Turning Japanese?

I heard a radio commercial recently that was refreshingly honest. It was for a local Mitsubishi car dealer in Toronto. In the ad, a male character says, "I want to buy a Japanese car that is actually made in Japan!" And the announcer voice states that many of the models featured at this Mitsubishi dealer are assembled in Japan, so they are built with the quality you would expect. I can definitely relate to this ad. I worked at GM in Oshawa, Ontario as a co-op student for four months in 1990. I didn't work in the assembly plant, but in the plant where the machines stamp out parts. I often saw workers who didn't seem to do much except read a newspaper while the machines were stamping away. It was at that time that I decided I'd never buy a North American car. I'm a proud Corolla driver.

I should make the point that I'm not anti-union. Organized labour is largely responsible for creating a middle class in our society, and for forcing corporations into a degree of responsibility. I believe that it still has a role to play today, lest the corporatocracy become complacent. My biggest beef with some unions is that they overreach and create an environment in which workers are encouraged to be unco-operative toward both their employers and their co-workers. For example, if an employee wants to work through his break to complete a task, I don't think his colleagues should be dragging him away. Or if someone wants to help out in an area that is outside her job description and is prevented from doing so by union watchdogs, they are only hurting her personal development. Many union policies undermine pride in a job well done, which is a major component in work fulfillment and self-esteem. These are the kinds of things that give unions a bad name, and have caused a weakening of the labour movement in recent years.

In an era of corporate malfeasance, and with government not willing to provide oversight with teeth, unions need to be strong. They just need to re-define what it means to serve the best interests of their membership.