Labor Pains: A Conflict of Interest

I've never been a fan of unions.

Which would seem to put me at odds with a lot of people:  actors, airline pilots, contractors, engineers, hotel employees,  government, restaurant workers, musicians, nurses, teachers, bus and taxi drivers, plumbers, electricians and the television industry -- to name a few.

Fortunately, I don't know too many successful actors, musicians or television stars.  But it can be a problem when I sit down for parent/teacher conferences or have a meal with my brother, who is the transit manager for the city of La Crosse.

My first job out of college was with the Department of Natural Resources, which put me into the ranks of Wisconsin's public employee union.  Fortunately, it was a temporary job and six months later I was breathing in the freedom of a private industry job.  Six months isn't enough time to get familiar with a job, much less any of the complexities of being a part of the State of Wisconsin employee collective.

But I do remember feeling like it didn't really matter what I did at my job -- how well, how quickly, or how much -- I had the protection of being one of many working effortlessly for the DNR.


Today,  unions (public and private) are making news.  Big news.  And not the kind they want.  Despite their stranglehold in education, government and manufacturing, unions make up less than 11% of today's workforce, and are quickly becoming less relevant than at anytime in the last 60 years.  After peaking in 1970, the private sector union membership has fallen steadily, led by dramatic losses in the automotive and manufacturing industry.  Some of it is just a numbers game, with more and more manufacturing going overseas -- where unions have less influence.  But there's more to it than just a shift of jobs out of this country.

That's because unions are now losing approval in states that can no longer tolerate intrusive union rules, the threat of costly work stoppages, lawsuits and worker benefits that are far above average.  Unions are focused on their own self-preservation and wealth, not their workers and -- in more and more cases -- not taxpayers with nothing left to give. This conflict of interest -- putting union interests before state budgets or corporate profits-- has always been there, but the recent U.S. economic downturn has lifted the veil on recent state employee union contracts and forced-union agreements.

I site the followiing -

1)  States like Wisconsin (with a Republican governor and majorities in both state houses) can no longer pay for the exorbitant  health and pension benefits that have been a key component of public employee jobs.   The rising cost of providing excellent health care, while requiring little payment from employees, has put unsustainable pressure on budgets.  With no more money coming from Washington, states are having to cut benefits or default.  Wisconsin has chosen to remove collective bargaining from contract negotiations to balance their budget, but the fierce backlash from unions has put this strategy in doubt.

The battle has been bloody, as challenges to the State Supreme Court and recall elections of nine key senators move toward a mid-summer conclusion.  In my hometown of La Crosse, signs for a replacement candidate (Schilling) have sprung up early and often.  Republicans, hoping to force recall candidates to spend union money in primary contest, have encouraged fake Democrat candidates to run in opposition.  Ads, paid for by unions, are pushing bilge about helping working families and keeping worker rights, but the ads ignore the immediate need to balance the state budget.  To his credit, Governor Walker has stuck to his guns and is pushing his conservative agenda in Madison.

Can the government tell Boeing where it can operate?

Indiana, Ohio and other states are following Wisconsin's lead by challenging long-standing agreements with their own state employees.

2)  In the private sector, Boeing Company has been fighting a complaint from the National Labor relations Board (NLRB) claiming Boeing illegally punished its Machinists union by building an assembly line for its 787 Dreamliner jet in South Carolina, instead of Washington state.  The poison apple was that the new plant in South Carolina was non-union, thereby violating its forced-union agreement.

This particular case is a big deal in the battle between forced-union states and right-to-work states.  (To explain the difference, states that have a right to work law provide employees the right to decide for themselves whether or not to join a union or financially support a union.)  Are labor unions, with the help of our government (NLRB), going to be able to tell business (and its employees) where it can and cannot operate a plant within the U.S.?

Today there are 22 right-to-work states and 28 union-shop states.  Over the past 10 years, the right-to-work states (such as Texas, Georgia and Tennessee) have grown faster in nearly every economic respect than their union-shop counterparts (like New York, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania).  See the chart below.


So are unions an endangered species?  If they are, it's more like the polar bear, than the Alabama beach mouse because unions are fighting mad.  For example --

. "Card Check" remains a serious threat.  As part of the "Employee Free Choice Act" unions have been pushing for Congress to change the rules for how workers can organize.  If ever there was a chance for this law to pass, it was during the 111th Congress, with Democrats holding super majorities in the House and Senate.  But it did not pass.  And now that Republicans have reclaimed the House, AFL-CIO, SEIU and the Change to Win Coalition are pushing harder than ever to find the votes.

. Big labor unions, fearing loss of power, political influence and money, are spending millions on elections and encouraging aggressive protests throughout the country.   As Mr. Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin, put it recently to a crowd of protesters in Madison, WI:   "This is not just about union rights, it's about worker's rights, it's about the middle class.  This has galvanized the people who were sitting on the sidelines and not involved in politics.  They realize now that the attack is on me."  He continued, "We cannot stop this fight.  We have to have sustainability; we have to make our voices heard.  Our resolve has to be stronger, out pain has to run deeper, our passion has to last longer."

. The Boeing case is showing the extent unions will go to to prevent businesses from building union-free plants.    The National Labor Relations Board, a powerful force in Washington, is preparing for a lengthy and politically charged legal battle which will make life difficult for Boeing.  As is so often the case, lawyers can drag litigation on for years adding millions of dollars to the cost.  The judge on the case, Judge Anderson, stressed at a recent hearing that if the battle goes all the way to the Supreme Court, "I'll be retired or dead."

. Washington's remains in the pocket of big labor, as was shown with the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler to the tune of over $24 billion taxpayer dollars.

Without a doubt, unions are suffering labor pains.  The bad economy is laying bare their heavy-handed tactics and intimidations.  The real pain, however, remains with the American worker.  Despite their 60's style rhetoric, the disconnect between unions and most employees remains bigger than ever.

Let's hope that teachers and government workers -- without the protective illusion of collective bargaining -- will begin to see the benefits of individual effort.  Perhaps, greater take-home pay (no union dues) and being rewarded for hard work will be the silver bullet that ends union influence in states throughout the country.