Tuesday 27 April 2004

Pic of the day: Union man as envisioned in the online game City of Heroes. (No, labor unions are not a villain group, even though it is a very American game in many ways...)

Strike of the year?

This spring's big labor strike here in Norway is stopping distribution of goods to the big supermarket chains. It is well placed to get maximal media coverage, and the labor union is one with a particular active leadership and a deep abiding love for strikes. They have saved up enough money to strike for a month. The chains have retaliated with a lock-out, no doubt hoping to force the government to declare the strike illegal due to "danger to life or health". This is a very common way of ending strikes in Norway. The labor minister has (somewhat randomly, I'd say) declared that the strike will be broken up when the shops run out of diapers.

The small problem with the strategy is that there is a chain of cooperative (consumer-owned)stores. It is probably the widest geographically distributed of all the chains, and it is organized in a different way so the strike does not affect it at all. Since pretty much everyone on the Norwegian mainland lives within driving distance from one of their shops, there is really no danger of any kind, except to the competitors.

***

The reason for the strike is as unusual as the rest. The unionized workers demand a special pay rise over and above what is given to non- union workers, and the size of it is set to the labor union fee. It does not take the gift of prophecy to foretell that if this goes through, the fee will increase dramatically over the next few years, and the union will be even more powerful and able to mount even longer and more widespread strikes. Consequently, the employers seem determined to battle to the death.

Usually I detest labor unions, them being hotbeds of socialism, the most retarded political ideology to survive into our century. Basically socialism denies the obvious fact that greed is what motivates people to do their best. This is particularly ironic when they display this level of greed themselves. But in this case, I have to say I enjoy the sight. It is my sincere hope that they will continue for many months, and that a lot of shops will be closed and workers laid off. The Norwegian economy is strong beyond the imagination of most earthlings, the standard of living towering above our neighbors (not to mention the world's sole remaining superpower, where most people live relatively spartan lives compared to us). We can afford this, and the instructional value would be enormous.

Basically, my fond hope is to watch laborers go straight from the strike to unemployment. That's the kind of sight that warms my heart. Then again, it's not a very warm heart to start with, not in matters of economy at least.