Look back to the 90's when employers' contract with employees began its descent into believing that job loyalty was a thing of the past. Along with downsizing came reduced employee loyalty, a breeding mistrust of management, and most recently an unfortunate disregard for fellow employees. This recession has revealed a paradigm that's a selfish, ugly trend which says "Forget the company, just look out for yourself."
Now with California on the brink of bankruptcy, and cities trying to renegotiate firefighter and other public sector jobs' benefits and salaries, the "WIFM" (What's In It For Me?) paradigm is rearing it's ugly head. When confronted with a choice to support their co-workers' job security by allowing wage freezes, or simply voting to delay wage increases to prevent layoffs, in several recent situations public sector union employees still voted in favor of the wage increases. They voted to increase their own wages and lay off their co-workers versus vote for a wage freeze and save their co-workers' jobs.
Simply unbelievable.
In the '80's I worked in a TRW plant, a machine shop operation with the UAW firmly in place. The cigarette-smoking, middle aged white men who composed the Union's Representatives showed up for weekly fourth step meetings bogged down with accordion files filled with formerly signed agreements dating back decades in some cases.
What I learned at that tender young age in my HR career was that labor relations had nothing to do with morality, or "doing the right thing." Instead, it was a matter of how the contract was interpreted. We'd spend hours discussing agreement's original intent. Because the UAW had the same folks in the same union jobs for the prior 30 years, our transitory management team was at a historical disadvantage in these meetings.
Now I live closer to the Bay Area, north of Sacramento. The state of California is on the verge of going broke because our legislators can't work out a mutually acceptable solution to the state's financial woes, representing a simply stunning, uncomprehensible deficit: $24 BILLION. Last year the City of Vallejo declared bankruptcy due to an inordinate amount of its budget spent on public safety and benefits.
Public sector pay and benefits used to lag the private sector, but no more. The reverse is true now. When was the last time a private sector employer gave a COLA increase in addition to merit pay increases? Offered a company paid retirement program? Plus paid 100% of an employee's benefits costs?
In San Francisco, employees of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) are threatening to walk out if their contract isn't been renewed by 7/1/09. Last Wednesday, the unions asked for a 3% pay raise over the next two years, rejecting a wage freeze. They are the highest paid station agents and train operators in the nation. A top-scale station agent and train operator each make $30.01 per hour,or $62,860 annually in base pay. BART also pays 100% of the employee's contribution towards pensions.
BART employees, on average receive an annual pay of $71,633 including overtime, with an average of $48,000 a year spent on each worker's benefits. That represents a cost of $4,000 per month per employee for benefits coverage alone!!
Earlier in June, the Sacramento city's firefighters voted overwhelmingly to reject their union's tentative agreement to freeze salaries. As a result as many as 50 firefighters may now be laid off from their jobs. The membership voted 66% for, with 34% against deferring a 5% raise in July. Think about that....they voted for an increase to their own pockets that would result in certain job loss for their fellow firefighters.
The game has changed, and public sector employees need to realize that they are vulnerable too. I understand mistrust of management, particularly when their actions don't align with what they report. The financial scenario has dramatically changed for us all, and responsible parties are forced to manage accordingly by renegotiating contracts and reducing expenses throughout organizations. The private sector has known this for a long time; now the public sector is beginning to wake up.
But this trend of looking out for yourself, even at the expense of your co-worker is an ugly, selfish trend that's truly troubling.
Becky Regan is the founder and President of Regan HR, Inc., a human resources consulting firm specializing in compensation consulting for California employers and purveyor of online HR products. A former Corporate Human Resources Director (10,000+ employees) with more than 25 years of HR work experience in many industries, her team works with private, public and non-profit clients. Becky is passionate about designing HR programs and compensation plans that build organizations.
Photo courtesy of Rachel Carlson
Wow, great post.
Posted by: working girl | 07/01/2009 at 12:00 AM