Leaders of the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) are understandably hurt by the decision of the president of the Amalgamated Workers Union to accept the Chief of Staff’s offer of a four percent salary increase over the 2014-2016 and 2017-2019 periods. .
They had believed there was consensus among all its respective members on the demand for much more than four percent and felt betrayed by Mr. Michael Prentice to be resolved.
However, they do themselves, the workers they represent, and the labor movement no favors by publicly denouncing him as a “sellout” and a “traitor.”
It is never easy to secure consensus between interests, whether among individuals or organizations. Not everything is always on the table and not every decision maker can be in the room. Sometimes what people say may not always be exactly what they mean or hear from others.
It should be the right of every subject to pursue their own interests. Union leaders are, after all, elected and accountable to their membership.
As AWU president, Mr Prentice may have his own challenges to face, depending on what the AWU membership thinks of his decision to sign on the CPO’s dotted line for four percent.
In an interview with the media on Tuesday, he confirmed that he had not consulted with the LUJ membership for making this decision. He either knows AWU members well enough to know that they will support the decision, whether or not he consulted them; or is confident in his ability to persuade critics if challenged after the fact; or calculated that dissent would not gain sufficient traction to threaten him; or that AWU members have no interest in sustained protest and prefer to get on with their lives with the four per cent.
Whatever his reasoning, his colleagues at JTUM must concede to the AWU its right to act in its own interest and, if Mr. Prentice was wrong, face whatever consequences may come his way.
The labor movement has a long enough history of breaking and breaking ranks to realize that it is par for the course. Mature leadership should not need to come down to calling. As an elected leader, Mr Prentice is primarily responsible to the AWU membership, who may or may not choose to exercise their right to do so. While JTUM leaders may disagree with his action, they should wish the AWU well and get on with the business of representing their members to the best of their ability, which would require communication constant with the workers to ensure that they are never out of step with their wishes.
The challenge of reaching consensus is not by any stretch of the imagination unique to the labor movement. It is part of the culture, the origin of which lies in our history. Since culturally ingrained behavior is difficult to change, the common instinct is to avoid it and opt for conformity instead of consensus. The danger of this is that it disconnects leaders from their membership, leaving room for both to be surprised by the other’s decisions and actions.
