It was a very naïve question I asked my great uncle, who was a labor union leader.
“What is the difference between my manufacturing business and your labor union?”
My uncle replied, “We both run businesses. In our business, we squeeze our employers for more money, but not too much to put them out of business. You need workers. Our union members need the work and we need the check offs. If we didn’t get our members more money, I wouldn’t have a job myself.”
I still remember those words, spoken almost 40 years ago. My uncle is long gone, but his basic theory was that management and labor, though adversaries, need each other. We live in a changing world where we know that both sides need to work together in order to flourish.
Many years ago, I was involved in considering buying a shuttered steel mill facility in West Virginia. The investment was substantial, so I spoke to the governor about state funding on the project. We met with union representatives for details on pension money to be invested by them, in return for jobs. When we met with the local union’s president, his statements to me were most profound.
“Each of our members are willing to do five or six different jobs instead of only one, which they did when the steel mill was running before,” said the local union president. “Our men want to work. Some of the older union members are willing to stay to train the younger people and then take early retirement. Our younger members are willing to start and able to do the job.”
Though I did not end up going with the investment for other reasons, it signaled a real effort at cooperative relations. This type of venture will be increasingly necessary in all industries.
Many managers have learned that satisfied employees produce more and better products and services. Labor unions are troubled by declining membership. Labor and management need to be imbued with a spirit of cooperation and communication for survival.
The old attitude on both sides “Nos amis, nos ennemis,” which means “our friends, our enemies,” should change to “our friends, our partners.” Employers need to commit to keeping as many workers as possible on the job, ensure that their workers are paid fair wages, and that long-term good workers are kept and retrained if automation eliminates their old tasks. Workers need to accept and learn how to use new equipment and methods. Our economy should be healthy and as free of conflict as possible, with good labor/management relationships.
Unions started because workers’ wages were low, morale and working conditions were poor, and benefits were practically non-existent. By galvanizing together in large numbers, union members got higher wages, fairer work rules, fewer working hours and better fringe benefits. Labor unions served their purpose and did it well for the rank and file.
But things have changed. Although union membership is mainly in government service today, it has dropped to only about 12 percent in the American workforce. Today, many employees did not want union representation or they do not want to pay union dues. Whether justified or not, union membership has declined in all industries nationwide, with the exception of government jobs.
Unionization has grown in the public sector, partly because labor unions and their personnel are active in politics. Their political action committees, which donate funds to political causes, help to increase their influence in our cities, states and federal government. Politicians understand that the funds PACs use can pay for radio and TV commercials and mailings that support their points of view.
At the same time, anti-union political leaders also see PACs formed in support of their interests. Other leaders oppose unions because they want to lure anti-union businesses to their states or communities.
Unions may not be as necessary for protecting worker rights as they once were, because there are now many government regulations that protect employees, such as laws dealing with discrimination and sexual harassment.
Workers who are in unions need to focus more on helping their companies stay competitive and alive, than on union politics. Companies, both unionized and not unionized, need to focus on being fair to their employees, by treating them with respect, and paying them fair and decent wages.
Both sides have often done wrong. If we want to see our jobs grow and our nation prosper, both sides are going to have to be more responsible.
— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.
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