Living in Texas and Colorado, I have had limited experience with unions. Almost every job I have ever had has been non-union and the one job I had that was union, I did not join (that was when I was seventeen and bagging groceries; I did not even really comprehend the concept of a union at the time).
Over the years almost all the information I have had about unions over the years has been negative.
Most recently I was signing up for my company to attend a trade show. The very first comment I got from the trade show organizer was an apology.
Sorry Andy, this one is a union show. But don't you worry, I beat them down good in negotiations and it won't cost that much more.
Fine, I understand cost savings, especially in these tight times. My company is clamping down on expenses also. But the next comment I got surprised me.
But let me know if the workers are lazy, that's my concern.
This stereotype of union workers being lazy is a stereotype I have repeatedly encountered in Texas over the years. I've heard it over and over in one form or another. Union workers don't work as hard. Union workers slack off. Union workers can't be counted on to get the job done well.
One story I heard over and over and over before the guy telling it retired was that in Chicago, unions were so bad you were not allowed to change your own light bulbs, the union electricians had to do it for you. But you were charged for a full hour of electrician labor for a three minute job to change a light bulb. I always assumed the guy was just full of shit because the whole story sounded like an urban myth to me.
What strikes me is how universal these negative images and stereotypes of unions are. I encounter this attitude all over the country as I travel for my job.
I assume much of this attitude is the result of corporate anti-union propaganda. Certainly my employers have not been shy about letting their anti-union views be known.
So how do we combat this? How do we erase such starkly negative views of unions and thier employees? How do we erase the refexive opposition to organized labor?