Gottcha

My wife and I were watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart the other night. They did a bit with a union group in Nevada that was picketing Wal-Mart. This group was protesting about about hours, wages, healthcare benefits and so on. If you are familiar with  the relationship between Labor and Wal-Mart you can probably guess.

I know many who are sympathetic to the workers and suppliers of Wal-Mart. Yet this union set their cause back in a way that is immeasurable. You see they hired the picketers. That’s right the picketers were not members of the union, they were day laborers that needed to work.

They were hired for five days and then had their hours cut to three days. They were paid minimum wage, they had no health benefits, and they were picketing in 100 degree heat.

Does anyone else see the incongruity here? The union decided to make a statement and picket Wal-Mart. They wanted to call attention to the alleged plight of Wal-Mart workers and then they perpetrated all of these alleged sins on the people they hired to protest. They were not walking their talk.

When the union spokesman was questioned you could see he was caught. He could not defend the treatment of his protesters other than to say, “Our fight with Wal-Mart is a bigger cause.”

Bull ****! You can run but you can’t hide

People and organizations have to realize that there are no secrets anymore. Someone always has a camera and/or a recording device nearby (can you say cell phone). Integrity matters and our customers, our employees, our business partners, and our communities are paying attention. As the economy picks up speed, watch what happens as people vote with their dollars to companies and individuals that forget this.

This union destroyed their credibility with me (and I’m sure others) as the news came out. They thought that their ends justified the means. Friends, are there places in your organization and/or your life where you think the ends justify the means? You might want to think again

Take Good Care