"Union members have been in negotiations with the wholesale food distributor for weeks, but their current contract is set to expire on Friday at midnight. The contract affects 18,000 Costco union members nationwide." (Out of 219,000 - 8.2% of US employees, 0% of Canadian employees)
"Costo union members are seeking better wages, retirement and health care benefits, and seniority rights for workers when choosing shifts, vacations and bidding for jobs, among other things. Representatives for the Teamsters declined an interview request, citing ongoing contract negotiations."
Normally I'd just keep my mouth shut about this but since I have worked for Costco for coming up to 18 years and since I have a whole lot of experience with trade unions, I will speak on this matter. The primary thing I have to say is beware of pride.
Teamsters is a business Union. Better than most. They don't have a history of being greedy. They have a history of being sensible and effective.
Costco has a long-standing history of being a good employer that treats their employees well. I can attest to that fact. That's why my location isn't Unionized. We don't need one. We don't have a contract we have an agreement.
It's something the Company says it's willing to give their employees. At first I thought the idea was a bit humorous but I actually much prefer it. If you don't like the agreement work somewhere else. Costco matches other employers to maintain a reliable workforce. As an employee I really like not having to fight out a fair contract. I enjoy the stability of not having to worry about a strike. It's awesome. Take if from a long time employee of Canada Post.
Candace Post is a very different kind of employer. They're as*holes. As a result their Union, CUPW is extreme. That's why they can't get anything done. That's also why they aren't making a profit any more. Letter carriers would have been better off represented by LCUC or Teamsters. CUPW are dinosaurs who don't understand how outside delivery works and are unable to comprehend the word innovation.
In contrast Cosco is always innovating. They try new things to see what works best and take feedback from the employees if it isn't working. Canada Post would never take feedback from the employees. They always say it's my way or the highway even when the idea is completely impractical.
Greed applies to everyone - employers, unions and employees. A greedy corporation that exploits it's employees does not have a stable workforce. A greedy union becomes extinct. A greedy employee ends up unemployed. Geed applies to all of us.
This past week the management at my workplace has been posting results from our new proposed agreement. We will get a dollar an hour raise for each year. It's pretty obvious we got that because of the Teamster's threat of a strike. Thank you very much. Now is the time for the Teamsters to stay at the negotiating table and not call a full strike yet.
The CEO of Costco produced a video message talking about the strike and I thought he was very fair. Costco isn't going to lock out the Union. The Teamsters would be wise to stay at the table with the possibility of a strike in the balance.
Teamsters would be wise not to get greedy. If they do, they'll lose their Costco locals. When the contract expires, you can go on strike but you can also decertify a Union.
"In the United States, employees can decertify a union after a contract expires by filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB will then hold a secret ballot election to determine if the union should be removed as the bargaining representative." You only need 30% to sign a petition to trigger a decertify referendum. Then it's just 51% to decertify.
Teamsters would be wise to be reasonable. If they are, other industries would see that and call upon them to organize their workplaces. I'm not referring to other Costco locations. I'm referring to other workplaces where the employers are greedy and exploit their workers.
When I look at my wages and benefits in Canada, I have no need or desire to go on strike. Strike for what? More money? More holidays? Better benefits? I'm happy with all of the above. That means I have no need to join a Union and pay union dues. I have no desire to change my peaceful workplace into a place of conflict and strife. The Union mentality changes the atmosphere completely.
Instead of an employee agreement we have a list of demands. That concept in itself is abrasive. The thought of my workplace unionizing gave me a lot of anxiety. I don't want to do that again. Before I worked at Canada Post I did some construction. It was a large commercial company but it was nonunion. There was a Union shop down the street and because of that my employer came close to matching their wages and benefits. I benefited from the union down the street without belong to a union.
I realize the whole union debate can get very heated. People have a right to join a Union if they choose. However, we just saw what Amazon did to their Quebec workers who joined a Union. Amazon is not a good employer. Costco is.
So again, my advice to Teamsters is don't get greedy. It's not about you. If you can be reasonable and sensible, you will be able to expand into other industries. If you get too greedy you'll become extinct like many of the other dinosaur unions.
One of the reasons Costco does so well is because they hire from within. Ron Vachris, the current CEO of Costco started off as a forklift driver. That means he knows the job because he's done it. Other industries could benefit from that model.
In other news, Trump is pressuring Costco do get rid of it's diversity workplace policy. Costco said no so the Latino and the Black community are having shop ins supporting Costco as a fair employer. Rev Al Sharpton led the shop in.
The difference between the Teamsters and CUPW is one is a private sector union, the other is a public sector union. Private sector has to compete in just that, the private sector. Public sector unions hold us; the ones who pay them; hostage. The BCTF and nurses unions are the worst examples of this.
ReplyDeleteThis is true but the differences are more than that. LCUC was a public sector Union and they ran a lot like Teamsters. Aside from being a public sector Union, CUPW is as far left and you can get. They still view profit as the enemy which isn't going to get anyone anywhere.
DeleteUnions were intended for safety not greed!
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Greed applies to everyone - the company, the union and the employee.
DeleteIt's settled.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Now that's a business union:
Deletehttps://financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/costco-unionized-workers-reach-tentative-deal-averting-strike