Guest Entry--A great reason to have unions, written by friend Tom

How did the non-union worker come to blame unions for negotiated benefits?


I’ve heard a lot of talk about how many people either don’t have a company pension plan or have to contribute to it. Ok fair enough, however, does that make it right?
Businesses of almost ALL sizes negotiate terms and conditions of the services they provide and they use the strength of their ‘numbers’ to justify forcing suppliers to cut the cost of or to raise the quality of the product. Take for example Wal-Mart….they negotiate with suppliers and demand concessions from then in order for the suppliers' product to get displayed and/or sold in a Wal-Mart.

Unions have acted as a counterbalance to the abuse of workers and the occasional greediness of employers for many years. They do this, in a simplistic viewpoint, by using their ‘numbers’ (how many members etc… ) They negotiate with employers over Terms and Conditions of employment. Unions also struggle to protect their members from unilateral changes in these terms and conditions by the Employer.

Somehow, without going into a lengthy discussion about the decline of Unionism in this country, non-union workers now ‘blame’ unions for getting negotiated benefits. AND they complain about benefits given to ‘Public” employees that were and are designed to compensate these employees for their Public Employee Salaries. These salaries are historically lower than the ‘Market Value’ of the Private Sector employment.

When a decent Union Job becomes an issue and the non-union workers compare what they failed to negotiate with their employer to those that have negotiated better Terms and Conditions…they say ….Union workers are overpaid and why should they have a low contribution or Free Pension Plan? Why should they get discounted or free Health Benefits? etc.. Instead, they could or should be saying THAT’S what I WANT.

Many horrific events have occurred‘behind the scenes’ to the workers of this country and only sometimes do they get attention through the media and other sources. (See Matewan about a disastrous coal miners strike.)

However, if we look closely at history we can find too many events that the people/workers under a government or employer have been abused and stripped of even modest ‘negotiated’ terms and conditions. Some examples:

Sweatshop workers locked in their place of employment when a fire broke out killing many. The Condition of employment regarding fire safety was not negotiated in a good way and caused this disaster. Did the benevolent Employer just give the workers safety…no they are the ones who locked all of the exits.

Approximately 17 workers DIE A DAY in THIS country EVERY Year because of unsafe working conditions or hazardous work. When the average employee goes to work most don’t think about the ‘safety’ of their work/office/jobsite…and most times there are Safety Codes in place so they don’t have to.

Do they realize or care that workers before them or from a different place and time fought hard for them and in a lot of instances DIED for those codes to be established? Rarely are improvements done ‘voluntarily’ by an employer, it usually stems from the efforts of Workers' rights organizations including Unions.

Steel workers in the early 1970’s, when that icon of American Business, US Steel went belly up, and I believe later reorganized, lost their ENTIRE Pensions with NO Insurance and absolutely no laws to protect their Retirement Plans. It took over 25 years for some of then to get anything if anything at all from their ‘plan’. This injustice was part of the reason that action was finally taken to enact laws protecting Retirement Plans and to insure Employers Compliance with safe-guarding ‘negotiated’ retirement plans. (See also Pan-AM Airlines and how they gutted their employees' retirement plans.)

Recently it was discovered, and I don’t believe any action has occurred to correct the problem, that Employers covered by these protections/Insurance have through the years opted out of their promises of providing Retirement benefits to their employees and have let the government insurance program pay their bills. This insurance, mind you, does NOT pay full benefits to those workers covered, but mere pennies on the dollar. This ’Fund’ is now depleted and will soon be working on a deficit with current government administrators refusing to ‘re-fund’ the program.

The gradual effect of this has been more and more workers relying upon the ‘safety net’ of retirement called Social Security, which coincidentally has been made to sound so important and is being destroyed by the very same powers complaining about pension benefits for employees. If every worker negotiated a Pension Plan from their employer the pressure on the system designed only to help those who have been less fortunate in their working lives would be greatly diminished.
The recent ridiculous rip-offs of workers by Corporations have seen some ‘light’ in the media, but where are the follow-up stories? What happened to the Enron workers? What happened to the retirement funds of TYCO employees or the effects of these corporations' actions on individuals IRS or Stock investments (so that an individual may strive for a better retirement)?

