Lost jobs, cries of injustice, who is responsible?

Recently in Western PA, there have been a couple of glass plants closing for different reasons. The one that caught my attention was the Glenshaw Glass company (another is Anchor Glass in Fayette County). These closings occur much to the chagrin of workers, and local communities. Also, this past Monday night, Darren Hall, IUP Business and Human Relations student, gave a presentation about labor relations, most specifically relations between labor unions and corporate managers. Darren used a great clip from a Simpson's Season 4 episode called "Last Exit to Springfield" (Episode 417). It was a brilliant clip to show, even though it gives a pretty strong bias against "the man". I would highly recommend watching the show to get some good laughs and political satire.

Are unions selfish? Are corporate execs selfish? The answer to both is most often yes. In the case of Glenshaw glass, there were a lot of factors. The factory is in need of repair from the floods earlier in the fall, and the overall debt and costs for repair were twice the worth of the factory and company as a whole. The bank saw this as a problem, as I am sure it was. Small details are given here and there about the story. News clips showed workers picketing outside on the road with signs telling people to close their PNC bank accounts (PNC being the bank that closed the plant), signs saying that WalMart can't support their family, and others requesting that the plant be re-opened.

Different factors that may never be known are the following: Actual salaries of workers, salaries of the CEO, President, Vice-Presidents, and General Managers. Should these be made known to the public? Salaries are something that people are never quick to release, but it may help in this case. Why? My reason is the following: The union met together 2 weeks before because they were asked to take salary concessions to help the plant stay open. I don't know what the concessions were, but truth be told, it may have helped the plant stay open a little bit longer so a potential buyer could come in and repair the plant. The union rejected any concessions, and the workers continued to get paid.... for 2 more weeks. Whether this was corporate greed, or selfishness of the working class, we won't know. So with this unsurety, how do we respond?

One of my initial thoughts was, "What kind of spending habits do these people have? Where are the paychecks spent?" This response is my desire to see people become less consumeristic. If the workers were living below their potential (which often is not hard if you have a little self control), they may have been able to take a pay cut for a while that would have let them keep living normal lives. Unfortunately, most people live paycheck to paycheck, or over their means, and are in severe consumer debt, which forces them to demand higher pay whether there is a need or not.

Another question that came up while I watched the broadcasts was, "What is the role of loyalty in worker-factory relationships?" Why were the workers not willing to invest their own money into the future of the factory. Should any of us, if we work for a company, be willing to sacrifice a little for the good of the company? The question also become, when does the company sacrifice for the workers in need? When to the CEO's and Presidents sacrifice their huge 6 figure salaries for the good of their workers?

My wife and I will often hear about a salary of a person making 500,000 dollars a year, and realize that those people make more in a month than we do in a year. What on earth could a person do with all that money? Sadly, what can be done is flaunted in front of all of America on MTV, sports networks, and any other program that flaunts lives of the rich and famous, and American buy that dream of living in the lap of luxury. We look to our own selves, and not to the people we depend on for the life that we live.

Someday, I hope a company will see that they are more than just different levels of workers, but groups of people who depend on each other for their identity and well being. A CEO is nothing without every person below him/her, and the custodian has no job without a CEO running a good company.

My peace is written,

DEW