Something completely new to me is happening around me.

Our office is about to go on strike.

I won't tell you what company, because it really doesn't matter. If you know who I am, then you know what company. But that's not really the point.

See, I've never been in a union environment. Sure, I've read things about unions and I know a little bit about them from various articles and books that I've read in the past, but that's nothing comparred to what's going on around me.

I guess I should mention where I stand on this stuff.

Overall: There is probably a need for this kind of thing in certain industries (car mfg., mining, construction, and sometimes schools). Some industries have a history and there is a need for the people to be protected. I don't deny that. I think it sucks, but that's life.

My environment: I work in a white collar environment. I work as a web designer. I'm pretty sure there's no need for us to be a part of a union. We have a 1000-member sales force. I'm pretty sure that a sales force doesn't need to be part of a union. The worst we have to look out for is ergonomically incorrect desks and papercuts.

I should also mention that this unionizing of positions came without warning and without choice. I found out, months later, that it was a move by the parent company who was getting ready to sell us. The union was going to shut them down because they were going to "downsize" (another thing I hate) by roughly 1,000 people. The union was up in arms until the parent company told them they could unionize another 750 positions in our portion of the company. Thanks!

My main bitch about the whole union thing is that it breeds mediocrity. Because we are all considered union drones, there's no incentive to do better work. In our group, we all get paid the same, regardless of the quality and/or quantity of work done. I consider myself a good web designer, and I work alongside a few people who think that crappy, templetized sites are just fine for customers. They put no effort into learning new design skills, or bettering themselves through school. Why should they? It will make no difference in their pay as to how good they are.

This infuriates me.

Mostly because I can't stand to do inferior work. I put more time, effort and certainly creativity into each project I do. My customers love the work I do. In fact, I have very few cancellations from year to year because the quality is better than what they had before.

I have some peers who are on the same page as I am when it comes to all this, and we are the ones who bounce ideas off each other, who learn from each other and who mentor each other in our daily work. It's this small group of people that will be crossing the line tomorrow to do the work of the rest, and I have a feeling that we will do better and quicker work without their attitudes around. It will be more like 1999 for a while...maybe a week, maybe 2.

Oh, and before you get on my case because of the picket line, let me explain that in Colorado, and specifically in our company, the position is union, not the person. You can choose to join the union, but whether you join or not, you get all the perks and pains of the union. If you join, you can vote, you can get cute little discounts at stores around the area, etc., but if you join AND cross the picket line, then you get fined. Thankfully, I never became a " member" of the union, so they can't fine me for going to work.

There are some in our upper management that are telling me that I am brave to be doing this, and that they definitely appreciate it. To me, this is no different than standing up for what I believe in politics, religion and any other tough subject. You gotta choose where you stand on these things at some point in your life, and on this point, albeit a forced move, I choose to not support the dealings of the union.

I don't believe that this company should have a union, and I believe that if the company is going to grow into the company it could be, then they should definitely look into getting rid of it, and soon.

Anyway, I will probably post more, if I'm not innundated with work, but I'm kind of excited to be a part of this, albeit on the minority side. I've never had the opportunity to experience something like this and I look forward to seeing this take place from the inside.

-M-