Biting the hands that feed. SEIU on the attack...
For the nearly two years that GraniteGrok has been open for business, we have written a fair amount about the ongoing union assault on successful American companies like Wal-Mart. We have covered both the philisophical questions raised by such tactics in a free-market society as well as exactly who comprises the instigators behind such ongoing attacks. The common thread is, of course, labor unions. In their quest to maintain power and relevance, they will do almost anything, including destroy the very companies that employ them-- biting the hand that feeds.
Leading the charge these days are the henchmen of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). As reported by Matt Lewis writing at Townhall.com, the practices being used in the advancement of their cause are likely to invoke the images among many folks of the classic "union thug" from some bygone era:
Just this past weekend, the SEIU sent hundreds of "members" to disrupt a labor conference in Michigan. They were apparently shoving people to the ground and apparently even went so far as to inflict a head wound on a retired woman (story here, video). In California, they are stalking nurses in a rival union by going to their homes with cameras -- and even made a YouTube video of themselves doing it.
A California judge even issued a restraining order against them.
What some people might not know is that in addition to routine thuggery, the SEIU has found new ways to disrupt, cajole, and otherwise shakedown their intended targets. Obviously, when physically beating up corporate execs as opposed to hapless commoners and lowly workers, there comes an added risk to the unionists: deeper pockets to pay for legal actions. As reported in Friday's Washington Post,
Big labor is relying more on guile and theatrics than blunt force to attack the ascendancy of a new form of corporate ownership: private equity.
And tactics often get personal. Union allies staged a satire outside buyout king Henry Kravis's lavish Long Island home, asking passersby to sign a petition giving him a break on his property taxes. Weeks later, protesters in business suits sneaked into a private-equity conference at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York, where Carlyle Group co-founder David M. Rubenstein was giving a speech. They sought to shame him with a banner that read: "Why does he pay taxes at a lower rate than the hotel's doorman?"
Then on Halloween, union members wearing Rubenstein masks paraded in front of Carlyle's offices, handing out Sugar Daddy suckers.
The unorthodox protests are part of a campaign by the Service Employees International Union and its allies to position themselves as a check on what they regard as a new economic order, one dominated by the big private buyout firms.
And what is their problem with this "new economic order?"
Those firms have swept up hundreds of companies in recent years. As the economy softens, union leaders say they increasingly worry that private-equity firms will try to salvage their investments by pressuring management to cut jobs or benefits.
Imagine that-- company owners trying to save their companies during tough economic times! Why, the nerve! Of course, the fact that labor unions really don't care about the health of the companies that employ its members is nothing new to most people. What is new, however are the goals sought, which have less to do with protecting the rights of members in a down economy-- despite what they claim-- and more to do with the accumulation and exercise of power in general. Again from Friday's WaPo article:
Carlyle and its allies said the SEIU's goal was less about global economics and more about recruiting new union members and enhancing its ability to organize workers. They said the SEIU was conducting several similar campaigns designed to embarrass companies such as Wackenhut and HCA. Wal-Mart is going through a similar hazing from the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
"These campaigns are three-dimensional negative political campaigns waged against the reputation of the target," said Steven Law, general counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The SEIU's "true goal is to inflict as much pain as possible so that the employer gives the union what they want."
What the union really wants, say private-equity executives, is to force employers to waive their rights to insist on a secret ballot on union representation. Unions want to be able to organize a workplace by gaining the signatures of a majority of employees; executives say signatures could be coerced.
Carlyle spokesman Chris Ullman said the firm has had "productive relations with unions for 20 years." He attributed the SEIU's recent attention to its desire to organize 60,000 workers at Manor Care, an Ohio-based nursing-home company that Carlyle only recently acquired.
"The SEIU is frustrated over its inability to organize Manor Care in the past 12 years before we acquired the company three months ago," Ullman said.
Ever since I witnessed the employees of my father's former company vote themselves out of their jobs rather than make necessary concessions to save the business (many years AFTER my Dad sold), I have known that labor unions ultimately harm rank and file members when looked at objectively. To have watched the ongoing anti-Wal-Mart campaign, and now to learn of this newest route of attack on business and investors, I am more convinced than ever that labor unions have long outlived their usefulness. In addition, when looking at the facts, it is obvious that those who lead these organizations either haven't a clue, or don't care in the least as to how its members are affected by their activities...
The buyout firms note that even as the SEIU blasts them, it benefits from private equity. The union's New York affiliate, 1199, has given Carlyle $15 million to manage its pension fund. The SEIU said the money has been tied up in a Carlyle buyout fund since 2005, before the private-equity campaign.
Funny-- these companies are so bad that they must be attacked and punished, yet at the same time are considered wothy investments for the good of the union's coffers. Are we talking hypocrisy here, or just plain stupidity?
Even some former bigwigs in the union itself are having trouble with these new ways of the SEIU. In his resignation letter, Sal Rosselli, a long-time member of the SEIU’s executive committee and president of the United Healthcare Workers West wrote
An overly zealous focus on growth – growth at any cost, apparently – has eclipsed SEIU’s commitment to its members. As labor leaders, we are obliged to place the needs of our members first and to uphold democratic principles not only in the work place, but also in our union. That is increasingly being blocked, circumvented and manipulated.
This kind of crap only further makes me wonder why anybody would want to join a union. How is any of this really helpful to Joe or Jane worker?
Comments
Doug, you hit it on the head right there. Unions know they're killing the golden goose and the only ones who benefit from the union dues are the union execs themselves. They've become a parody of themselves; worse yet, they've become what they initially organized against a century ago. If they can't grow, they can't remain viable, and they provide no service that any respectable or ethical (not to mention viable) company doesn't already provide for its workers.
Posted by: Randy | April 22, 2008 9:34 AM