People or Resources...?

The term “human resources”, as near as I can determine, made its American appearance in the late 60’s or early 70’s. As the United States became increasingly socialistic “Personnel Departments” gave way to the politically correct “Human Resource Departments”.

In corporate America, people are no longer seen as individuals, but are viewed as part of the economic collective; mere objects to be used and managed, or thrown away. People are resources, no different than paper clips, pens, pencils and/or other raw materials… and are entitled to no more consideration. Need higher profits? Ship jobs overseas, hire illegals, reduce benefits and bonuses… or eliminate them altogether. Anything goes… so long as you improve the corporate bottom-line!

That philosophy dovetails perfectly with a Marxist idea also gaining strength in the business community today that teaches, “the ruling ideas are those of the ruling classes”. In other words – What management says is law. A classic current example of this philosophy is the “at-will” legal employment status of Arkansas workers. That “at-will” principle allows an employer to terminate any employee, for basically any reason, or for no reason. Employees have no rights because employers (the ruling class) have had the laws (the ruling ideas) written to THEIR standards, with no regard for the employees or their families.

The basic problem with such policy is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. “At-will” policy is devoid of equity, fairness and justice, and should be changed by the Arkansas legislature to a “Just Cause” standard. If not changed, Arkansas workers, especially older, long-term employees, need to protect themselves and their families from the unethical and unprincipled.

Remember: If you get your religion wrong, you go to Hell. If you get your politics wrong, your country goes to Hell.

Labor Unions Now Necessary

“Union” is a word that elicits strong opinions and responses. Some reasoned, most reflex, poorly thought through, conditioned and more applicable to a different time in American history and culture. A PROPER union is nothing more than a group of employees along with their employer coming to the corporate bargaining table and arriving at a mutually beneficial contractual agreement. Reasonable people, negotiating fair and equitable contracts.

Disturbingly, our state legislators have, through “at-will” employment and “right to work” laws, effectively reduced Arkansan employee status to that of bond servants or slaves, with employee options fixed with either putting up with employer misbehavior, or losing their jobs. Fair, honorable, just and principled behavior by employers is strictly optional with employees being at the total mercy of the employers. Fear, intimidation and duplicitous politically correct pro-business rhetoric breed their predictable fruit, not good business. As a matter of public policy our legislators should work to see that neither is at the total mercy of the other. Respecting discipline and dismissal, “just cause” should be the standard, replacing “at-will”. Fact is - with the current politically correct corporate assault on employee personal liberties and compensations; a union affords employees their ONLY protection under the law.

Both employers and employees have the right to expect certain things from the other. Employers benefit from good employees and employees benefit from strong and healthy businesses. I am very pro-business – but as a working American I am also pro-employee, pro-family, pro-justice, pro-fairness, pro-honesty, pro-equity, etc.

In this day when honor and integrity are seemingly outmoded business concepts – doesn’t wisdom dictate that terms of employment should necessarily be covered by a written contract…?

It is only the unprincipled and untrustworthy who fear such contracts, and who have created the circumstances needing them.

If You Get Your Politics Wrong...

In 2004, as an Independent candidate for the U.S. Congress, I observed a level of tolerance towards the incompetence and breach of trust with the electorate by elected officials that, quite frankly, is responsible for the continued decline of America.

President Bush, Governor Huckabee, Congressman Boozman and Asa Hutchinson are all politicians that I once supported. I was deceived into believing that we had shared core values respecting the Constitution, the law and the pursuit of justice. However, their willful disregard for such things as already enacted immigration law provide a prima facia case attesting to their official malfeasance, misconduct, dereliction of duty and their nearly complete disregard of not only the law, but their solemn oaths of office as well.

As a Christian, you cannot persuade my vote for the “lesser of evils” because I would still be voting for evil. Please understand that I am not upset over simple differences of opinion or policy, but a deliberate abandonment of principle, honor and integrity for the sake of pragmatic political expediency. I don’t expect or require perfection from my representatives, but I do expect honesty, lawfulness and a sincere unswerving pursuit of truth and justice. Bush, Huckabee, Boozman and Hutchinson have deliberately and repeatedly betrayed those ideals.

And if what I have already written was not bad enough… they remain the lesser of evils offered.

Remember: If you get your religion wrong, you go to Hell. If you get your politics wrong, your country goes to Hell.