Union muddle

The news from our neighbors in Wisconsin seems incredibly surreal these days...an attack on unions, an attack on the working class, an attack on teachers and public workers (except police and firefighters, of course). The bill and subsequent protests are all happening so fast my head is spinning. It's the Midwest's own Egypt. Is Ohio the next Libya?

And in the end what is it about? Walker would have us believe it is about balancing the budget. And no doubt, in part that is the goal. But I feel, as do the thousands that have poured into Madison in protest this week, that is goes deeper than that...

Yes, spending does need to be reigned in. And tough choices need to be made. Choices most of us would rather not even acknowledge. Someone in the end will lose out. In times when budgets are spread so thin, everyone feels the pinch...well, perhaps the upper percentage of the income brackets not so much...

But this bill goes beyond tightening the belt. Beyond freezing wages, cutting benefits or forcing more employee contributions. The current state legislators of Wisconsin are looking to dissolve the collective bargaining power of public sector unions. Wisconsin's teachers, construction workers, librarians, health workers, urban planners...the number of people employed by the state truly is mind-boggling.

And quite frankly, I do have mixed feeling about unions. There are many instances when I have felt that some unions only protect those who no longer fulfill the requirements they were hired to fill. Tenured positions, lax review boards, a sense of complacency and entitlement occasionally and unfortunately keep a few employees on payroll with being held accountable for actually doing the jobs required of them. When a union's power protects an ineffective employee over the needs of those the employee is suppose to be servicing than yes, I take issue with said unions.

But much of my philosophy in life stems from a strong sense of accountability and responsibly for one's own actions.

But unions pay a vital role in protect the livelihood of those that DO fulfill their job titles.

I would not being doing as well as I am currently if it weren't for a union. To be clear, the theater is not in the public sector, but that does not minimize the role of our union in the slightest.

For a long time (and in many cases the notion is still holds fast) costume work was women's work. There existed, and still does exist, the notion that everyone and their mother could sew. Costume shop employees...drapers, tailor's, stitchers, milliners, dyers...we were viewed as more expendable, and far less skilled or specialized than our brethren in the scene shop or electric shop. THOSE were the skilled trades. And as such, the employees of the costume shops were not regarded as highly, nor was the pay camparable, or benefits as generous. However, our hours were the same, if not longer. And the number of master's degrees and other higher certifications and training within the costume shop itself far outnumber all other areas of production combined. It turned out these skills were not honed by everyone and their mom, but by people who had devoted their careers to this art.

So the shop banned together. And they were joined by not only other area costume shops, but by the already unionized scene shop staff and electrics staff. As a result, now all production staff are contracted under IATSE collective bargaining agreement. And guess what...the costume shops STILL drag far behind our scene shop and electric brethren. But our employee acknowledge our skill and devotion. And we earn a far more livable wage as well as benefits...

It's a hard line to walk, protect workers, while avoiding complacency. But unions have there place. And I pity Wisconsin if this bill does indeed succeed...a step backwards in the state that was at the forefront of worker's rights.