United we stand... still

After reading, and commenting on, my sister's blog post about the gaffe in her union policy regarding raises, I decided to write a little about my opinion on unions in general. (Full disclosure, though working for a different employer, I am a member of the same union, AUPE, as her.)

I've been a union employee for about 6 months now, and in my personal experience I haven't
noticed much difference, aside from them skimming a little off of my pay-cheque each month, and getting a bunch of extra reading material when I started my job. Sure, I got a card in the mail that entitles me to some token discounts at places around the province, all of which are either too far away to make them worthwhile, or are of no interest to me, but I don't really get the sense of someone "fighting on my behalf" or any of that other bull-puckey that is commonly associated with the concept of Unions.

I have no doubt that I enjoy many benefits as a result of previous union arbitrations, and I'm sure there are some who enjoy many day-to-day benefits as a result of their membership in this same union. However, I also feel that unions can be a hindrance. Allow me to explain...

I feel I should preface my argument with the disclosure that I am not a Communist, Marxist, Liberal, Progressive, or subscriber to the philosophy of wealth distribution. I'm sure this will be rightly apparent as I continue, but I thought I'd just throw that out there so people don't try to convince me of the value of unions by using those principles. You'll have to use arguments that support Capitalism, Free Market, Economic Conservatism, and the philosophy of "A man is worthy of his hire" to convince me. But I digress...

A union, in my observation only, with no regard to official definitions, is a group of people of similar employ that is led by a representative body that bargains with their employers to ensure that the rights and needs of the employee are met in a fair and satisfactory manner. Now I don't see an inherent problem in that concept; rather the problem comes, as it so often does, when the concept is put into practise. The problem comes when people of varying abilities, skill levels, work ethics, and - if I can be perfectly blunt - value to the employer are suddenly treated by the same set of guidelines. Sure, there is a variety of salary ranges depending on the positions held, but in nearly every other aspect they're treated the same. In this sense, a system designed to increase fairness can have the exact opposite effect.

Is it fair, for example, that everyone is entitled to the same raise regardless of job performance? I know they will make stipulations for exceptions, but they are rarely enacted. Is it fair that one employee might take 15-20 sporadic sick days in a year, and still get full pay, vacation, etc. while that person's co-worker, who feels guilty for calling in sick unless desperately ill, takes only 1 sick day in the same amount of time and is compensated identically? Is it fair that an employer's hands are tied when wanting to promote from within due to union regulations, finding it easier to look outside to fill a position that could deservingly go to a current employee? I know these issues aren't exclusively union issues, but I find that when a union is involved, an employer is less likely to "bend the rules" for a deserving employee, because they'll have to answer to the union for it, creating a hassle that an employer doesn't want to deal with. It is this same hassle that causes the exception stipulations to be rarely enacted.

I'm sure unions aren't all that bad for many people, and in many economically volatile occupations I'm sure they're a huge benefit. I just find them to be too counter-productive for my liking. I sometimes wish there was an easy way when you started a union job to "opt out" of the union. Of course, that would likely cause a rift between the union and non-union employees doing the same job and being treated differently. People would constantly be opting in and out of the union in order to suit their changing individual needs. This would likely be even more counter-productive than just leaving the union as is.

Anyway, what do you think? I'd like to hear some comments on your views of unions. Do you love them? Hate them? Are you somewhere in the middle? Or perhaps you either don't care or don't have enough experience with them to have an opinion. Do you think I'm right on the money? Or do you think I'm way off base and have no idea what I'm talking about (which is highly possible)?