Last night at dinner, the topic of unions came up. We discussed how unions were required at the time they were created to achieve fairness and safety for those working in manufacturing. However, today, fairness in wages, hours, and training are still issues, it seems the modern union exists for other reasons. We were not really sure about those reasons, but acknowledged that everyone has to change in order the stay relevant and compete.
Our conversation also reminded me of the 2007 MESA Keynote Speaker - Peter Fingar. Peter reminded us that there are 3 billion new capitalists in the world and if we did not do something everyday to improve, we would quickly be rendered obsolete.
I grew up in Connersville, Indiana, where there was once a $1B Visteon plant. This plant just closed its doors because the union and management did not work to make it one of the best plants in the Visteon fleet. If the plant had been one of the best in the fleet, chances are, it would still be making automotive parts today…
Conclusion - whether we are in automotive manufacturing, healthcare, education, or farming, we all have to work to improve everyday. If we don’t we might just end up being “mothballed” like the Visteon plant in Connersville.
