Three articles caught my attention over the past week or so.
The United Auto Workers announced it has 55% of the workforce at Volkswagen's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The 816 members are seeking recognition just a year after anti-labor politicians in the state (particularly United States Senator Bob Corker) campaigned against the UAW, threatening workers that their jobs would be in jeopardy if the factory elected to join the union.
Corker's message was in stark contrast to VW management:
"I recommend that you choose to have a democratic voice in your work place and vote for union representation by the UAW," a company executive said at the time. "Thus you will become a part of a global family of solidarity."
That executive, Berthold Huber, recently took the reigns as chairman of Volkswagen. He is now encouraging workers at the Tennessee plant - the company's only non-union plant - to reconsider and vote for union representation.
Another CEO who understands this is Boeing's Jim McNerney. To be fair, McNerney is no Huber, but in the face of attempted union busting by South Carolina Governor Nickki Haley, McNerney made it clear Boeing employees are free to join the IAM.or not.
Comparing the IAM Member employees at Boeing's Puget Sound factory with their non-union colleagues in South Carolina, McNerney said:
"One group has a union and one doesn't. We prefer to have a direct relationship with our employees, but when they choose to have a union we want to work with them. So it's not either-or. Our task is to work with both environments and to grow them to their potential. ...But I'm very happy with developments down in South Carolina. That place is really doing well."
Again, there's a different tone here than at VW, but we have another example of a CEO defending his employees' right to organize, and recognizing the company's responsibility to respect that decision.
Finally, a new front in the Fight for $15. SEIU is looking to franchisees who want to increase leverage in dealings with McDonalds, Wendy's and other chains as allies in their campaign to guarantee fast food workers a fair wage. It's an unusual - if not uneasy - alliance, but with both franchisees and employees at the mercy of the large multinational corporations, both recognized the value that comes from an organized, amplified voice.
These three stories point out a common fallacy. The relationship between labor and management is too-often portrayed as adversarial by design - as if the union exists not to better the lives of the workers but to somehow diminish the companies that employ those workers. That's not how it has to be. That's not how it should be. In fact, it's just nonsense.
When UnionTrack became a separate company just over a year ago, I made the decision to operate a union shop. And as you might imagine, a number of factors went into that decision. Of course, it was important for me that our customers know we're believers in the labor movement, but that's not all.
For starters, I was able to provide employees with better heath coverage. I know they'll have access to services I - or most small businesses - couldn't afford to provide for them if not for the union. The list goes on. The end result is that I'm able to be a better, more competitive employer - and I'll be able to hire and retain better talent - because I offer my employees the benefits of union membership. I proudly carry my own membership card from the International Union of Operating Engineers because I know they make my company better by making my and my employees' lives better.
It's time to flip the script on the labor vs. management adversarial relationship. No employee wants to see his company fail; no CEO should want to succeed by letting her employees struggle and flounder. Labor and management can be partners in ensuring a company's success. That's how we're doing it at UnionTrack, that's how they're doing it at Volkswagen and Boeing, and that's how it should be done everywhere.
In Solidarity,
Ken
