Good Union Article

Received this in an email - I get a lot of guff sometimes about unions because they only see "shop" unions where they have to fight tooth and nail to get proper pay and benefits.  But they also see the "shop" unions where they take advantage of the fact they are union to slack off - knowing that they can't be fired because of the unions.

But this - this article gives a great perspective on how unions really DO work when they are working properly with management as they should.

I hope it helps change some negative preconceived notions of unions.

Jodi
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Subject: Good Union article

A while back, someone asked me how Southwest Airlines (founded in 1971 as Air Southwest) had been able to remain non-union all this time, given that the airline industry is one of the most heavily unionized sectors of the economy. I had to break the news to him that Southwest is not only unionized, but is, arguably, the most unionized (87 per cent) of any of the national carriers. Surprise, surprise.

What made this fellow believe Southwest was non-union was the fact that he'd never heard of Southwest going out on strike and because "the employees always seemed so nice." While the implication that union workers were "less nice" than non-union workers was mildly insulting, I explained to him that Southwest Airlines was renowned for its exemplary labor relations (including a generous profit-sharing plan).

In a 2008 in-house article, Joe Harris, a labor lawyer for Southwest, explained that the company's harmonious employee relations were no accident. "At Southwest, our employees come first; our customers come second; and our stockholders come third," he said. "The rationale is pretty simple. If we treat our employees right, they're going to treat our customers right. If our customers are treated right, they will come back and our stockholders will benefit."

Given Southwest's successful track record (as of 2009, it was the largest airline in the world, based on number of passengers carried per year), it makes you wonder why more companies haven't adopted a similar philosophy.

As for the issue of "niceness" or "attitude," that's one of many weird myths that continue to plague unions. I can't count how many people, over the years, have complained to me that union jobs encourage workers to behave rudely "because they know they can't be fired" (another myth). But politeness-or the lack of it-has nothing to do with union membership.

Next time you encounter an impolite Walmart employee, convenience store clerk, tow-truck driver, waiter, ticket-taker, fast food worker, auto mechanic, taxi driver, house painter, parking attendant, roofer, bank teller, carpet-cleaner, etc., just remember that these people don't belong to a union. They're simply people who are impolite.

Unfortunately, labor unions tend to be misunderstood. People fail to recognize that a workers' collective is really nothing more than a hands-on lobbying group, drawing its strength from common interests and common goals. Without organized labor, working people would be in free-fall, totally at the mercy of their employers. Most bosses simply can't abide paying their workers one nickel more than they think they deserve..and, alas, what they think they deserve is usually driven by self-interest.

It's human nature.

What would a Bill Gates or Warren Buffet do if he were strolling in a public park, and happened upon a $5 bill lying in his path? Would he pick it up and pocket it, or would he look at the crumpled-up bill and think, "Hey, I'm a multi-billionaire. What's another five bucks going to mean to me?" Answer: He picks it up. Money is money, and no one wants to part with it or pass up an opportunity to get more. It's human nature. Labor unions are simply the barrier by which working people avoid getting steamrolled.

Consider the minimum wage. It is presently $7. 25 per hour. At that rate, if you work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, and never miss a single day, your annual pre-tax salary is $15,080-not exactly what one would call a "livable" income. But without the minimum wage, meager as it is, employers would be playing off one desperate worker against another. Without the minimum wage, the economy would become an unrestricted buyer's market.

Indeed, it would resemble a reverse auction. Who's willing to work for $6.85 per hour? Who will do it for $6.50? Who will do it for $6.00? Do I hear $5.75? Do I hear $5.50? If you don't believe it, just look at how restaurant owners treat Mexican immigrants. Many of them don't even pay them minimum wage. Why? Because they know these people will work for less and they see it as an irresistible opportunity to save money.

Regrettably, over the years organized labor has allowed itself to become demonized and caricatured. Instead of decent wages and benefits being celebrated as a boon to the economy and testimony to an enlightened society, corporations have managed to turn the tables. Like sleight-of-hand artists, they have diverted our attention elsewhere.

Instead of us being furious at the manipulators of the economy-those who grow increasingly wealthy while the middle-class continues to be chipped away-they've tricked us into being angry at working people. They've gotten us to resent the wage-earner who makes $45,000 a year. If you didn't know better, you'd think the world had been turned upside down.

