Retaliation Against Union Members
Introduction
The majority of fire fighters working for career fire departments belong to a union. The most prevalent union is the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). The IAFF has 3,100 affiliates and their member throughout the United States and Canada. The IAFF represents 288,000 fire fighters and paramedics in the United States alone and those members protect about 85% of the nation’s population, (IAFF.ORG, 2008). Fire fighters and paramedics who are union members are very proud of not only their profession but also of their affiliation with the union. Since its inception in 1903 the IAFF has worked to improve the working conditions of its members and that work has become increasingly difficult in recent years with the economic changes in the nation and the decrease in revenue those changes have created in municipal budgets. Because of the difficulties in the nation’s current economic environment negotiations and bargaining tactics have become difficult and in some cases hostile. Two cases will be looked at in order to show unethical, even dirty tactics and retaliation against union members for their positions and their beliefs as union members.
Tactics
In the text Getting to Yes by Fisher, Ury and Patton the author’s state on page 129, that the tactics, “range from lies and psychological abuse to various forms of pressure tactics. They may be illegal, unethical or simply unpleasant”, (p.129). They go on to say that, “Their purpose is to help the user “win” some substantive gain in the unprincipled contest of will”, (p. 129). There is a feeling in negotiations and bargaining of “us or them” and what each side can and will do to prove their point or win no matter what the issue. On rare occas ...