Unions Still Kickin' it Old School

There was an article by Robert Wendover in yesterday's Atlanta Journal Constitution that raised an excellent question about the young workforce of tomorrow and unions.  "Will these old-line organizations (AFL-CIO, Change to Win, unions) be ready for the attitudes and expectations of the young workers who will enter their ranks?

In so many cases, they (prospective union members) are led by a local leader (union) who sticks to the same story he or she has repeated for the past 20 years: "If you're a union member, you get better wages, better training and better working conditions.  We'll represent you in grievances with management and support you when there's a job action or strike."

But the young worker wonders, "why would I be involved in all that when I can work for the non-union company down the street and make the same money if you subtract out the union dues? Besides, there's no such thing as job security, and I can pick up the training I need on my terms."

The theory is that the radical younger workforce of today likes and potentially supports labor's objectives but in the long run will NOT necessarily be prepared to follow the movement's rules.

This new generation will have little patience for rules and union procedures like Seniority ("I'm better qualified than he is, what's with this?"), Apprenticeships ("I can learn this all online"), and Union Stewards ("Wait - YOU'RE talking for me?"). This sound-bite generation wants the short version - they have no interest in 400-500 page constitutions and rule books, collective bargaining or even paying dues. They gleaned their cynicism from Generation X, and while they're way too savvy to get taken advantage of, they're also focused on simplicity. Contract clauses, grievance procedures... these are just not things that generation "y-me" wants to deal with. 

So the unions and their old guard that still operate for the most part in the same way as 50+ years ago--- when not their fathers, but their grandfathers or even great-grandfathers were union members. Unions will have to try to grasp the fact that "times were different" or they are going to have a new revolution - or possibly a mutiny - on their hands at some point in the not-so-distant future.

The Employee Free Choice Act will destroy companies first and then eventually (and possibly dramatically), the "children" will turn on the unions... and the evolution of labor in America may take the path of the dinosaur, as nature intended.

Unions should watch what they wish for, it's just unfortunate that everyone will lose in this process.