Solidarity Not So Forever

[Ed. note: I have been given to understand that some readers, wishing to comment, have found Google's g-mail function to be cumbersome to navigate. To make life easier in this regard, comments can be sent directly to Lady Simone at bill071@rogers.com. I will ensure that they are forwarded to her Ladyship for any action she may deign to take.]

Skimming the local newspaper, I noticed that a garbage strike looms. While the Manor is not affected -- I have an arrangement with Don Guido's Waste Management Company --nevertheless the article did prompt some thoughts on the role of unions.

Now I should like to say at the outset that unions at one time were critical in providing wages a family could actually live on, as well as safety guarantees and benefits. It was, to put it mildly, a difficult struggle. Even a cursory reading of such material as George Orwell's Down The Mine, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle or John Galsworthy's play Strife makes this point inarguable.

However, things change. I describe three types of negotiation. The first two involve only a company and a union. The third is somewhat different.

The Good

Here Management and Union are honest with each other. Management shares a true account of the firm's financial position, the Union verifies this account, and an agreement is reached. When the company is doing well, the Union can legitimately bargain for a better contract. If things are not going so well, this would negatively affect a future contract. The key here is honesty. (Germany is particularly adept at this approach).

The Bad

Neither Management nor Union wish to "show their hand", as it were, and the bargaining process tends to resemble a game of Texas Hold Em poker. Bluffing and histrionics are common, and a strike or lockout becomes a distinct possibility. (This is particularly so in the U.S.)

The Ugly

Where things get really nasty are those negotiations between government and public service unions. Nasty, because there are now three, not two, groups involved, the third group being the public at large. This group is wholly innocent in terms of setting bargaining positions, yet, given a strike or lockout, bears the brunt of the pain caused by a service withdrawal. (A world-wide problem.)

The answer lies in either deeming the public service 'essential', or putting in place a system of binding arbitration, with representatives from the union, the government, and a third representative acceptable to each.

The above seems the fair way to go. After all, there is nothing in the Bible, the Qur'an, the Vedas, or any other scripture about powerful imaginary friends that says life is fair. It is up to us to put the fairness in.

So let's get on with it.