Goats may be ornery for herbivores, but they’ve got nothing over union bosses defending their turf. And, in this libertarian’s mind, the only thing worse than a labor union is a labor union of government workers.
But, there is nothing lower than AFSCME going after a small goat herd to protect their members from outsourcing.
The story is covered here by the Battle Creek Enquirer:
The 400-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has filed a grievance contending that the work the goats are doing in a wooded lot is taking away jobs from laid-off union workers.
“AFSCME takes protecting the jobs of its members very seriously and we have an agreed-upon collective bargaining agreement with Western Michigan,” said Union President Dennis Moore. “We expect the contract to be followed, and in circumstances where we feel it’s needed, we file a grievance.”
The point of these union hooligans is that they have a legal right to fleece taxpayers and students for salaries and benefits to do work that can be done for a whole lot less; in this instance by a herd of hungry goats.
Look, I feel for the union members who are out of work in the area, but 1) how many of them are ground maintenance staff? and 2) how many of those want to clear 17 acres of poison ivy in the dead of summer?
I’m thinking something close to zero is the appropriate answer. Moreover, how much of an obtuse jackass do you have to be to file a lawsuit against a herd of goats doing what they do better than humans do, clear land of unwanted weeds?
That’s what AFSCME is fighting for… the collective rights of its members to do the kind of work we can hire goats to do for practically nothing.
Let’s see, as the employer who would I want to use to get this job done? An entitled, overweight, out-of-shape, unmotivated government worker or an enthusiastic, bright-eyed goat?
I raise goats and I even at their worst, I prefer them to most government employees I’ve met.
I know from personal experience that goats LOVE poison ivy and pull the roots out of the ground when they go after it.
Humans? Not so much.
The PR from this can’t be good. The reason these AFSCME members are unemployed is because the state can’t afford them in the first place. But, like good little rent-seeking pustules they’re not giving up without a fight.
The problem is that they will lose because the state is broke and it can’t afford the liabilities both present and future. You will never see a goat argue for a pension increase. If one gets hurt on the job? No one is filing a workman’s comp claim.
Hell, if one dies on the job, well, the state’s likely on the hook for the value of the animal, and nothing more.
That’s about $150, max.
Honestly, it’s a good deal for the college.
It would cost the state more than that if one guy has an allergic reaction that keeps him home sick for a couple of days.
Cartelization of anything, including labor, results in an inefficient use of capital. And this is the result of it. Unions have lost the argument. We’ve run out of money to sustain the illusion they are necessary.
Using goats to do this work is life affirming. It is the right use of limited capital. Comparative advantage is not specist. If a goat can do the work better than a man, the goat should get the job.
The man should be thankful he has the opportunity to utilize his talents in better ways than fighting for a job no reasonable person wants to do in the first place.
How much does it suck to know that the work you do all day can be done better by a goat? Would you really be able to look at yourself in the mirror and tell your Union Rep to fight for that ‘right’?
If we had AFSCME around during agrarian times, they would be arguing against using horses to pull ploughs because it takes jobs away from strong-backed men.
You can fill in the leap to slavery from there, I think.
More apropos, make the leap to the Mexicans stole our jobs! nonsense.
But, organized labor is one of the shibboleths of the Left. It, like their control of the media and the schools is failing. Good riddance. What UWM needs are a pair of Maremmas to run these government interlopers off from the herd.