[jms62]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Actually the failure of business is rarely blamed on greedy unions as most businesses dont employ union workers. But so often those that do are led into bankruptcy by union leaders which choose to hold a hardline even if it means that the actual union members are going to wind up in worse shape.

A good example is when the Meadowlands deal was being negotiated the union which the tellers were members of was hell bent on maintaining the status quo. Under the NJSEA labor costs were causing much of the losses due to the fact that as attendance waned and the use of modern technology (self betting machines) the necessity of the tellers was hugely diminished. Yet because the NJSEA consistently caved in to unions, a large number of overpaid, unnecessary tellers were on the books. There were some days where there were more tellers working than simulcast patrons. When Gural came in to try to buy the Meadowlands and more or less save the track (and the union jobs by proxy) they refused to budge even a little. Eventually the union had to circumvent its own rules and cede power away from its negotiating committee and membership to an executive board to prevent the entire racetrack deal from falling apart. What it came down to there was the tellers union had to be willing to accept a deal where 75% of its membership stayed employed at 80% of their salaries because the alternative was 100% of their membership was going to get 0 percent.

When a small group of mostly unnecessary employees can undermine a project that employs and impacts thousands of people you often see the true colors of union leaders. Often the membership isnt to blame as they are just normal people trying to make a living. But the political nature and take no prisoners attitude of the heads of these unions and their unwillingness to actually try to compromise in order to make the best of a bad situation can not be overstated.

Well stated