Recession-stoked Changes in Labor

I wish I had more free time to write about these things as they come to mind, because it would have been perfectly timed two days ago to discuss how I thought the one good thing this down economy might produce is a restructuring of labor practices.

But alas, now I can only recycle old news.

"Union Wary of Obama Schools Plan" was the headline on the front page of Wednesday's L.A. Times.

Speaking before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington Tuesday, President Obama urged for a market-driven merit pay system for teachers with the best performance overall and credentials to teach in the most needed fields like math and science.

Not surprisingly this rattled the cages of union officials and teachers alike.

"It doesn't work.... You can't create an educational community by pitting teachers against each other," said Joshua Pechthalt, vice president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Pitting teachers against each other is exactly what needs to be done to fix a broken education system. There are too many great teachers who change kids' lives while making less than the over-the-hiller who assigns class reading before falling asleep at his desk.

More signs of change by necessity came from Ford, which announced Wednesday that it reached an agreement with the United Auto Workers union to implement significant contract modifications.

What's appreciable about the situation with Ford is that both parties realized concessions had to be made in order to keep the industry afloat. Ford looked at its international business models and made proposed adjustments that would bring domestic revenues to the same level. The UAW, though probably less than enthusiastic about the idea, understood the necessity of the changes in order to maintain viable domestic manufacturing.

Economic necessity breeds change.