So what is fair?

I work for a union because I believe in fairness. I know that not everything in life will or even can be fair but that is life and not work life. Unions you see were founded on the concept of 'a fair day's pay for a fair day's work'. To this day it is such an important concept a is still held closely and dearly by our members and in our halls. It is a fair concept to all. So what is fair? Fair is what is a reasonable expectation. Imagine for a minute that a company brings on some new employee. This fellow is young, strong and motivated by wanting not only to fit in but also to make money for his family. The company sees this and pushes the guy to work all out for his first week. As a result he produces more widgets than anyone else. The company then goes to the other employees and says 'if he can do it so can you' and so only those maintaining that guy's pace continue to get paid their previous salary. Some of those who can't do it get pay cuts and some of the older employees are let to. Unions protect us from this kind of thing. They keep the new guy from being forced to work through breaks and they keep the other members from losing their breaks when this guy does. Similarly women members are protected from being paid less when there is some task that men may do better than them. As an example in an earlier post I talked about Brittany (aka Spuds McIron) and how it was unreasonable to expect that at five feet tall she was going to be able to 'pull cable' that hangs in channels six and a half feet in the air. But she can still grind with the best of them and so deserves equal pay. Fair in this circumstance is judged by the concept of 'equal pay for work of equal value'. This same concept can also be applied to older members who may not move as fast or be able to lift as much as some of the younger workers but who often are the ones who transfer the concept of 'work smarter not harder'. You may be wondering where I am going with this rant of mine but instead of telling you that I will tell you where I am NOT going. I am not going to Syncrude. You see as members of our work team have finished up here and prepared themselves to go to Syncrude they have had to take a 'physical exam'. Not the kind your doctor gives you that involves a latex glove and you anal sphincter but a full on set of difficult physical tests. Stair climbing for extended periods of time, jogging for 6 or more minutes. Heavy lifting. And so on and so on. I find this to be completely offensive to the concept of 'fair' and to my union beliefs. It is simply offensive and devisive! It is unfair to our elder members as they likely won't pass the test and the. Won't get hired. It is offensive to our female members who were not born with the same base level of strength as the average male members (there are certainly exceptions). It is a plan designed to separate the membership into haves and have nots based on physical capability. And for all those reasons it is unfair! I sat and thought about which people would be eliminated. Y this screening process. My Foreman has 30+ years of experience but has a wonky shoulder due to an accident he suffered a few years ago. He is out! And yet his was the loud voice that has kept us all conscious of safety and its value. My first Journeyman, old Pete, would never pass the test so he is out. But Pete taught me and generations of apprentices how to work smart as opposed to hard. He taught me the self-centering bowline and how to be more effective when loading propane and CO2 tanks. Good he Pete! Alvin is a great welder who taught me so much about organization and how a stitch in time saves nine. I doubt he is going to make it on the treadmill! All good, key members of our team. All eliminated by this testing! So I won't be going to Syncrude. I won't take their physical. But I will do what is fair to all and will work elsewhere. Thank God not every company has such unfair tactics!