I was reading this story about concessions that Harley-Davidson is asking its union workers to agree to in order to save their jobs in Wisconsin. What struck me was not the fact that workers were being asked to sacrifice for years, something that happens with depressing regularity these days, but the reader comments on the story. Star Tribune story comments, by and large, represent a diversity of political wisdom ranging from Pat Buchanan to Mussolini, so it’s not all that shocking to see right-wing comments on stories. What I do not understand, however, is the strong anti-union sentiment that so many people express and agree with.
I’ve never been a member of a union. And yes, unions have had their problems. But if we are to blame the decline of the middle class on anybody, unions would be at the bottom of the list. Is some of the anger expressed at the Harley workers based on jealousy, from people who don’t get the $30 per hour that union worker do? Probably, but taking that jealousy and expressing glee at those workers finally getting their comeuppance is the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face: if you hope to make more money, cheering the elimination of higher-paying jobs is pretty illogical.
Unions are just doing what the businesses they are working for are doing: trying to do the best they can for themselves. Absolutely nothing wrong with that; in fact, that sentiment built the middle class. The “good old days” according to many conservatives, when mothers stayed at home and raised the kids while the fathers worked, was built on union jobs. And while I do not agree that said time period was, in fact, the “good old days”, if you wish you have a stay-at-home parent today, you can do it on $30 an hour plus overtime and benefits. You can’t do it on a part-time salary of $16.80 an hour with no benefits.
I’m not terribly surprised that Harley-Davidson is being short-sighted here. Henry Ford famously paid his workers well enough to afford the cars they were building. A full-time union worker making $30 an hour can afford a Harley; a part-timer with no benefits probably can’t. By slashing pay, Harley is just cannibalizing its own customer base. What I don’t quite understand, though, are fellow workers cheering the disappearance of these jobs. Yes, America is in desperate need of jobs these days. But if the jobs that are created are all part-time, with no benefits, and pay $10 an hour, that will not make America strong again. Sadly, when workers themselves see no problem with the elimination of solidly middle-class jobs, it would appear that only unions care about protecting the strength of the American middle class.