Truth in Advertising

To All Employees:

My New Year’s resolution for 2010 is to be more honest and forthright in my business relations. A Corporate conscience, in other words. I have included my most recent letter to you (below) with annotations in red that reflect a more honest and forthright representation of my thoughts as I wrote it. Thank you for your time and continued efforts.

Dear Colleagues (Colleague, my ass. I’m your boss and hold your future in my hands):

I am writing to offer my support and congratulations in passing right to work (for you and right to fire for me) legislation in our state. It is no secret that I feel every American has a right to provide for their families in the best way they can (absent the unions, of course). And your right to work is an important cornerstone in that effort (so long as that right doesn’t interfere with my right to do what I want, when I want).

Every employee knows that I have an open-door policy and endorse our employee council and the suggestion network recently established. (If coming in to see me and sitting with a council and submitting suggestions gives you the idea that I’m listening, all the better for me.) These policies have empowered (undermined) the employee group and created an environment (façade) where solutions are as much a part of your job description as mine (and I need a solution to my high employee costs, by the way). Additionally, in the se challenging times (for you) there is little need for more money to be taken out of your paychecks for dues, etc. (Especially when I can ill afford an organized work force to challenge my every edict.)

I look forward to our (my) continued success independent of outside forces (unions) that seek to disrupt the harmony (my tune, my lyrics) we have all worked to create. Please feel free to drop by my office with any concerns or problems you might be experiencing (just don’t expect anything to change for the better). I’m sure that we can come to a mutually agreeable solution (such as you being more compliant or finding a new job).

Your benevolent (but don't push me) employer (dictator)

“Right to work” legislation exists in twenty-two states and, despite its noble sounding name, has little to do with fairness in the workplace. It weakens unionized groups by allowing non-union employees to garner all the advantages of negotiated rights without paying the appropriate dues and it limits the opportunities of employee groups interested in organizing. As such, it emboldens and expands the ability of managers to hire and/or fire with little or no regard for seniority, capability, or other established criteria.

I’m not here to extol the virtues of labor unions, but few can argue that they helped create the vast middle class that has historically fueled our economy. The middle class has been decimated over the past several decades and it is no coincidence, I’d say, that union membership has fallen within the same period. The bursting of the housing bubble has shown that the middle class was maintaining their standard of living through borrowing on the equity of their homes rather than a more normal progression of pay, benefits, and working conditions. Now upside down, many are realizing that they’re no longer middle anything as they face foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Would a unionized work force have prevented the current mess? Probably not, but it may have mitigated the depth of the disaster. A corporate conscience could have likewise softened the blow, but there seems to be little interest in promoting morality within the Board Room.

Either way, the “right to work” represents an agenda far removed from your rights as a worker bee and aligns itself more with a managerial goal of unfettered latitude when making corporate decisions. Many legislative initiatives are similarly labeled to provide a false sense of purpose. It is important that we take the time to look at the finer print before signing on to any so-called “better for us” proposal.