Well… I’m going to do something just a bit different for this post…. An edited reply to someone else’s blog post.. As I read Dragonista’s nicely written post.. I couldn’t help but be struck by the dual ways in which the post could apply…. so while Dragonista has applied it to “the big business bogeyman” .. I’m editing it up to show how the same argument applies to the “big union bogeyman”…. so here goes…The edit starts here…….
It might come as a surprise to anyone who hasn’t done so, to learn that people who run major companies unions are not always the equivalent of Darth Vader or Ebenezer Scrooge.
Not all CEOs of major corporations heads of major unions, not even most of them, hatch plots to rob their employees extort wages and conditions, develop strategies to wreck the workplace environment, or devise clever ways to rip off their customers members.
But you’d be excused for thinking so. Big business union has become the latest bete noir; a convenient scapegoat for all that is bad about capitalism, or corporatism collectivism or joint action or workers rights or fossil sustainable fuels, or the two-speed economy, or the tax system… and on it goes.
(Here Dragonista quotes some else’s post… so … with respect to both Dragonista and Tim Dunlop… if you want to see the full desciption then you should duck over and read Dragonista‘s post)……. so continuing on with the edit of Dragonista’s post…..
So here we have the thousands of big businesses unions in Australia tarred with the same brush as DJs, Harvey Norman, the banks, Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer the HSU. All of them are somehow manipulating the government to increase regulation and change laws to crush their competitors employers and enslave their employees business owners.
Well, yeah, nah, that’s just not how it is the real world. Sure, there are some bad eggs amongst them but for the main part the people who run big businesses unions are good people like you and me, just trying to do their jobs as best they can.
Whether we like it or not, that job primarily is to provide the best return conditions possible to shareholders workers. And remember, those workers include pretty much anyone with an Australian superannuation scheme who enjoys conditions like annual leave, sick leave,paid overtime, parental leave etc etc won by collective action – yep, that’s people like you and me.
Short-sighted business union people look no further than this requirement – and the bad eggs amongst them are no-doubt focussed on profits pay rises at any cost. But canny business union people know they have to do more than look after their shareholders members if they want the company workforces and industries to be viable over the longer term.
These are the CEOs (and Boards) union leaders and executives who seek the investment of time and money in their workforce, knowing that loyalty pays dividends in reduced employee turnover, as well as better quality assurance, OHS performance and company reputation.
The same head honchos know their company union must be a good corporate citizen if it is going to be allowed to continue operating. This means meeting the community’s expectations as well as that of the government.
(And it is at this point that I partly agree with Tim Dunlop’s contention that) businesses Unions can lobby government for more regulation. Some advocate regulation, not necessarily to crush competitors employers but to bring them into line with the standards of behaviour that are expected by the community. This is because a business sector, or an industry, union will nearly always be judged by its miscreants poorest performers.
So in closing, let me say, yes I’m a conservative unionist, yes I’ve worked for big business, yes I used to be a lobbyist. But this post is from me as an informed citizen, saying “Why do we beat up on big businesses unions when they create defend jobs and help keep our economy strong? Why do we tar them all with the same brush? And, isn’t this the same sort of intellectual laziness that we want to stop in the mainstream media?”…………….
So there you have it…. as I said..Dragonista’s piece was well written and as I hope I have demonstrated, could be read in a whole different light… but jump on over and read Dragonista’s blog post to get the genuine sense of where she was coming from.. and to read the full quote from Tim’s Blog….
And remember……United we Stand!