Musings on Labour Day

I really don't care for unions. If truth be told, I think they are outmoded and that their time has past.

As a libertarian I don't want to prohibit workers from unionizing. I do realize that unions have served a good purpose in the past and did a lot for the common working man. And perhaps they still do. As I said in a previous post, unions used to have "slush funds" set aside for their members who fell upon hard times. That's taking care of their own, and they should have the right to do this if they wish. However, those days are gone.

These days most - if not all - the things that unions have fought for are now governed by legislation. I've worked in a couple of union environments, and hated them both (incidentally, both were government). Though, in theory, it's good to have someone to go to if you feel you have a grievance against the company and someone on your side, since approximately the 1960's unions appear to have lost their way and their raison d'etre. Where I come from, it seems that my home Province is either run by or at war with unions.

One of many reasons I don't like unions is the hypocrisy. For example, if there is a strike vote and the members vote to go on strike, there are members that just can't afford to be on strike and can't survive on the strike pay they are alloted. How is this standing up for their fellow brothers and sisters? How is this taking care of their own, when those members will never make up the amount of money they will lose during a prolonged labour dispute? How does this improve the members' lives? Why should some idealistic radicals over-ride those members with common sense? I hate leaving my fate in the hands of others like that. I'd rather take my own chances.

Here's another example: earlier this year in Eastern Canada earlier there was a CAW shop that employed 1,000 people. Economic times being what they were, the company was asking for some concessions from the union as the company was cash strapped (I can't remember which automaker this was). The union refused and 1,000 people were thrown out of work. Well done, CAW. If I was a member of that local, I would be furious . Surely it would be better to keep working even at at the same or slightly reduced wages took than be out of work. How is this taking care of their own?

If I work my butt off and the person next to me does nothing why should we be paid the same? Where is the incentive to work harder? Why work harder than them when due to seniority and not merit, they will get promoted ahead of me? We all know that once a person joins a union, it makes it *very* hard for an employer to get rid of an underperforming (or non-performing) employee. That shouldn't be. Let's face it: if we're honest, we'd admit that we're all selfish at heart. We take jobs because we want to better ourselves and want to make a decent living. We educate ourselves and do other things to show a potential employer that *we* are the person for the job - and not the next person. To heck with them. It's ME that needs this job. It's MY family I have to feed. Trying to say otherwise is contrary to human nature. It's survival instinct.

Another big reason I don't like them is their overvaluing of work and labour. I know someone that worked at the Transit Commission on a short-term contract. While there, he discovered that people that pumped gas were making $23/hr. All they required was a grade 10 education. And this was over ten years ago. $23/hr for pumping gas??? That's ludicrous; especially when it's a job with no educational requirements. If that person was working in the real world (like Chevron) they would be making minimum wage - because that's all the job is worth. When the hell did pumping gas become a career? No wonder the stupid morons on the Transit Board are always in the hole. There is NO WAY that they should be paying that kind of wages for that kind of job. How can unions claim to speak for the common man when they drive prices up like that? Let's be honest: most of the trade union-type jobs don't require that much training and/or education. How much schooling does one require to cut meat at a grocery store, or drive a bus? In the realm of things, not that much. In some cases, just weeks (or days). They aren't like doctors and lawyers who spend at least seven years at university investing in their career and become high-level specialists. What jobs do union members create? They don't. Lawyers and doctors do. Get a little perspective here. As a matter of fact, what unions do is drive up the wages for their members and then limit the membership in order to keep those wages high. If they lowered the hourly wage for their workers, more people would be employed - and that's a good thing. In fact, according to Milton Friedman, unions drive up the wages of 10-15% of workers, and lower wages for 85-90% of us.

Another reason I dislike them is their belief that their workers have a "right" to a job and their demands to raise the minimum wage. Guess what? No one has the right to a job. Nowhere is that guaranteed in any constitution. As for the minimum wage, scrap it. Get rid of it. Let the market decide - truly decide - what a job is worth. It should not be dicated by some ivory tower bureaucrats. There's been talk here of trying to raise the minimum wage by 25% ($2.00/hr). Now what employer can afford to give an employee a 25% increase? If you stay at that same job making minium wage (or barely above) for "x" amount of years, that says more about you than the the employer. Get off your butt and educate yourself to get something better. As we all know, every time the minimum wage goes up, jobs disappear. So, how is it a good thing for the economy when jobs disappear? Wouldn't it be better to have some student working at a restaurant earing $5.00 an hour and gaining valuable work experience than not working at all? What about the entrepreneur who started his or her small business? We all know that business owners end up working for less than minimum wage. I don't see any outcry over them - someone that pours their heart and soul into a business and works long hours to make ends meet because they cannot afford to hire they help they need due to minimum wage laws. Yet, these business owners are the ones that create jobs - some "small-time" jobs like cashiers, or more career oriented jobs like accountants and paralegals.

So, I guess thanks are owed for what you have done - but you need to rethink your place in this world.