(This is a little old, but still a good article-DJL)   Today's 'Scrooge' likely to lose workers, studies say By Erika D. Smith Knight Ridder AKRON, Ohio |   For all his miserly ways, Ebenezer Scrooge was one lucky excuse for a boss. No health care. No heat. No praise. No raises. No respect. Not to mention a response like this for wanting Christmas off: "A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every 25th of December!" The Bob Cratchits of the 21st century would have surely told Scrooge to humbug off, devoted employee or not. Any boss who models himself after the Charles Dickens character can bank on losing his best and brightest workers in the next few years. It might not look like it now, but the job market is moving from the employer's to the employee's favor, and. those employees might already be making a list and checking it twice to see if their bosses are naughty or nice. A Scrooge or a Santa. Baby boomers are starting to retire, leaving not only fewer workers to replace them but workers with less education and training. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a shortage of 10 million skilled workers by 2008. In fact, study after study shows that as soon as the economy gets itself together, many people plan to shop around for new jobs. They will leave the first chance they get, according to the staffing agency Spherion Corp., and that could come as soon as 2005. The reason is simple: Many employees are mad. They are furious and fed up at the way their companies have treated them during the recent downturn. Mass layoffs and health care cuts in the name of profit have not exactly engendered trust. Experts say companies need to change their ways quickly to retain quality people. If they don't start being nice instead of naughty, both in terms of perks and attitude, they're going to regret it when their workers fly away like reindeer. The best places to work are characterized by camaraderie, pride, credibility, respect and fairness. The latter three combine to create trust and honesty, and that comes from the top. Good management trusts employees to do their jobs without them looking over their shoulder. ___________________________________________________________________________ Thursday, July 1, 2004 Joining a union is a human right By RICK BENDER LABOR LEADER This Independence Day is a great time to think about how lucky Americans are to enjoy so many freedoms. But unfortunately, over the past few years, we have seen a serious erosion of some of our fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to join or form a union. Our labor freedoms are internationally recognized by the United Nations as a human right. Although the right of Americans to join a union is "guaranteed" by the National Labor Relations Act, not to mention our own Constitution's First Amendment regarding freedom of association, the facts are frightening. Our rights are in serious jeopardy throughout the region. Let's take the case of the Harley Davidson dealer in Burlington. Ironically, Harley Davidson motorcycles are made, still in America, proudly by union members. But when workers at Skagit Harley wanted to join the Machinists Union, the same union that represents the workers who make the fantastically popular motorcycles, they confronted a furious owner who hired a "union avoidance" consultant. The results are all too familiar. After the workers voted to join the Machinists Union last October, union supporters were either fired, had their position eliminated or found their hours cut in half. Of the eight positions eliminated after the vote, eight just happened to be held by supporters of the union. "Message received." Unfortunately, this outcome is no surprise. It's standard operating procedure in the private sector these days. Cornell University's Kate Brofenbrenner found in her research that 25 percent of employers illegally fire at least one worker during a union organizing campaign. The union, of course, filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint with the NLRB. But it shouldn't hold its breath about getting a timely ruling. When Deaconess Hospital in Spokane engaged in unfair labor practices last July, the NLRB didn't issue its opinion upholding the union's complaint for almost a year. For workers who have been laid off or fired, the prospect of waiting months or years for such a decision is downright impossible. Paychecks must cover the mortgage every month so workers have to move on to another job. That's how union organizing is routinely thwarted. That's how a fundamental human right for American workers has been eroded away. Historic legislation has been introduced in Congress to restore the right of American workers to join or form a union. It is called the Employee Free Choice Act and it has received bipartisan support from more than 200 members of Congress; every Democratic member of Washington's congressional delegation has signed on as a co-sponsor. This legislation allows workers to sign up to join a union without an employer's interference or intimidation. It simply allows workers to choose. Passage of that legislation would restore the freedom for Americans that has been so badly eroded that it no longer really applies. Thirty million Americans say they want to join a union, but only about 12 million belong to one. The main reason for the discrepancy is the current climate of intimidation and threat. Free people and free countries do not thrive under a climate of intimidation and threat. That's why our rights are so precious that they must be defended from attack, whether that attack comes from inside or outside our community. Rick Bender is president of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the largest labor organization in the state.