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36 cents a day for health benefits.
March 31, 2009 1:29 AM

Americans really, truly, hate unions - even when it only costs them $.36 a day!

Randy Cohen - who writes "The Ethicist" column for the NY Times - fielded this question recently:

The board of our 273-unit co-op wants to replace our union cleaning service with a nonunion service to save $35,000 a year, although the board acknowledges that our present service performs admirably. Facing rising costs, the board stresses its duty to stay within its budget and hold down monthly fees. Is the board acting ethically? What can residents do if they disagree with it?

Mr. Cohen brilliantly points out what this dilemma means in a nuts-and-bolts kind of way:

The board's proposal is a dubious first step. It should instead begin by negotiating with the current service, seeking to preserve good union jobs without busting your building's budget. In tough times like today's, some unions have agreed to renegotiate their contracts. (See Detroit.) Dissenting tenants should express their willingness to pay a bit more rather than squeeze the cleaning crew. It would cost each unit only $10.68 a month to make up that $35,000 -- about 36 cents a day -- less than the cost of a daily candy bar (and it can't be healthful to eat all that candy).

Here's another way to phrase the issue: Should sacrifices be made only by the poorest-paid employees, or should they be shared by their (presumably) wealthier employers? I'm going to go with . . . shared. To dump union workers often means saving money by denying their replacements health insurance, vacation and pension benefits, not to mention decent pay. New employees are not more productive; they can just be induced to work for less -- economic desperation has a way of doing that. While the board has financial obligations to the co-op owners, it also should treat its employees fairly rather than force them into a race to the bottom.

Amen to Randy for making these points!

And shame on this building in Boston for choosing the wrong solution:

update: The board replaced its unionized service with nonunion workers. The union company found jobs in other buildings for the original crew, but not full-time work.

The really sad part of this story is that it has certainly played out in similar fashion all across the country over and over again. Let's hope that we're beginning a new era of empathy for the workers in this country who are toiling in the ditches serving the lifestyles of others.


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