I once worked for an organization and was represented by AFSCME by default - whether I paid the dues(2% of my meager salary) or not. But I paid, because it was my first job out of college and my fellow union colleagues convinced me that it was the right thing to do. It would ensure my representation in the event of a grievance. I gleefully accepted the 3% salary increase, and even a 2% signing bonus one year. My $18,000 salary was surely going up, up and up!
But then I was purusing the job postings from other departments in the organization and saw better salaries for jobs which I was qualified. I applied and got one. Bumped my salary to $32000. Whoo Hoo! Mom could finally get that operation.
But this was in a department not represented by a union. No contract, no guaranteed raises, but all the other benefits (medical, vacation, retirement, etc.) were the same as what I had. I had to ask myself, then, what did that 2% of my salary really do for me? AFSCME represented me and my bretheren and got us the same benefits that people at the rest of the organization (20,000 employees) got. The only thing I really saw different was the contract that stipulated the annual raises. Maybe I was missing something.
My next 2 years saw raises taking me to $40K before I finally moved onto greener pastures at another company. Ever since that first job, I've never been in a union represented job. Yet my benefits, pay and companies I've worked for have all been generous and comitted to maintaining compensation that is competitive with the market. I learned that whether I was to ever be represented by a union or not, I would see my pay ebb and flow with the market. This year, my company has laid off people. It froze salaries. There are no profit sharing payouts. And we'll start contributing to our medical benefits in 2003. This is what the market bears, and we have to accept it. It's reality. And you know what, I'm fine with it. I'd rather see the company manage it's costs for long term survival than see them continue to erode profit margins and lose market share. In the good times, we prosper, in the bad we have to suck it up a bit, and it's not always pretty.
As I see it, compensation(defined as salary and benefits) is just as flexible as the housing market, stock market, or any other economic indicator. I just don't see how having union representation changes that. A company will furlough or lay off as needed. Your job is never REALLY protected.
So, should USAirways go non-union. I don't know. Wasn't Southwest non-union for a while? I don't know that history, or why they eventually unionized. Might be a good case study.
Look at it this way - if there were no union representation at USAirways, you'd be an at will employee. When it came time for cutbacks, your seniority would mean nothing. But, what should determine if someone keeps their job or not? Years at the company, or level of performance and skill? Logic and good business-sense would suggest the latter.
Without union representation, your skills and qualifications would be what advanced you within your profession - not the number of years you have. On the other hand, if you are a comitted worker, your number of years would advance your skills. Is that fair? Depends on who you ask.
If I owned a company of 20 people and it came time that the money was tight and we couldn't survive without laying 5 people off, I'd look at performance and who's contributing the most to the company to ensure it's survival. If there was an employee with 10 years, but he's a total underachiever, or just does the minimum to get the job done, don't you think I have a right to consider letting him go in light of other employees who have demonstrated their dedication and perseverance?
So, while I'm not anti-union - I respect what they stand for - I'm just not always convinced that they're completely beneficial for the membership. I believe in rewarding and paying in accordance with the market and individual performance. It's objective and pretty simplistic, I know. Maybe that's what a perfect world is, which we all know is not what we live in.