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Comment of the Fortnight
30 Aug 1997
Labor Day

This is going to be a short comment since you're probably too busy with the Labor Day weekend or its aftermath to read a lot.

First, let it be known that I've never been a particular fan of unions (at least as they are today). I have belonged to one; when I was doing my student teaching I joined the Teachers' Union, but never had any direct dealings with any of them. All of my other jobs have been non-union.

Here are two true stories of experiences I've witnessed involving union folks.

A Trade Show in City A

During the setup the night before the show, an exhibitor's materials arrived late. It was past 8 PM, and the union rules said that certain jobs couldn't be done after 8. One of the workers asked another one, "What shall we do? This guy just got his stuff and he needs to have it working tomorrow."

The other worker answered, "Screw him. It's past eight o'clock."

A Trade Show in City B

Similar situation; setup the night before the show; an exhibitor's materials arrived late. It was past 8 PM, and the union rules said that certain jobs couldn't be done after 8. One of the workers asked another one, "What shall we do? This guy just got his stuff and he needs to have it working tomorrow."

The other worker answered, "Well, we obviously can't do everything, but let's see what we still can do within the rules to help this guy."

Sadly, I believe that there are more people of the former type than the latter, both in labor and in management.

One final thought:

Wouldn't it be nice if labor and management treated each other as if they were actually human beings?

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