K. Janssen - Hampton Manor

Daniel owned two stadiums and three teams. The Old Brooking Indians and Old Brooking Wildcats played their home games in McKnight Stadium, an outdoor stadium. The Old Brooking Blizzards played on the ice at McKnight Arena, an indoor arena. When Daniel purchased the franchises for the three teams, he was contractually obligated to assume the union contracts for the two stadiums. His twelve person office staff remained non-union.

Cautiously, she asked, “So what’s happening?”

He snapped out of his funk, “Actually something good has come out of this mess with Local 33. I spoke with the Owner’s Associations at the Football and Hockey Leagues about the lack of cooperation I’m getting from SEWU. They were both very sympathetic. They asked if I would consider a schedule change for the Wildcats and the Blizzards to play their next two games at the opponent’s stadiums. I thought that that was a great idea. They just called back to tell me that it was all set up with the other teams, including sharing concession revenues. That last part really threw me for a loop. Do you realize that that means that we do not have any games scheduled at our stadiums for the next four weeks. How do you think Gil Parsons will like that? It sure weakens his position.”

“That’s really good news. Speaking of Gil Parsons, do you know any more about why he’s refusing to bargain with you? It’s such a turnabout from his usual behavior.”

“Not a thing. He keeps trying to put the onus on me because I left town for a few days when we got married. I still have an uneasy feeling about his stubbornness. There’s a lot more to this than meets the eye. My gut tells me that Adam Hampton is mixed up in this somehow. I wish I knew for sure what was behind his reluctance to bargain in full faith.”

“What reasons could Adam possibly have to make trouble for you?”

“Are you serious? Hell, you were married to the man. You know what he’s like. That man doesn’t need much incentive to make trouble for someone. It could be something as simple as you and I getting married, or maybe he’s still brooding over that tape. Who knows with him? Actually, I really don’t care. I’ve got something more important to discuss with you.” Daniel looked pensive as he gestured for Lauren to sit down next to him.

“Since all this started, we haven’t had much chance to discuss our future plans, but I’ve been giving a lot of thought to selling the teams and moving away from Old Brooking for good. When I was speaking to the Owner’s Associations I asked if there were any investors inquiring about purchasing franchises. Apparently, even though the economy is in the trash heap, there is still money out there looking for a good home.

They know of three investors interested in buying sports teams on the condition that the teams would move to New Haven, Bristol or other medium-to-large cities within the league’s province; someplace where the fan base would be better and where unions would not be a problem. The Association looks favorably on this, so why not?”

Lauren pondered Daniel’s words for a few minutes before she spoke, “I don’t want you to give up the teams. They’re like children to you. They’re your life blood.”

“I know what you’re saying, Lauren. The thought of giving them up really saddens me, but I don’t think we can go on like this.”

“Whatever you decide will be okay with me,. You know that. I just want to see you involved in something that you love doing, without this stress all the time.”

“I knew you would say that. Unfortunately the environment for entrepreneurs has changed over the last few years. Only some of this can be blamed on unions. Their membership numbers are dwindling due to companies moving their production overseas so while unions still target a few big employers like Wal-Mart, mostly they seem to be concentrating on small and medium sized businesses, like mine. I wouldn’t even be thinking about getting out if it wasn’t for the union. They came with the deal when I first bought the teams. I was too new to understand all the ramifications.”

“Since then we’ve had two negotiations and both times I’ve had to surrender more of my rights, just to get them back to work. Philosophically, I’m sympathetic to the basic tenets of collective bargaining and unions, but I’m also a realist when it comes to the practices of today’s union organizations. Once sweetheart contracts became a part of the collective bargaining process, there was no turning back. It’s just too easy to give in and pass the higher costs on to the consumer. This has finally caught up with them and now non-union companies, here and abroad, are eating their lunch.”

“I’ve never really thought about unions and I had no idea you felt so strongly.”

“Most people believe that the labor movement’s basic purpose is to benefit workers by assuring that they have proper working conditions, are paid a living wage proportionate to the output of their labor, are guaranteed employment during the contract period and are protected against unfair labor practice by their employers. That’s true for the most part, but I’ve also observed that unions don’t always protect the rights of their members. For instance, it’s very common for union funds to be used to sponsor lobbyists, support politicians and engage in other activities that aren’t relevant to their organizing objective. Sometimes these activities are contrary to the wishes of the rank and file. My main beef with them is that they protect less productive workers often at the expense of highly productive ones.

“Another issue I have is that collective bargaining is not just about money or working conditions. In addition to wages, health insurance, pension benefits, dues check-off, vacations and holidays are commonly brought to the bargaining table. Any of these can be repressive to a small business. In multiples, they can be devastating.”

Daniel reached over and took Lauren’s hand. “I just don’t want to run a business in that kind of environment any longer. If I knew when I bought the franchises, what I would be going through today, I would never have purchased them.”

“You know, what I don’t understand is why workers join a union if the company they work for provides most of the benefits you just mentioned?”

“That’s a good question. There are a good many companies today that are wondering exactly that. They operate for years thinking that they are doing good by their employees, when all of a sudden, out of the blue, they are blindsided by a union led by overzealous organizers who make grandiose promises to the employees to convince them to vote the union in. Often it just takes some layoffs to trigger interest in the rank and file.”

“Some companies attempt to bribe their workers into rejecting the union, by offering them new benefits, but it often backfires when the union uses it to point out that if it wasn’t for them, the company wouldn’t be implementing the changes in the first place. Also, once a union gets a foothold, it’s very difficult to de-certify them.”

“I thought that the rank and file vote for their leadership? Why wouldn’t they vote out the bad guys if they weren’t happy with the deal they’re getting or suspect that the union leaders were padding their own pockets with sweetheart deals?”

“Once union leadership takes power, they are in a strong position to hang on to their jobs. As in most positions of leadership subject to voters approval, the incumbent usually has the advantage of being able to make strategic moves to sabotage their competition. It’s not uncommon for unpopular union leaders to retain their leadership for decades. Challengers usually don’t stick around too long. It’s less prevalent today, but there was a time, not so long ago, when violence was used to eliminate any complainers. It’s a lot safer to knuckle under than resist. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not implying that that’s true of all unions or even that that’s what I’m dealing with at Local 33. Actually, when he’s away from the union office, Gil is a churchgoer, very active in community affairs and fun to just sit down and have a beer with on a Friday night, but when it comes to collective bargaining he puts his union’s agenda before all else.”