The need for OJT.

• Author: Binnings, Tom
• Position: The ECONOMIST - Column

WHEN I WAS ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD, I SPENT A FEW mounth as equipment manager for my father's unionized construction company. The semi-truck drivers who hauled the heavy equipment were Teamsters. 1. being naive about the protocols of union contracts, became outraged one day when Jimmy, a Teamster driver, refused to move his big rig 30 yards because he was on break. An entire heavy crane crew was sitting idle, costing the company lots of money every minute of delay. After jiving humorously with Jimmy, expecting him to give in, I told him, "Well hell, them I'll move the damn thing. "I knew just enough about driving a big rig 50 yards to be very hazardous to the truck's health, and possibly jimmy's livelihood, if I ended up sending it to the repair shop. After watching Me grind a few gears, Jimmy acquiesced and moved the truck.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

That experience, combined with a later understanding of the monopolistic tendencies of labor unions, led me generally to dislike the unions and favor right-to-work laws. So I was initially pleased to read recently that, according to the Bureau oh Labor Statistics and labor historians, private sector union membership has fallen to 6.9 percent of the work force-the lowest level in more than it Century. But some bad comes with the good.

On the surface, the American economy and businesses have Clone well with the demise of unions. After all, government legislation and regulation have made the workplace far safer and fairer by some standards. On the other hand, it may well be that it was the historic union support for politicians that brought many of these safety, health and fairness issues to the forefront.

My real concern about the demise of private sector unions is much more pragmatic. In many or the traditionally blue collar trades, unions provided the training ground for hit ure generations of skilled and semi-skilled workers. This was especially apparent in the construction industry where aspiring young plumbers, electricians and carpenters got some basic training in classrooms at the union hall and a lot of OJT (on-the-job training). Labor contracts accommodated this method of training.

OJT has a long history in the professional sector as well. In the 19th century, aspiring attorneys studied law under the mentorship of a...