings them a mere $10,000 a year for each student.  Not much revenue at all. 

Indeed, both sides need specialized representation.  We’re certain that the college has an attorney well versed in arguing exemptions for private institutions.  You’d not want to go before a federal agency with an attorney who specializes in copyright infringement to argue labor issues.  And the teachers will have their experts when the union presents its argument that the professors of higher education deserve to have their interests looked after by . . . the United Steelworkers of America?

Yes, the USW wants “to improve job security, pay levels and working conditions” for these college teachers.  After all, they have a lot of experience making certain that no teacher is forced to work more than 40 hours a week wielding a cutting torch while smoothing the cut end of seamless steel pipe or that any teacher is coerced into accepting a lower paid laborer position in the sheet mill when there are open inspector positions in the wire mill. 

Come on guys, the real story here is that the steelworkers union is losing membership.  All those steelworkers who lost their jobs in the 80’s but have still been paying their dues because the union was working hard to get them their jobs back have either retired from their mall security guard jobs or have moved on to the great blast furnace in the sky.  The union’s revenue stream is drying up and their office employees are at risk of having to find gainful employment while actually doing something for their 40 hours every week.

Maybe if the USW wants to find new members they should look at the workers who are employed by labor union offices.  They should be able to find unfair labor practices there.  Nepotism, favoritism, and a few other -isms are probably common place in a business that’s basically all executive, and no laborers.  But they better be careful.  If they win the election to represent themselves the only benefit they might end up providing is the right to pay dues.

Now, that’s what we think.  Really.  How ‘bout you?