Those who are in the corporate business world never seem to let a crisis go to waste, signifying that the best time to undercut or damage a union, or simply the employees of the company that are non-unionized, is when there appears to be the imminent threat of a recession or a slowdown in their business. This thus allows these corporate entities to pressure unions even though they have an agreement; but it is still insisted that adjustments need to be made, which will in their effect, hurt those of the union, because economic conditions have forced the corporate hand to reduce labor expenses.
No doubt, there are business cycles, but the thing is, there is something called profit, and the earnings so retained from that profit, of which, if corporations made it their point, that their employees are the most important thing to them, as well they should, then a poor business climate or not, they would be more proactive in coming up with salvation plans that would not first impact negatively labor employment, their salaries, or their benefits, for as it has been said, bad times don’t last forever, so hasty and imprudent decisions made now, have serious consequences for employees which should be averted.
So too, in this global age, it doesn’t even have to be about a recession to express the belief, for instance, that foreign companies are poised to take market share, or are actually taking market share. This, then, is indeed a problem of a different sort, of which the very purpose of governments so created, especially when that government has tremendous economic clout to do something constructive about foreign companies, is to take up the mantle to do right by domestic corporations so that they are prudently protected from ceding share to foreign markets.
The thing about unions in companies, is that a significant portion of corporate management, spend an inordinate amount of time, concentrating on what they can do to weaken said union, which is why when there is fear in the air, corporations are typically already prepared with what they are going to advocate for, in regards to unions having to sacrifice something of merit, so that the company can maintain its existence and strength. This type of mindset wreaks havoc upon those who are employed, because it, first of all, does not give them a true seat at the table, which would be indicative that contracts so mutually agreed upon aren’t really solid in their construction.
Finally, when it really does come time for heads to roll, the heads that should be first in line to be eliminated, should come from upper management, for these are the very people that have the highest responsibility to the corporation and the employees that make up that corporation and when they have failed in their foresight about this or that, they should be the ones to face the music, as opposed to those that in the scheme of things, need the consistency of their paycheck, along with job security, which they absolutely depend upon to make their way in society so as to do right by their own.