Colorado Bill Would Benefit Locked-Out Workers

Well, as a Coloradan, I can say that my state is definitely conservative when it comes to employment and what governs employer-employee relationships.

But I think a harder question, in this age of questions about unions, is not about whether things are stacked for or against business or unions. From my perspective (and as someone basically self-employed, I readily admit I’m biased), we need to have a discussion about how the employment landscape is stacked against independent workers.

Now, it’s relatively well-covered ground, actually, when you’re talking about knowledge workers, but let’s talk about it in the retail context.

One of the hardest things to manage from a staffing perspective is retail hours against employee availability, keeping in mind the coverage the retailer wants and the number of hours each employee wants. In a world where corporate employees are no longer subsidized through benefits–to both employers and employees by the way–then as a retailer, you could simply publish the hours you want worked with the skill sets you want during those hours, and let freelance retail employees bid on the hours they want to work. From the “associate’s” perspective, they could potentially bid for work across multiple retailers, getting all the hours they want during the times they want.

Think that’s too far-fetched? These kinds of things are already happening in graphic design, and a whole host of work options on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The pieces needed are rapidly coming into place: online/distance learning for training, online schedule/availability management through WFM….

The biggest thing in the way is not the technology to make that happen, it’s the way our employment system works today–which definitely favors working for a big company, whether unionized or not, over working on contract or freelance.

There can be no doubt that the corporate/labor pendulum has swung to the corporate side over the past few years. Corporations, specifically corporate management, has benefited considerably as more of GDP has come from the financial industry and computers and the Internet have expanded the “span of control” of retail management. Automation enables acquisitions and consolidations that have concentrated retail operations into a few large conglomerates, making it more difficult for SMEs to compete. Large retailers are able to extract concessions as they negotiate individual labor contracts or avoid unions altogether by shutting down locations challenged by labor organizers.

What has been lost is a level of self discipline from all sides. It seems too many senior managers come to the table with an air of entitlement and labor negotiators fail to understand the business’s requirements. Senior manger salaries have become a way they keep score and many have lost all conscience of what they’re paid. This has led to ridiculous compensation plans that bear no resemblance to the fortunes of the company.

On the labor side, unions have seemed to loose track of their role to provide a productive labor force for the business. Yes, they must represent their members in negotiations but they must also be ready to handle the difficult situations when individuals are no longer meeting expectations or existing contracts put the company at a competitive disadvantage. Having the highest hourly wage is no advantage if your hours are cut to zero.

I don’t know how you encourage self discipline. I guess anything you would do to encourage it means it’s no longer spontaneous. The first reaction might be to use regulation to avoid the extremes, but I am also reminded that “you cannot legislate morality.” It really takes a sense of shared consequence that encourages each participant to consider the larger picture as they fight for their individual rewards. Maybe we have the best solution possible as the pendulum swings between extremes and the average supports all.