I’ve blogged on the UPS / FedEx thing before. Here and here.
Reason.com has a new video on it, spoofing UPS’ white board ad campaign. And with an interesting spin on the issue at the end. (Hint: The real evil doer is neither UPS nor FedEx.)
unions
The Issues
There have been some good comments on my previous post from people on both sides of the issue. I responded to the points I thought had some validity. Do go and read them, and please chime in if you have something to add to the debate. I am always open to opposing views, including admitting I’m wrong if proven so.
For the record, I think unions are in many ways obsolete and in all ways a hindrance to free markets and the U.S. economy and should probably be abolished entirely - so I don’t disagree with the commenters who protested the entire FedEx/UPS situation based on their desire to protect FedEx from the Teamsters. But: FedEx has resisted unionization even in the parts of the company that are subject to it, so I don’t fully buy into the contention that the Teamsters will necessarily come in and take over. Let’s not forget that unionization takes a majority vote of employees, and that there are ways of combatting it (a friend of mine does this for a living: flies in and assists organizations being targeted for unionization).
Either way, as long as unions and labor laws continue to exist, rules and categorizations should be applied fairly and equitably. UPS and FedEx may well have started out as different types of companies, but they have since evolved into remarkably similar organizations. If FedEx employees and/or independent contractors are to remain as-is (non-union), then yes, absolutely, let’s go ahead and allow UPS to operate the same way. But, as FedEx acknowledges, this was tried, and failed, even back when the Republicans were in charge.
As for all the nice stuff FedEx does, it’s beside the point. We can’t exempt orgs or people from fairness under the law just because they are, like, super nice.
Why We Buy
I do support one commenter’s stated free-market standard for consumer decision making: the cheapest price for the best service. But since the better FedEx rate exists due to an inherent unfairness by way of the mis-application of our laws, I am personally willing to pay a little more for UPS on principle. (Besides, UPS pricing is still quite reasonable and the truck is always early to deliver to my mother up in rural Idaho.)
I am NOT a Blogstitute
On a final note re: the comments, the ex-Nevada senator who insinuated that the only bloggers who would advocate for UPS must be getting paid to do should (1) refrain from directly or indirectly insulting my integrity and (2) offer evidence that UPS did, or is, paying me or other bloggers to push their agenda. I am not a blogstitute — that’s “prostitute” minus “pro” plus “blog” — and I don’t appreciate even the hint of an allegation like that. The bent of my blog posts is not for sale. I don’t march to the drum nor tow the line of any party, group, or organization.
I say what I want; I say what I mean; and I mean what I say. Exclamation point.
Kim Strassel @ the WSJ reports a general lack of Senatorial enthusiasm for Big Labor’s card check proposal. Nice to see most reasonable Dems are willing to curtail the unions – and preserve the integrity of elections via the secret ballot.
Hat Tip: Cranky Hermit
Don’t miss this Washington Times piece by Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (and thanks to Stephen Dreikorn @ The Pinkston Group for bringing it to my attention).
Shaprio rightly points out that the card check issue is even bigger than worker coercion and forced unionization through the deprivation of secret ballot votes in union elections. Also at stake are the integrity of our labor laws, the balance of power in American labor-management relations, and possibly our entire economy.
Shapiro reminds us that unions once existed primarily to ensure worker safety, but protections for our labor force are now the law of the land. Unions today have become more concerned with negotiating above-market wages and benefits for their members, lobbying to block free trade agreements at every turn, and protecting their own power.
When achieved, these three things make companies less competitive. And companies that cannot compete will flounder or fail, hurting the shareholders and driving jobs overseas while dumping their newly unemployed into the American economy.
Shapiro reminds us that creative innovation is the American way and the best way out of the present situation. He asks us to realize that the big union bullwhips and our mounting personal and national debt are driving us all into a deep pit that may soon become a mass grave.
Rather than burden companies with heavy tarrifs, big taxes, and too cumbersome regulatory and union restrictions, we should be doing our best to lighten their load so they can be faster and more flexible. In a global economy that can often turn on a dime, getting around the corner quickly is the difference between keeping up with the pack or being left in the proverbial dust.