David Macaray, a Los Angeles playwright, is the author of "It's Never Been Easy: Essays on Modern Labor". He served 9 terms as president of AWPPW Local 672. He can be reached at dmacaray@earthlink. net

 Doug Williams

My Son and his family and Make-A-Wish in Disney World

Day One - Steve, Jen, Clay, Gabe, and Katyra hop on a plane from Pittsburgh to fly to Florida to visit Disney World

Plane flight was relatively uneventful.  Katyra (who this trip is for specifically by the Make-A-Wish Foundation) had a little problem with her ears going up and down but otherwise did fine.  They get picked up at the Florida airport and shuttled to their hotel (I think).  They are also provided a car during this time.  At 7pm they were given an orientation meeting and a schedule of activities.  I am not sure if they have to follow that or if it's just an idea of what to do.

One of the nice things about this being through MAW is they get in the "express" lane and get to go to the head of the line - no standing for hours waiting for a ride. They have priority over EVERYTHING - if they want a pizza, they call and order and they'll deliver - FREE - if they want to go to a restaurant there, they order and eat and walk out, FREE. Such a great thing, Make-A-Wish. Edit - that is what I thought last night.  That is true but only in their hotel.  If they get a meal in any of the parks, they have to pay for it.  But MAW did give them $3k spending money so it's not too big a deal  - back to yesterday.

Poor Clayton - Steve called me at about 9-9:30ish and said I needed to get one of the grandkids settled. I figured it was Clay and I needed to tell him to stop being so rambunctious so he wouldn't get into trouble. Nope - he was bawling - missing his gammie. Feeling homesick I guess. I got him settled somewhat - told him he'd feel lots better tomorrow (today) when they actually started doing things and he could call me whenever he wanted to to tell me about what he was doing/had done and Steve is going to let each one of them talk to us about their day every night.

Poor Katyra got bit by a fire ant first thing after they got there so by now they should be "fire ant ready". Feel bad for her - Steve called so she could tell me that she got bit and she's crying and I tell her to tell daddy to get an ice cube for it and the tears stopped instantly so she could tell her daddy and then they started again LOL So it must have hurt when it happened (I know it did - I've been bit and so has Steve - I still have a scar from one!) but had eased up by the time I talked to her. She just wanted a little more sympathy, so she shed more tears. 

Only one I didn't hear from was Gabe :) That little bugger is a tough kid. Can't wait to hear from them and see how their first day went.

The bummer of it is, they don't have internet service! Can you believe that? In this day and age? I guess he can get wi-fi for 3 days so he's going to wait until towards the end of the week after they've had time to do things before he starts the wi-fi. We'll just talk on the phone (I hate the phone, I have such a hard time hearing!!) until then.

Day Two



Well, got the phone call a bit ago. They went to Sea World first. Rode the Atlantis roller coaster ride (all of them) and I guess there is a straight down shot right after you get the pee scared out of you by a huge Medusa and that almost made Gabe pee (his words LOL).

Clayton went on a "big boy" roller coaster and screamed bloody murder the whole time on the ride. BUT, he didn't puke. THAT'S MY BOY!!! Steve's going to take him on another "big boy" roller coaster that won't be as bad as the first one to help him learn to enjoy them. I think he'll want to go again.

They also got to feed the dolphins and pet them, and got to pet stingrays. The whales were all off limits due to the death a little while ago. They did their tricks and stuff but no feeding the whales and none of the trainers were riding them. Clayton got pictures of them feeding and/or petting the dolphins. I guess he took about 297 pictures!! Again - THAT'S MY BOY!!!! And Steve's been getting some good video too.

Tomorrow they are planning (subject to change) to hit Universal Studios so they can do the Back to the Future ride and possibly Jurassic Park. I know Clay would love that but I'm afraid it may scare him too so I don't know if Steve will let him go or not. I'm hoping Steve goes so he can at least describe the experience.

Tomorrow they are also going to one of those medieval dinner things and they get to go down into the arena and get their pictures with the knights and Katyra is the Princess :) She is totally GEEKED about that part.

More updates tomorrow night.


Day Three


Another fantastic day - they highly enjoyed the medieval dinner - Katyra was one of the "princesses" who got flowers thrown at her so she was geeked.  They were on the green side and the green side lost but it was still exciting for them.  Got their faces painted in tribal style so it was good.  They did try to go fishing but they only had fake worm things so they caught nothing.


Tomorrow is Katyra's Afternoon - She's going to be dressed up as a princess with her hair done and makeup, etc. and will have a special time just for her (the kids will be there too but she's the focus of attention as she should be).  


More tomorrow night.


Tomorrow night, as you have probably noticed, never came - they got so busy they didn't have much "speak" time afterward because they were exhausted.  But they had a fantastic trip, one I wish I could have enjoyed with them.