The following below is in todays Ottawa Sun. I support this line of thought.
And for the record, I am self employed, have to pay all my expenses (extra health insurance, dentist etc) pay my bills and taxes upon taxes that I already pay. But it is my choice to do what I do. If and when I feel my company isn't profitable anymore, I will move on. And yes I have competition to deal with also, competition that is bigger than me but I'm not whining that they take dollars out of my pocket. It simply means I have to reinvent myself, do a better job and cater to people who value substance and quality rather than a substandard cheaper product.
And I have worked in a union environment which by my observations makes people complacent and resigned to the fact that they are guaranteed a wage and a job regardless as to whether they take pride in the job they do or fuck the dog all day because they can get away with it.
Maybe what Walmart should have done is raise their prices across the board to match union demands and then see less and less people come through their doors for other places. Then what? Have a unionized staff standing around in a store with no customers. But then we get into another realm of customer dissatifaction which when coupled with discount prices would have a more devestating effect than just closing one store.
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Biz right to boot unions
Let market forces - not organized labour - determine what Wal-Mart pays employees
By ANNE HOWLAND, Ottawa Sun
Do you shop at Wal-Mart because of your relationship with the qualified staff who are paid a premium wage to escort you through the aisles? Or do you shop at Wal-Mart because it sells decent stuff at great prices?
While employees who smile and point you in the right direction are nice, they're not the reason people go to Wal-Mart. No, people want decent products at low prices. And serving that need is how Wal-Mart became one of the most successful, dominant businesses in the world.
So, when Wal-Mart decides it cannot meet that basic market need -- the premise for its very existence -- and opts to close a store that is unprofitable, for whatever reason, that's its business. Wal-Mart does not need the headache or expense of dealing with a fractious union, with demands that could make it impractical for the company to keep locations open. So it pulls up stakes. It's called a capitalist economy.
After all, how is it that Wal-Mart can offer great prices? Because it's smart with technology, it's a master of supply chain management, and it is ruthless with suppliers on price and quality. That's the beauty of being top dog.
Wal-Mart also offers great prices because it pays low wages. One estimate places the average wage at $8.23 US per hour, for an annual income of $13,861 US. It's true as well that Wal-Mart has been accused of discriminating against minorities and women in hiring, wages and promotions, and cheating hourly workers of overtime pay.
It's unlikely Wal-Mart will up its wages significantly. It would be in its best business interests, though, to improve its relationships with employees. A happy employee is a productive employee. Plus, it has been suggested that Wal-Mart faces significant expenses -- more than $1 billion annually -- associated with labour turnover (estimated at 45% in 2002).
LOPPED LIMBS
So if Wal-Mart decides to amend its labour practices, there is an excellent business rationale for doing so. It does not need a union to force change upon it.
Unions had their day when limbs were being lopped off in factories, children were being forced into labour and overtime pay was but a fantasy. Today's union militants must have been dropped off by the stork with a contract in their nappy stating they are entitled to a job for life, with premium pay and top benefits.
It's something that must have fallen out mid-flight for the rest of us who live and die in the non-unionized world.
Wal-Mart is nobody's patsy. Look at Air Canada. Look at Stelco Inc. Look at Algoma Steel. History is rife with companies that have been almost hammered out of existence by their own unions.
Seems to me, if you don't like where you work or who you work for, quit.
anne.howland@ott.sunpub.com
http://www.ottawasun.com/