Typically my focus on organized labor has to do with public-sector unions, their lack of transparency, and forced dues as a condition of employment. Private-sector unions rarely appear on my radar, but I take exception to the latest outrage in my hometown.
Joint Base Lewis McCord’s 555th Engineer Brigade worked with the city of Olympia to find a building to demolish for training purposes. There are plenty of old eyesores in Olympia, so a suitable candidate for demolition wasn’t a problem. A building on the contentious Isthmus, a skinny stretch of land separating Capital Lake and the base of Puget Sound, was chosen.
JBLM was excited to work with the city of Olympia to get on-the-ground training for overseas missions. Meanwhile, the city, which struggles to keep revenue above spending, was happy to have JBML donate its services.
The money isn’t there to clean up Olympia, and bringing down all the buildings is expensive, so any help we can get is welcomed and needed.
To the dismay of taxpayers, the city council, and the United States Army, however, Teamsters Local 252 and IUOE (International Union of Operating Engineers) Local 612 got wind that the city was having nonunion work done by the military and filed a complaint alleging “competition with commercial entities.”
In the end, the unions prevailed, showing they’re even more powerful than the United States Army – at least so far as the city council is concerned. If the unions are not allowed to build- or, in this case, destroy something – they’ll ensure no one else does. No matter what it costs the taxpayer.
They claim this is about wages and an honest bidding process, but JBLM had waived any labor fees. “The estimated cost for demolition by a private contractor is between $75,000 and $125,000, according to the city.” And let’s not forget the motivation for this project was largely the fact that it was going to be done without any labor fees.
“l. Competition with commercial entities. Army personnel, equipment, transportation, or other resources or services will not be provided to civilian-sponsored activities if commercial resources and services available in the public domain could reasonably provide such support. Army support could be provided if documented evidence shows local labor unions and CEs waived this requirement…”
The waiver was denied.
This is not a case of the working man being oppressed. This is simply a case of organized labor working playing a dog in the manger.
It’s time we all come together to put an end to union bullying tactics.
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