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January
1971
and thereby
excessive labor demtmt!J
inJ!Ire greater inflation in f1111tre years
/
We have,
in
a sense, mortgaged our
future for
present
satisfaction.
In the words of the N
ew York
Times:
"Sorne think we are seeing the
results of an atmosphere of selfishness
in which every manis encouraged to get
his. Others might say that workers are
only trying to win their share in an
economy evidently up for grabs" (April
6,
1970).
Management wants all the profits it
can get. \'V'orkers, in too many cases,
want the
HIGHEST
wages they can get
for the
leas/
amount of work. It is, after
all, a
getting
type of world. Not many
are on the
givi11g
side.
Unions Can't Control Greed
Now, even disgruntled union mem–
bers are increasingly Iosing faith in the
value of their own unions! Union
leaders find it more difficult to get all
factions to cooperate and to control
impatient and aggressive members.
Militant unionists are now using the
"wildcat" strike to push for bigger wage
increases.
The
PLAIN TRUTH
Everyone is grabbing for his slice of
pie. But have they stopped to ask:
"Who is providing the p ie?"
All of us are! Every citizen must
pay a high price to satisfy the getting
attitude. When hordes are getting, other
hordes must give.
The Government is usually the big
loser when labor strikes. A decrease in
wages and pro.fits means a decrease in
taxes collected. And in Britain, for
example, the Government also has to
pay out money to support a striker's
family.
Mr. Harold Wilson, former Prime
Minister of Britain, said: "One man's
wage
increase
is
another man's
price
increase." Higher wages for auto
workers, for example, have helped push
up car prices. The cost of living rises.
There is little or no real gain in pur–
chasing power. The result is a wage–
price spiral that appears to have no
end. And after a worker retires on a
fixed income, the trend he helped start
will continue to deflate his fixed retire–
ment pound or dollar.
Is T here a Solut ion?
Must the laborer always live in fear
that management wi ll take advantage
of him at every turn? Must manage–
ment worry about employee disloyalty,
theft, strikes, work slowdowns?
No one wants to see costly strikes
continue to increase. "A strike is never
a good thing," said Henry Ford Il.
"When one occurs, it means that at
least one party has over-reached the
bounds of reason and responsibility."
What then can be done to prevent
labor disputes from strangling the
economy of Western nations? Is there
a solution that will work? Or is the
problem unsolvable?
One writer team says: "The con–
stant effort to bridge the gap between
management and workers must go on;
but it is not a problem that can be
solvcd permanently, for
it is a
pemM–
nent problem like growing or dying.
"It produces strikes and every trouble
known to management short of strikes
( and there are many) even in the most
enlightened firms - for a complete!y
harmonious and democratic organization
is
IMPOSSJBLE
just as a paternalistic one
41
is obsolete"
(The Boss
by Roy Lewis
&
Rosemary Stewart, pp. 254-255).
Others think new laws are needed to
curb unofficial wildcat strikes. But when
government workers defy tbe anti–
strike laws already on the books, will
more lau·s
rea lly be the solution?
Still others advocate more control
over the power of labor unions. Would
that solve the problem? Would changed
methods of bargaining and making
contracts be the solution?
Sorne believe wage and price con–
trols are needed to harness runaway
inflation and thus make the demands
for higher wages unnecessary. Inflation
is a major factor in causing strikes. It
is a
symptom
of a sickness in the
structure of our economy.
These proposed solutions only attempt
to treat the observable symptoms - the
effects - of a much deeper illness.
Few realize strikes and labor strife
and lockouts are the result of some–
thing wrong with our
way of life.
This world's approach to life operates
on the philosophy of self-centeredness.
It is the selfish way of getting instead
of giving; taking and acquiring instead
of sharing; the way of envy, jealousy,
and hatred instead of concern for others.
These are the two opposing philoso–
phies- or
WAYS-
of life. Humanity
has followed the self-centered, getting
way.
The basic cause of labor-management
disputes involves the
basic attit11de
of
management and workers toward each
other. Both have the selfish attitude of
trying to
get
something from the other.
This selfish attitude of the individuals on
both sides
miiSt
rhange.
Yet this is
perhaps the most difficult thing for
human beings to do. But change we
must!
What, then, should be done to get
at the
basic causes
of management–
labor problems and solve them
permanently?
The Required Changes
First, management must have true
concern and respect for the employee.
And there must be good communication
between management and workers as
well as a friendly atmosphere among
employees themselves. The family atmo–
sphere that exists in small, family-owned