Not sure what a union would have done in this case. The problem is near term cost of inputs vs long term contracts with fixed revenue.
I’m not saying it would be bad for this to kick them into forming a union, only that it wouldn’t have solved this problem unless the union had an education campaign to explain why excessive tariffs are bad.
But like, that makes it a lumpy salary and not a bonus if it’s an entitlement without a reasonable low floor. Are there union contracts that actually dictate it like that?
Setting aside for a moment the understandable and reasonable belief that owners will try to fuck labor, a mandated cost divorced from the broader company financial performance metrics, sounds like a way to ensure bankruptcy. Even without this tariff nonsense there are real and honest cases where costs can skyrocket and a company has to adjust and that really does can little to nothing for the bonus pool (or other labor cost) without incurring a lot of financial risk.
Again, not an argument against unions, 100% support organized labor, but at some point math is math.
Unfortunately a union after the fact does nothing to help the workers.
Unions are great for ensuring that the profit from their labour; is fairly distributed.
If the company is unprofitable; forming a union to squeeze blood from a stone is not helpful. It will just hasten the demise. These tariffs, as others have pointed out are probably making their fixed term contracts into money losers…We don’t have all the data, but it is quite likely.
And from a personal point of view, smaller companies tend to care more than big ones…I’ve worked in both. Being 1 of 5 is great, being 1 of 15,000 not so much.
So they immediately left that meeting and started talking about how to unionize, right?
Right?
And the union organizer’s name? Albert Einstein.
Not sure what a union would have done in this case. The problem is near term cost of inputs vs long term contracts with fixed revenue.
I’m not saying it would be bad for this to kick them into forming a union, only that it wouldn’t have solved this problem unless the union had an education campaign to explain why excessive tariffs are bad.
Or I’d imagine, if the bonuses were part of the hypothetical collective bargaining agreement’s verbage, as an entitlement.
Yup, that’s reasonable too.
But like, that makes it a lumpy salary and not a bonus if it’s an entitlement without a reasonable low floor. Are there union contracts that actually dictate it like that?
Setting aside for a moment the understandable and reasonable belief that owners will try to fuck labor, a mandated cost divorced from the broader company financial performance metrics, sounds like a way to ensure bankruptcy. Even without this tariff nonsense there are real and honest cases where costs can skyrocket and a company has to adjust and that really does can little to nothing for the bonus pool (or other labor cost) without incurring a lot of financial risk.
Again, not an argument against unions, 100% support organized labor, but at some point math is math.
Yes and, labor unions have foregone bonuses in moments like that. The working class has had to pry those bonuses back.
I don’t think contracts are as rigid as most people would imagine. Especially if the rank and file vote not to collect on the bonus.
The math do be mathing though.
Yup fair point.
Unfortunately a union after the fact does nothing to help the workers.
Unions are great for ensuring that the profit from their labour; is fairly distributed.
If the company is unprofitable; forming a union to squeeze blood from a stone is not helpful. It will just hasten the demise. These tariffs, as others have pointed out are probably making their fixed term contracts into money losers…We don’t have all the data, but it is quite likely.
And from a personal point of view, smaller companies tend to care more than big ones…I’ve worked in both. Being 1 of 5 is great, being 1 of 15,000 not so much.