Labor Day Economics
Happy Labor Day, America; many of you are reading this
later in the day because the long weekend allowed for sleeping in. As opposed to
the original justifications from the Industrial Revolution gone-by, strangely we
celebrate mass consumerism on this holiday weekend, and “shop ‘til we
drop.”
Be nice to the retailers you meet along the way; they
work hard, and most are not unionized. For them, Maryland is literally a “right
to fire” state!
Today, those associated with the retail community will
actually be suffering the exact opposite of the benefits of the celebrated
inroads made by reforming labor law; they will be working extended shifts with
few breaks, standing for hours on end to service. Federal, state, and county
employees are enjoying their three day weekend benefit
package.
Government unions have surely done their jobs
well.
Conversely, the private sector accounts for far less
union membership. Overall, 11% of workers belong to a union; in Maryland just
nine percent do; a record low with a declining trend.
Why fewer unions in the private sector? Perhaps private
sector unions would do better if they did not concentrate their members’ dues
into liberal political campaign war chests?
Of course, the “Hatch Act” prohibits meddling in
politics by government unions.
A huge “half-boxcar” sized ad, courtesy of union dues
paid into the AFL-CIO, ran on the back of the “Local” section of the
Frederick News-Post on Sunday, as they self-congratulate. It reminds
all to THANK A LABOR UNION. Featured sponsors in the fine print include:
Communications workers, government unions, teachers unions, auto manufacturers
unions, building trade unions, air traffic controllers, municipal unions,
utility workers, boilermakers, letter carriers, fire fighters, and many more.
Quite a long list.
No retailers.
In nearby Washington, there are calls to force a raised
minimum wage on Walmart to be $4 higher than the federal minimum wage. In
response, Walmart has threatened to shutter their existing stores, and to forgo
any new store starts. The pro-argument is that all workers deserve a livable
wage, no matter what the job.
Frederick is entertaining – no, is inviting – Walmart
to build a third superstore on its west-end now; amazing draw is needed as the
city itself is but 60,000 strong. That’s retail power...born on the back of a
profit margin supported by line-level workers.
Of course, without the competitive cost of doing
business advantage Walmart enjoys by fostering an environment of low-cost
operation, there would be no Walmart. They do battle based upon pricing, and
leave product knowledge and customer service reputations to
others.
[One other leading factor contributing to Walmart’s
market dominance is that their “brand” is – ironically – considered to be very
American, in the league of Coke, Harley-Davidson, Betty Crocker, etc., as they
promote so many Chinese goods.]
So…
Do take advantage of the favorable buyers market today,
as retailers cut each other’s throats for market share. And some of the proceeds
do eventually trickle down to even the lowliest cashier and shelf-stock
workers…
…who take pride in working for the day, as opposed to
leaching off of the social safety net of our entitlement
society.
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment