This is hilarious and yet another example of unions going over the top and diving into the proverbial “No logic and bad optics” chasm. Another one of those “you’ve GOT to be kidding me” stupidity of a government union. College brings in goats to eat weeds and the AFSCME wants to put in a grievance that union members no longer have jobs because of four legged critters? Reformatted, emphasis mine:
The 400-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has filed a grievance contending that the work the goats are doing in a wooded lot is taking away jobs from laid-off union workers. “AFSCME takes protecting the jobs of its members very seriously and we have an agreed-upon collective bargaining agreement with Western Michigan,” said Union President Dennis Moore. “We expect the contract to be followed, and in circumstances where we feel it’s needed, we file a grievance.” The grievance alleges that the university did not notify the union that it was planning to use goat crews on campus, according to a chief steward report supplied to the Battle Creek Enquirer.
University spokeswoman Cheryl Roland said a small goat crew has been on campus this summer, but not to cut grass.”For the second summer in a row, we’ve brought in a goat crew to clear undergrowth in a woodlot, much of it poison ivy and other vegetation that is a problem for humans to remove,” Roland said. “Not wanting to use chemicals, either, we chose the goat solution to stay environmentally friendly.
The area is rife with poison ivy and other invasive species, and our analysis showed the goats to be a sustainable and cost-effective way of removing them,” she added.
So now AFSCME has shown itself to be anti-animal and anti-environment. For those familiar with unions, is anyone surprised at that? Remember, a union exists solely to extract money from others that they ordinarily would be “entitled” to get.
Even it is over goats. BTW, did anyone from AFSCME ask the goats what they negotiated for work rules? After all, the post reports that the goats are AHEAD of schedule – and I bet they haven’t filed any grievances, called in sick, or set up any picket lines. And if they do a walk-out, it’s only because they saw that the grass was greener on the other side (yes, I couldn’t help myself).
As the post says:
The union should be happy that it’s goats they are fighting and not robots. That battle will no doubt come later.
It’s already here – take a look.
(H/T: PJ Media)
