FWIW, it's not so much the pay as it is the

8/31/2010 4:56:13 PM
By: RGF



work rules. It goes back to that productivity thing. Many unions have ridiculous work rules that require certain crafts to do only certain things. I'll give you an example, construction equipment has to be fueled by "oilers" and in certain cases each truck might require two oilers. So most of the day these folks sit around in their fuel truck and wait to fill someone up. They can't do anything else productive like assist carpenters, pipefitters, steel workers, etc. because that is against the rules.

So when you have these overly restrictive work rules you increase the body count tremendously. I had a project in Louisiana with a full blown union building one unit and an "open shop union" (loose term in Louisiana) building another. The pay for the workers was similar, but the work rules were completely different. In every case the open shop contractor had significantly lower unit rates (hours per foot of pipe for example), much better planning and improved schedule performance. The open shop folks also seemed to enjoy their job more.

So in a sense the unions have become their own worst enemy. I doubt Sub Zero really wants to move, and it is probably not based strictly on wages, it is based on productivity and workplace flexibility. And unfortunately, yes that probably means less people.
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