Management, Labor, Government; 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

MANAGEMENT
Once upon a time there was a big bad ogre called MANAGEMENT.
MANAGEMENT controlled all the industrial jobs in what was considered the Industrial Revolution in America. It happened elsewhere as well but the evolutionary process here in America was decidedly different from the rest of the world.
MANAGEMENT controlled who could work, where they worked, the conditions under which they worked and how much they were paid. Depending on the industry and its location, MANAGEMENT also controlled the living conditions by controlling Company housing and Company stores.
In a word, MANAGEMENT CONTROLLED everything.
WHY?
The answer is simple. In the late 19th and into the 20th century, MANAGEMENT consisted of a handful of very rich entrepreneurs who had invested their wealth, time and energy into the businesses they ran. They weren’t the type of men to “share” with anyone. The irony of this is that so many people that worked for these companies were under the delusion that they were MANAGEMENT. They were not. They too were pawns manipulated by the OWNERS. Their manipulation just had different nuances.
The OWNER’s control was consistent with their beliefs and was absolute, until the rise of UNIONS.
Since the onset of UNION’s, MANAGEMENT has evolved. There are still a few businesses that are aristocratic plutocracies but most businesses today are publicly owned and traded on the various stock markets. Because of this, MANAGEMENT (top echelon as opposed to middle management worker bees) now responds to share price in the MARKET instead of seeking the best overall outcome for the Company. The main reason is — stock options. Stock options are a large part of top echelon MANAGEMENT’s compensation. It is the single largest cause of MANAGEMENT taking their eye off the ball insofar as properly running the Company.
The goal of MANAGEMENT is now all about staying-in-office and protecting their overblown salaries and benefits.

LABOR
The vast Majority of people that worked as laborers for MANAGEMENT were happy to have a job and unhappy performing that job and living that lifestyle. But they were too afraid to even complain, much less do anything about it. They were not about to risk losing everything, as bad as it was, to take a chance on getting improved wages, conditions etc.

A small minority of the laborers were willing to risk everything to get a fair wage, decent working conditions and LEVERAGE so that MANAGEMENT couldn’t arbitrarily toss them out in the street whenever they felt like doing so. These laborers were the first UNION organizers. Each of these first UNION organizers did what they did for their own personal reasons. Some because they were angry and simply wanted to strike back at big, bad MANAGEMENT; Some because they were Socialists and didn’t believe in Capitalism; some because they wanted the power of leadership. Regardless of their reasoning, they were brave souls, taking on what, at the time, appeared to be a hopeless, uphill battle.
NOTE: Not one of those first UNION organizers got paid by the UNION to be the leader of their cause. They all did it because they believed in their cause.

At a point in time, different for each industry and geographical region, the UNION organizers managed to get enough workers to stand up and fight back against the tyranny of the MANAGEMENT. This was the beginning of ORGANIZED LABOR. It was difficult, often bloody and lives were lost. On the side of MANAGEMENT were skills, equipment, Company housing, rigged Law enforcement and money. On the side of ORGANIZED LABOR was the determination of the oppressed human spirit. The battle was on. It waged for years and LABOR made significant gains. The outcome of the battle is that NOBODY WON!
Put in the context of War, if MANAGEMENT had won, the Union would have been destroyed and workers would still be working in deplorable conditions for ridiculous wages and dependent on Company housing and Company stores for supplies. If UNIONS had won, MANAGEMENT would have been abolished and the COMPANY would have been run by COMMITTEES. A WIN for either side would have been a disaster for both sides and for the USA. Nobody won except the country as a whole. A BALANCE was achieved whereby each side could give up something and gain something through FAIR negotiations.
NOTE: Negotiations are not FAIR unless both sides have something to gain and something to lose in the process.
From the onset of UNION activism started by inspired and dedicated people, the evolution has been to become similar to MANAGEMENT. UNIONS have become top heavy with unwarranted and unnecessary paid officers, whose only interest is to protect their own fat-cat jobs. Very few elected UNION officials care about their constituency any more. It’s all about staying-in-office and protecting their overblown salaries and benefits.

