Final Thoughts

Over the past two weeks or so, I have been inundated with potential subjects for an opinion piece. From the election cycle to foreign affairs to global warming to banking to just about anything at all, my mind has been abuzz. Yet nothing has been put to paper until this moment. This feeling of being overwhelmed leads me to once again re-think my continued efforts along these lines (figuratively and literally).

Cyberspace allows each of us the opportunity to express ourselves. Unfortunately, the same could be said for attending a sports event. In such cases, the voices are so numerous and diverse that a cacophony results offering little or no organized pattern. So, as we each post our opinions, it becomes increasingly difficult to garner the attention of the reader.

I’ll be honest: I never considered myself to be any kind of Messiah, but did think that my approach and “It’s NOT Just You”-ology might strike a nerve that could well lead to some small revenue stream of public speaking and the like. Much like those in many parts of the country today, the stream is dry. As a matter of fact, it has seen little, if any, monetary moisture.

So, while my effort costs nothing (other than the effort itself) I find myself lacking the drive to continue. Maybe retirement has affected me in such a way where I am no longer regularly subjected to the insanities of society. I live far from the madding crowd at the end of a one lane road on 40 acres. I venture out occasionally, but rarely to venues that offer a complete immersion into the daily challenges most have come to call home.

I am financially secure and in good health. Many of the decisions made today by my political leaders will have little or no impact upon me or my wife. And with no children to inherit the messes created today, my worries are few. While still able to get passionate about some of the greater contradictions going on about me, I’ve come to realize that my two cents are lost in the din of others more strident and/or flamboyant.

So I bid you, once again, adieu. I do not ask for validation nor will I be convinced to begin yet anew upon receiving any urgings from the few that enjoy my ramblings. I can’t help but think that others can fill the small void I leave quite admirably.

We live in a crazy world at a crazy time.  No surprise, though, since each generation has lamented the same words. But don’t let the bastards get you down. Expect more...demand more...and don’t for a minute ever think that you, alone, are frustrated. Share your feelings with others at every opening and soon you’ll see that it, in fact, is NOT just you!

All the best...

When to Say "When"

One needn’t look too far to see that the unionized workforce in America continues to shrink. According to the US Department of Labor, it has decreased from 20.1% in 1983 to 11.8% in 2011 with most of those being public sector workers. And we know that many state and local workers are now being asked to accept draconian cuts to their existing contracts.

Few remain that can give a first-hand account of labor’s foray into organization. A quick search of the internet will provide ample anecdotal evidence, though, that it was far removed from scholarly debate in a wood-paneled boardroom. No, it was more brick-bats and fisticuffs in the streets and back alleys surrounding the plants in question. The desire to have a voice was equally met with a solid resistance from managements and the desire to maintain the status quo. Why not? After all, with no union, bosses could hire and fire at will while holding the threat of job loss over every employee as they sought higher and higher productivity.

The blood spilled in those battles led to management’s eventual capitulation in the name of labor peace and the unionization of much of the work force led to a higher quality of life and the Middle Class. And this, in turn, led to an economy that rose all boats.

In the last several decades, though, unionization became passé and many took the pay, benefits, and working conditions they enjoyed as a given rather than acknowledging the sacrifices made by those before them. “Union dues? We don’t need them. Hell, we’ve got a great job!”

This relaxation was well received by management teams and the politicos that supported big business bosses over worker bees. Thus the mantras began: good, hard workers don’t need unions...our door is always open...right to work legislation. Seemingly overnight, unions found themselves on the defensive and strikes were met with eager applicants ready to cross a picket line to get one of those once-great jobs. As it turned out, many of those replacement workers (scabs) abandoned their positions soon thereafter due to the onerous conditions under which they toiled.

So here we are today with a disappearing middle class that covered up the erosion of their pay and quality of life by dipping into the equity of their homes. Until, at least, their home values sunk to a point where they had none to draw. And, sadly, many jobs lost in the past five years are not coming back largely due to automation and even higher productivity from unionized and non-unionized workers alike.

Strikes have become a tool of the past. Back to work decrees and the uncertainty of success have combined to neuter labor’s biggest weapon. And without the threat of a strike, management can extend negotiations ad infinitum without fear of any work stoppage. Organized labor’s heyday lies in the past, at least for the time being.

As I write this, my former colleagues at American Airlines are deciding which devil to dance with: a contract that is far worse than the present one or the abrogation of it altogether through the bankruptcy court. Abrogation has occurred only once in the airline industry when Frank Lorenzo used Chapter 11 proceedings to throw out the contracts at Continental Airlines. Even though Congress closed the loophole, Lorenzo tried it again at Eastern, but the employees decided that one swift stabbing was more desirable than a death by a thousand cuts and struck, en masse. 

American’s management is exhorting the employees to support the LBFO (Last, Best Final Offer) and the union leaders are echoing that sentiment in claiming that it is the lesser of the two evils. My opinion is moot since I am no longer in the arena and immune from suffering the consequences of either option.

Nevertheless, I can say with a high degree of certainty that until labor, in general, decides to once again oppose the continued degradation of contractual rights their ranks will continue to diminish. And by “opposition” I do not suggest long-winded bargaining sessions in wood-paneled boardrooms. No, the fight will once again move to the streets and back-alleys and blood will be shed. It may not be the kind that is spilled from split heads, but rather a financial blood letting whose consequences may be longer lasting while leaving deeper scars.

There is a point where even a union job has been decimated to the point where it no longer offers any meaningful reward. It is at this point where the union is rendered meaningless, too. I could say, with a cavalier wave of my hand, that the time has come for workers to once again embrace the power of an organized employee group, but to what end? It is now, as it always has been, up to each individual to decide just how much can be given away until a job’s worth has evaporated. And until that tipping point is reached corporate and public leaders will continue to nibble away at the pay and benefits of their employees hoping that the thought of “it could be worse” will result in yet another concession.

Interesting times, to be sure. Isn’t that a Chinese curse?