Editor's Note
The State of Wisconsin is in the news a lot these days as Governor Walker is at the forefront of a battle that is, or will have to take place, in many other states in the coming years. He is taking aim at the realization that public-sector benefits and pension liabilities are on a path to bankrupt his state.
Wisconsin is in the industrial Midwest, and particularly, in the heart of the paper industry. During my years working for Scott Paper Co. (now, Kimberly-Clark), I worked in both non-union and union plants. Hands down, the non-union plant had the better work environment, not just for management, but for the non-exempt (a.k.a., blue-collar) employees.
I will cite two examples. One of the benefits at the non-union plant was that each person was guaranteed the right to 40 hours of work. This also meant that employees would be paid if they were out of work due to illness. At the time I was at the plant, the absenteeism was consistently below two percent, well below national averages.
At the union plant, vacation benefits increased with time at the company, maxing out at seven weeks. I was surprised to learn that the union rules for selecting vacation time allowed the most senior employees to select ALL their weeks first, working its way down the seniority “totem pole.” As the company had a reasonable restriction on how many employees could be out at any one time, this meant that the younger employees were always stuck with the worst vacation times. One person, in particular, said that he would basically never be able to take summertime vacations with his school-age children. Didn’t seem fair to me, but the union seemed to value seniority over fairness.
Unions had their place a long time ago and fought (literally) for fairness and basic worker rights. There is much good that came from unionism. The problem as I see it today, is structural in nature. Union members pay dues so that those representing them will get as much as possible come negotiating time, or even stick up for an employee who might obviously deserve to be terminated. So, when unions wield too much power over private-sector companies or the public sector, it gets to be a serious problem.
Unfortunately, it looks like it won’t be addressed until an imminent financial disaster is upon us (which is coming). I’m not sure I agree with Gov. Walker’s idea to eliminate public-sector bargaining rights altogether, but I admire that he is taking a bold stand on a series problem.
Here’s an idea: give me a union that is willing to fight for fairness for its members, while also having an interest in the long-term financial health of those paying the bill (e.g., private companies or taxpayers). I don’t think I’ll be around to see the day.
Tom Polischuk, Editor-in-Chief
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