GOVERNMENT
Our Founding Fathers were not perfect. Those that attempt to deify them are foolish. They were a combination of MANAGEMENT and LABOR as described above. They were wealthier and more educated than the average American and had more political experience. Entrepreneurial, independent, freedom loving individuals, they did not want ROYALTY, whether born or elected, to tell them how to live their lives.
When they created the Constitution and Bill of Rights they accepted the reality that there had to be basic rules for a civilized society to exist. More important, although recognizing via the Supremacy Clause (Art. VI) the necessity of having Federal Law “trump” State and Local Laws, they felt compelled to limit the authority of the new Federal Government, feeling that local issues were better left to local people to deal with.
The first Congressmen and Senators were not in office for the money. They did it out of a sense of responsibility and duty. Being in Office was a burden that interrupted their normal way of life and was something to be endured, not sought after. Oh, how things have changed!
NOTE: Not one of those first Founding Fathers got paid by the (more perfect) UNION to be the leader of their cause. They all did it because they believed in their cause. They didn’t seek power and authority, most of them already had those attributes. Evolution has demeaned Congressmen/Women and Senators to the point that the majority of them are power hungry, money grubbing leeches pretending to protect the people’s interests. Very few Federal elected officials care about their constituency any more. It’s all about staying-in-office and protecting their overblown salaries and benefits.
Now, with modern Government, we have what I call G-MANAGEMENT and G-UNIONS Different, corrupted versions that have no idea of what real negotiations are because both sides have something to gain and neither side have anything to lose. G-UNIONS gain because they rely on their political payoffs to Congressmen/Women and Senators to ensure that they put pressure on Government employees authorized to negotiate with G-UNIONS. The pressure is always “Give them what they want.” The Federal elected officials don’t care because it is tax dollars that are paying the G-UNIONS and the Federal elected officials have clearly demonstrated that they don’t give a damn what the taxpayers think.
The G-UNIONS can’t lose because they know these same Congressmen/Women and Senators won’t allow the G-MANAGEMENT to let the G-UNION go on strike. In the few instances where G-MANAGEMENT furloughed people they eventually got back everything they lost.
G-MANAGEMENT gains because government employees (non-Union) get job security and automatic Cost of Living increases. (Congressmen/Women and Senators are reluctant to try to remove people that they have extorted into doing their will). G-MANAGEMENT can’t lose because it is Other People’s Money (OPM) they are spending. They don’t care!

COMMONALITY
What is the common denominator in all of this?

The goal of Management is now staying in office and collecting salaries and perks
The goal of Union elected officials is now staying in office and collecting salaries and perks..
The goal of Congressmen/Women and Senators is now staying in office and collecting salaries and perks.
NO ONE GIVES A DAMN ABOUT THE COUNTRY!

PROOF
The proof is open and obvious to anyone that chooses to look. Once MANAGEMENT and UNION’s in the private sector were balanced so that both sides had rights and protection, wages and benefits grew for Union employees. Management grew enlightened and discovered that treating employees as chattels was counter productive. Those Companies that didn’t learn the lessons were Unionized and many of them ultimately failed due to the incompetence of MANAGEMENT. As MANAGEMENT grew wiser and paid their employees better and created better working conditions, the need for UNION representation dropped off. The average employee was better educated than those at the turn of the century and not so easily duped. They were getting everything they needed so why pay out UNION dues, especially to fat-cat Union officials that were now behaving like Management of old. Ergo, a sharp decline in UNION membership over the last twenty years.
The only rise in UNION membership is in Public Sector Union’s where the entire system is corrupted, rotten to the core. The only cure is to throw out all the corrupt elected officials and start over. Good luck to all of us in trying to make that happen. Please note that the words, Republican, Democrat, Liberal and Conservative are not mentioned.

The author of this article was a member of a Union for four years in the late 1960s and has negotiated, from the Management side with various Teamster and ILA Union Locals for over forty years. He has followed his personal philosophy during negotiations and follows his own rules.

90% of Union members are ordinary, hard working people. Some have better leadership than others. Appreciate them, don’t dislike them.
No Union has anything that Management didn’t give them.
If you are upset with anything that the Union has, read Rule #2.
You are Management. MANAGE!

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