Unions

Recently I tweeted an article about the legal action taken by the government's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Boeing for wanting to build a plant in union-free South Carolina rather than use union workers in Washington state. I also tweeted an article about a Teamsters rally in California over BMW's decision to go non-union at the end of their local contract. More than 60 union jobs will be lost.

I have mixed emotions about unions and I want to give two sets of comments, first to the unions and second to the management of companies.

To Unions

I think that if you wish to be an operator in the economic arena, like companies, governments and non-profit organizations, then you should be able to stand on your own and fight your own battles. Meaning that you are an operator in the labor market and if you cannot convince your potential customers that your product is valuable enough for them then you should suffer the consequences, just like any other economic operator (yes, your members are your customers and non-members are your potential customers). If you cannot unionize workers in South Carolina, that is your problem. Not Boeing's and not the government's problem. You forget that in the end the owners of the company have the ultimate power: they can close the company or move the operation overseas, out of your reach and out of the reach of the government. How does that help anyone? It's time to wake up to the global marketplace and decide how (and if) you fit into that marketplace in a valuable way. Otherwise, our whole country will suffer for it; like it already has suffered so much. Ask the workers at BMW. Their contract ended and BMW made a business decision to release the workers. And they're shocked about it?! Not only are their members their customers, the business with which the unions work are key stakeholders in their organizations. If they cannot convince their customers or stakeholders that they bring value then what other decision is there to make? Unless of course you can convince the government to help you....

To Management

Now it's your turn. Do you know why we have unions in the first place? Because a long time ago (but even up to the present day) the management of companies treated their workers as less-than-human and degraded them. Degraded them through ruthless policies, through dangerous work environments, through unfair labor practices. Management brought the unions upon themselves, they have no one to blame for their creation and their continued existence. If you want to read a searing example of this in the automotive industry, read A Savage Factory the first-hand story of a foreman in a Ford transmission plant in the 70s and 80s. Believe it or not, the kinds of issues detailed in that book happen today. Yes, even today. I've seen it with my own eyes. As I mentioned above to our colleagues in the unions, businesses have ultimate power in labor market as they can close or move their operation out of the country. However, that also means that businesses have the ultimate responsibility toward their employees.

Closing

Ten years ago I visited the Toyota assembly plant in Canada. I was there for a week, sorting parts as a Quality Engineer. During that time I talked with several of the line workers, the non-union line workers. I asked them why they didn't want to have the union in their plant. They told me that Toyota treated them fairly, paid them a good wage and gave them all of the benefits that they would have with the union. Why would they want to have the union? This is a lesson both to the union and to management. If the unions want to be more successful they need to show their potential customers and the businesses the additional value that they bring to the market. If the businesses want to keep the unions out then they need to convince the same people (potential union members) that the business can provide good or better circumstances for them. Either way, this is a win for the working man and woman in the U.S. and hopefully can keep more of our jobs here.