Union Sales Pitch: You can be pro-company and pro-union at the same time. Yeah, right! And if you feed hyenas enough chicken they’ll become vegetarians. Following are excepts from a letter written by someone who knows as much about unions as anyone in the world! + + + + + “I strongly believe that it is not in the best interest of the [employer] or it’s [employees] to establish an organization to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment…. I do want to advise each of you … that I am opposed to the organizing effort … because I believe it is not in the best interests of either the [employer] or it’s [employees]. ...although there has been some mention … of obtaining a grievance procedure for [employees], that issue – like other terms and conditions of employment – would be determined through the give-and-take of the bargaining process. Thus, while [we] would certainly bargain with a union … over a grievance procedure, there is no requirement that [we] agree to such a procedure. I believe that most [employees] feel as I do that their present working relationship with the [employer] serves everyone’s interest. The selection of a bargaining representative is likely to change the nature of the employer/employee relationship, by making it more formal and structured, and diminishing the present system of direct resolution of issues between [employees] and their Vice Presidents, Department Directors, etc…” + + + + + Who do you suppose wrote this? Was it a company Human Resources executive? No. Was it a lawyer representing management? No. Was it a so-called “union buster”? No. This letter was written by none other than J.J. Barry, International President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers a the time. The IBEW is one of the largest unions in the world. He wrote it in an effort to keep its international representatives from joining a union. As union president, Barry’s remarks had to be constrained but they still make it clear what even union bosses think of dealing with unions: · Unions are not in the best interests of either employees or management. · Contrary to union promises that they will get employees a grievance procedure. Barry properly acknowledges that bargaining is a two way street and there’s no assurances that a union would even be able to get a grievance procedure in bargaining. · Union make working relationships substantially worse. Barry seemed to soft-pedal this somewhat by saying merely that the relationship is likely to become more “formal and structured” and that employees can no longer interact as freely with management. That, however was more then sufficient to make his point with international representatives who are fully aware that management-employee relationships become infested with distrust and bureaucracy with a union. Unions claim that union-management relations can be harmonious and constructive, that employees can be pro-union and pro-company at the same time, and that unions contribute to a company’s effectiveness and success. This is hogwash and no one knows it better than union officials. If it weren’t, they of all people, would welcome their employees’ efforts to unionize. Most don’t. They fight unionization of their employees vigorously because they know better than anyone else how obstructionist, demoralizing and counter-productive having a union can be. When J.J. Barry wrote his letter, he must have know he was taking a serious risk because it would be harmful if it got into the hands of companies his union was trying to organize (it obviously did). Nonetheless, he undoubtedly took the risk because the alternative – having to contend with the bickering, bellyaching, bureaucracy, and obstructionist tactics a union would bring – were even worse. Finally, union-management relations are adversarial and, by definition, adversaries are “enemies” or “opponents.” Unions criticize, ridicule and belittle virtually everyone in management and everything that goes on in a company. That’s hardly conducive to being pro-union and pro-company.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 10:10:38 +0000
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