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Date:         Fri, 4 Sep 1992 13:40:00 -0400
From:         "Michael J. McCarthy" <YEA003@MARSHALL.MU.WVNET.EDU>
Subject:      Re: democratic platform

Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 12:07:28 -0400
From: SPRG0002@TULSAJC.BITNET
>
> I will buy into part of your argument.  The potential for getting screwed is
> certainly there.  This does not alter the basic function of labor unions as
> devices for securing undue compensation for their members.  The rest of us,
> those outside the unions, must pay the higher prices necessitated by their
> exorbitant pay and benefits.  This is also a major reason, along with the
> general low quality of work, that many Americans have no remorse about
> buying foreign products.  Labor unions were very valuable in the days of
> mechanizing the work place, safety and intolerant conditions were serious
> issues that had to be addressed.  Now, with the laws on the books covering
> everything from sexual harassment to air quality in the workplace, the
> need for unions has been virtually eliminated.  I still maintain, the
> primary function of today's labor unions is GREED.

        Since I don't believe Robert was around when I responded to a similar
post from Jay Steven Sultan, I'll make a comment now.

        First, I am curious about Robert's definition of "exorbitant pay and
benefits."  If you define an assembly line worker's pay as "exorbitant," what
adjective do you use to describe the compensation of the CEOs?

        Second, you quite rightly point out that a major factor in the
willingness of the American consumer to purchase foreign products is the
perceived high quality of those goods.  Who determines this quality?  Is it the
worker on the line?  Placing the blame for low quality on the laborer ignores
management's responsibility in this area.  Let me give you an anecdotal
example.  A friend of mine once experienced a flat tire while driving his
father's Ford Taurus.  When he attempted to remove the tire and replace it with
the temporary spare, however, he failed because the nuts stripped, making the
removal of the flat impossible.  Now, I wonder why these nuts stripped.  Could
it be because they were made out of cheap metal?  And exactly which assembly
line worker selected the metal to be used?  The answer, of course, is that
issues of design -- and therefore issues of quality -- are management issues.
Ford here sacrificed quality in the name of cutting production costs.  The end
result was that my friend's father sold his Ford the next day and bought a
Toyota.

        I work with a flexible manufacturing center associated with Marshall
University.  While we focus on issues such as technology transfer, we also
recognize the importance of instilling quality management philosophies into our
clients (we try to make cliches such as "total quality management" have some
meaning).  We point out that an employer cannot blame a worker for a
process which consistantly yields a low quality product.  Instead, the system
itself must be reformed.

        Third, Robert suggests that labor unions are obsolete since many of the
immediate goals sought by more conservative elements of the labor movement (the
AFL, for example) have been codified.  Statutory protection does not decrease
the need for vigilance, as demonstrated by the fire in the North Carolina
chicken-processing plant one or two years ago.  In a scene reminiscent of the
Triangle Shirt Factory, management had locked the exits, thereby trapping the
victims inside.  Granted, we have organizations to enforce safety regulations,
but their workload is far beyond their means.  They have neither the time nor
the personnel to conduct adequate and widespread inspections of the workplace.

        Therefore, differing from Robert, I maintain that the primary function
of today's labor unions is the same as it has been for most of the movement's
history:  to obtain safe working conditions and a fair return for one's labor.

-------------
Mike McCarthy                   "It is a principle that shines impartially on
Marshall Univ. History Dept.    the just and on the unjust that once you have
Huntington, WV 25755, USA       a point of view all history will back you up."
YEA003@Marshall.WVNET.EDU               -Van Wyck Brooks
YEA003@MARSHALL                          AMERICA'S COMING OF AGE (1915)
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