What? A Union Violated RICO?

You MUST be kidding. Unions are all about the little guy, about the common man uniting for the greater good in the workplace. Right? RIGHT?!?!

Uh, I guess. Until they start with the harassment and arson and vandalism and attempted murder, that is.

There's a company called Maremont. They make after-market mufflers and other exhaust components for the automotive industry in Texas, as well as lovely Louden County, Tennessee. The TN location has been on strike since the 5th of February.

Their gripes sound pretty familiar: The company wanted them to pay a higher portion of their medical insurance costs, and the worker bees didn't want to, unless they received a bump in their hourly wages to cover the additional expense.

It's been happening in the auto industry for years. Unions basically seem to think that the enormous costs of providing medical insurance for a bunch of beer-guzzling, chain-smoking, McDonalds-eating, sedentary fat slobs, and their families, should be borne completely by "the company." And in general, it has been.

(Did you know that when you "buy American," your share of subsidizing all that medical care costs you more than the metal used to make the car does? I'm sorry, but that's insane. It's also a rant for another day.)

Anyway, Buford and Billy Bob's union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, demanded a significant increase in hourly wages, to pay a lower portion of the medical insurance costs, or preferably, both.

Ken Banks, who bought the plant a few years back when it was on the verge of closing due to financial troubles, just laughed at them. Why shouldn't he? Jobs are pretty hard to come by in Armpit, Tennessee, so he knew a strike would be but a minor blip.

And he was right. The union had no leverage, because we're talking about unskilled jobs. It took about a week to find a new set of trained monkeys to run the machines and make mufflers.

Which brings us to the RICO lawsuit. The union and its membership honestly thought they were harder to replace than they actually were. And when dozens and dozens of replacement workers crossed their picket line, they got pissed off. And they directed their anger at Ken Banks, the replacement workers, and the non-union office workers who had no obligation to honor the strike.

This article details a laundry list of acts of revenge, allegedly by the union and its members.

--The lawsuit lists predicate acts for the filing, including a Feb. 15 bomb threat that forced the evacuation of the plant. The suit claims the bomb threat was made by "a union member and/or other non-union members acting in concert with the union."

The second act listed is shots fired at the plant’s electrical system Feb. 20. Third on the list is the alleged arson of Richard Jenkins’ truck. According to the suit, "assailants" torched the truck at the owner’s residence. Jenkins had just returned to work at the plant following a layoff and elected not to participate in the strike, according to the court document.

The fourth item listed was an allegation of “arson of Christi Palmer’s house.” Palmer is described as a salaried Maremont employee who "crosses the Union picket line daily to come to work." The court document noted “on Feb. 23, assailants set Christi Palmer’s house on fire, causing extensive damage.”

The suit also alleges that union employees or their sympathizers fired shots into the home of Mark Farner, a permanent replacement employee at the plant, while he, his wife and three children were in the residence. Another incident cited involved shots fired at the Maremont electrical transformer March 3. According to the Maremont suit, replacing the transformer cost approximately $125,000.

The suit alleges union member Michael Duggan "fired projectiles at the Maremont plant from the striker’s southern encampment with a makeshift cannon that uses a black powder substance as an explosive propellant." According to the suit, this incident was witnessed by Loudon Police who immediately arrested Duggan.

The suit alleges that "union employees or non-union members acting in concert" fired shots into the home of replacement worker Glenn Johnson’s home March 18 and fired shots into Faye Wilson’s home March 21. Wilson is an employee who elected not to strike, the lawsuit noted.--

Not cool, guys. Way way WAY uncool, as a matter of fact.

Yes, yes, I know that these are merely allegations. But, everybody who HONESTLY believes that these incidents weren't all related to the strike, and caused by the union and its members, please raise your hand.

What?!?! No one believes that it was simply a series of unfortunate events, that just happened to only befall those who were perceived by the union as being on the "wrong side" of the strike?

Huh. I don't believe it either.

So finally, my point: The labor climate has changed a lot in the last twenty-five years. The days of getting ridiculously good wages and benefits for unskilled labor that any Tom, Dick, or Harriet could do are over. And the unions know it.

Which brings us to the million dollar question: Why do they keep blowing sunshine up the ass of their members, telling them that a strike is their best option? Shouldn't they, out of fairness, let their members know that a strike will most likely result in them ending up without a job to complain about?

Furthermore, why in the fuck is the union encouraging people to commit criminal acts? Surely they know that the rank and file who are doing the dirty work stand to lose everything if this lawsuit is successful. Isn't it a matter of social responsibility to make sure they understand that they could be wiped out financially, and then have to serve a lengthy prison term?

Wait, what am I saying? Demanding that unions act responsibly? I must be daft.

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