How quickly we forget about these events and sadly how jealous we are when others negotiate for themselves and their brethren better Terms and Conditions of Employment.

Major Airlines, after getting many financial aid packages from OUR Tax money, have demanded givebacks from their workers, or they have slashed benefits or they have gone bankrupt and negotiated deals under the law to take earned benefits away from their workers. Is this right? Isn’t this a Breach of Contract?

Hopefully, we will never feel the sting of a ‘layoff’ (and hoping there is something called unemployment insurance) or the indignity of working our entire lives earning and most times contributing to a secure retirement only to have it ‘stripped’ away by corrupt or mismanaged companies. Will there be a Retirement Security Act in place if THAT happens?

I, for one, strive everyday to insure that not only my job provides security for myself, but for those of my coworkers. I put in a great deal of effort to help my company survive and increase revenues in the hope of having some benefits when I can no longer work. I work with the hope that these ’guarantees’ are there in 10, 20, 30 years. However, I alone cannot guarantee that. I know that alone it would be much more difficult to get these benefits. Is it possible for some, absolutely. Is it a reality for most, No. I strongly believe that too many others worry only about themselves and how fast they can make a buck. This includes Employers.

With a great debt owed to the Military personnel of this country, I must comment that without the efforts of Workers Rights groups, Unions, the Labor Movement and Veterans Associations, workers that were/are called to serve this country are guaranteed a position of equivalent employment with their current employer upon return. This was not ALWAYS the case. And yet a lot of rhetoric is thrown around about regarding the ‘Duty to Serve’ and the ‘Honor we bestow’ upon our Service Men and Women. Yet prior to a law being enacted many employers did not care about their workers once they left to serve and even less when they returned.

Is this Term and Condition of employment also not worth fighting for?

Unions do play an important role in the lives of EVERY worker because as a whole they have formed the Labor Movement in this Country, without such a movement many of the work situations and job protections most people don’t have to think about on an average day, would not exist.

Is there or has there been, at times, corruption and abuses of power within Unions etc. Yes. However, in comparison to the abuse of workers by governments and employers, who are also guilty of corruption and abuse of power at times, I believe that in ALL instances it should be corrected and ‘new’ protections set in place. Unfortunately, the events that occur putting workers or their organizations in a ‘bad light’ gets more attention and drama than those that occur in Corporations and or government. Take a moment and go back in history to a time when Unions were against the law, do you think that you would be making a living doing what you are doing at your current compensation if those men and women did not stand up against an Invalid Law?

Everyone should be allowed to get a free ride into the City of their choice, not have to pay for any services along the way and be content to work for any employer without Health Insurance. Without a Pension Plan. Without Safety Codes. Without minimum standards. Everyone should be ‘At Will’ employees content to take and live on whatever the employers/ government is willing to give them without any guarantees or say in their employment.

If an individual chooses to NOT negotiate for themselves or to seek to improve their lot in life that is their choice. However, they should not diminish the efforts of others who are not afraid to try to better their conditions especially when those efforts usually result in making their own working life’s better and more secure.

To those who work in the City, I don’t mean to offend, however, isn’t one of the reasons you travel to work there because you make more money in the City? If the associated costs are too high, are you currently negotiating with your employer for better compensation for that or are you content that the difference in pay covers the cost? Maybe it does not cover it as well as it used to. That is unfortunate. However, that in my opinion is based more on the greater negotiating power of your employer as opposed to the struggle of other workers trying to improve their lives.

Too many workers take their Terms and Conditions of employment too lightly. This has and can have a devastating effect on other workers, and that is not right. I ask that everyone look closely at the Rich and Powerful, both individuals and Corporations in this country and tell me that THEY have not or DO NOT NEGOTIATE their TERMS AND CONDITIONS of Employment, even at MOST times to the detriment of others. If it is okay for some to do it, and we are trained to admire their ‘Success’, then why is it unfair and unreasonable for others to do the same?

OK off the ‘soapbox’ for me.
Tom

PS From Fred--Any company with a large work force that has good benefits, is only doing it to avoid their workers rising up and starting a union. Pre-emptive negotiations. If you work for such a place, you shoulkd be very thankful that unions exist.