Who's protecting them at non-union companies?
The employee, himself. People can do a far better job of protected their own jobs by simply doing it well. Production numbers are king. Most companies have a published set of regulations for employees. They also have production targets. Protecting your job is merely a matter of following the rule, and meeting production. It doesn't hurt to exceed them, either.
Regardless of whether a company is organized or not, a lot supervisors protect their pets and their fishing buddies and most of those in upper management don't have a clue it's going on.
If that's so, than the issue is with management, in that case.
But let's say you do fire them. You'll probably end with a replacement who's as bad or worse. This goes on everywhere and it's because this country has lost the work ethic that made it great.
Very true. Seasoned employees are worth more than green ones, and employees with a good work ethic, those who regularly "go beyond", surpase production schedules, offer ideas about getting the job done more efficiently, and point out bottlenecks that they recognize during daily operations are worth more than those who who simply meet the requirements and go home.
And because it IS a work ethic problem, this isn't an anti-union or pro-union rant. I'm really too old to fight those battles. I'm just talking from over 20 years of experience in the airlines, and over 35 years as a mechanic overall.
I agree, somewhat. A good work ethic is essential for an employee to get ahead. On the other hand, in a union environment, employees who out perform other employees are looked upon as "Company men". The reality is, they ARE ALL company men, and should be looking out for the best interests of the company, not the union. They union's true roll, is that of "collective bargaining" (one voice speaking for the mass). But, the "Union mentality" almost requires an "Us and them" mindset form it's members.
Somehow the idea of
labor vs. management has become the mentality, instead of
do your best for the company because the company supplies the job, the paycheck, and the perks.
Unfortunately for union workers, their work ethic is stifled by the "Union mentality", and usually the lack of individual compensation for a job well done. Remember, as a union member you are part of a collective. Individual effort might be recognized, but, outside of the realm of a bonus, or an award, the individual can not be individually compensated, with a wage increase.
One of the reasons I personally gave up my union book fairly early in my working career was because I felt I could negotiate a better for myself than the union could, and I was right.
In my opinion unions had their time, their day in the Sun, and at the end of the 19th century, and for much of the 20th century they were necessary, however, many of the "reforms" they fought for are no part of labor law. In a way you could say that unions displaced themselves.
Union, or not, a good solid work ethic is necessary. You hit that nail squarely on the head.
We've all seen the deterioration of that ethic with the advent of the UAW, and the issues that affected GM. Poor management, poor policy, and poor labor work ethic all served to do what most people thought was impossible. The undoing of GM. Argue it back and forth, the simple truth of the matter was GM was not getting the work and quality per hour that was needed to operate efficiently and present a product that was what the customer wanted, and had a reliability coefficient that would sustain sales. We know the result. It wasn't the fault of the union employees, and it wasn't the fault of management, it was the fault of both entities. There were no innocents in that fiasco.
Your comment, "...this country has lost the work ethic that made it great", is painfully true. Not for every person, but for enough to drastically, and negatively affect our economy.
