By Greg Porter
As I read with fascination and amusement Jocelyn Hunt’s, “Unions have lost their purpose,” [Jan. 13] a few thoughts crossed my mind.
First, her arguments pick and choose various situations which help her cause, but are only representative of those specific incidences. To wit: the Toronto garbage strike was a horrible episode in the city’s history, therefore the union involved was at fault and unions are useless. A California prison guard makes a six-figure salary (well earned, no doubt), only because they are in a union, therefore the State is in financial peril. I would hate to hear her breakdown of how the United Auto Workers Union caused the crisis in the American economy because of greed and sloth, rather than the gross mismanagement on the part of big American Banks, et al.
Second, she fails to recognize the value of a union to ensure delivery of service as part of a collectively bargained agreement. There are many essential positions in our economy which rely on union members to deliver quality work as part of this equation. Teachers, firefighters, police officers and nurses are all members of our society who benefit from being part of a union. A union that protects them from the arbitrary measures of management while, at the same time, ensuring we receive delivery of the services we rightly deserve.