Sunday, August 12, 2012

Car Wash Employees Form a Union - Really, And Who Coaxed Them Into Doing That?

Should the local car wash become a union local teamsters group? Over the last couple of years, I've watched the regulators and government come down on car washes in CA. It was a rather curious thing actually, yes, folks who are unemployed were angry that there "might be" illegal aliens working at some of the car washes, and perhaps, at some of the car washes this was so, but overall the ramped up regulatory scrutiny was curious.
There was an interesting article recently in Professional Car Washing and Detailing Magazine mobile car wash for sale on November 1, 2011 titled; "Thirty Car wash Workers Unionize in CA" and the article indicated that the 30-car washers signed the labor contract which "was created with the help of the Community Labor Environmental Action Network (CLEAN)."
The piece additionally stated that; "The AFL-CIO also helped secure the contract, which gave workers at Bonus a two 2 percent wage increase, and it enacted health and safety measures. It also includes a grievance and arbitration procedure to settle disputes. The United Steelworkers (USW) union represents the workers. "
Okay so, I have a question; is the AFL CIO so hard up that it needs to go organize all the car washes in the country, surely there is a long-term strategy here and this is only the first car wash to have been forced to set up a labor agreement. Is the AFL-CIO going to move into other small businesses too? Robotic type businesses, and are they going to engage in a war of human against machine? Since most car washes in CA hire Hispanic workers, is this a strategy to garner Hispanic supporters to union causes?
It appears to me that the AFL-CIO realizes that there is a rift between them and the Democratic Party as the Party attempts to cater to Hispanic voters. The AFL-CIO has also come under much scrutiny in the US, as many have charged unions with unfair tactics and engaging in activities which have forced factories overseas. Now then, I personally believe that such charges against unions are more than accurate, so, maybe the AFL-CIO now also sees the error of the ways.
Was this small victory really worthy of the media's attention? Well, it's a foot in the door as far as the union is concerned. The concessions of 2% pay increase, or even health care are laughable, first because 2% isn't squat, and second come 2014 all the new ObamaCare kicks in anyway, and third, car wash workers generally only stay at a location for on average 18-months and then leave, so all this is utterly ridiculous.
In any case this is really bad news for the auto service industry, and car wash equipment for sale small businesses everywhere. If a car wash employee is not getting a fair deal at the car wash they work at, why not just quit and get a job at a Fast Food Restaurant or something? Large unionized companies have generally cost efficiency in production, hurting the consumer as this increases prices. Further as prices rise too high customers migrate to other options. So, I ask, are we going to allow unions to attack the small business community in this way, and if so to what avail?
Car Wash Employees Form a Union,\,union local teamsters,wash employees,car wash employees,think tank Should the local car wash become a union local teamsters group? Over the last couple of years, I've watched the regulators and government come down on car washes in CA. It was a rather curious thing actually, yes, folks who are unemployed were angry...

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