I guess I don't understand Unions

I always thought that the strength of Unions was the unity of workers for the protection and enhancement of workers against their employers.   The power of Unions was strength in numbers.  One worker could hardly make a difference in management, but their power together could make a huge difference. 

Over the last century, Unions have been integral in establishing employment equity, protection against bullying and workplace harassment policies, negotiating fair wages and benefits, etc.  The Union represents their workers in grievances.  Unions have been successful largely because of their autonomy from the employers,.   

In the last decade, however, society has started to question whether Unions have outlived their purpose.  That is a very complicated question and I have heard many thoughtful arguments on both sides of the issue.

However, I really don't understand the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg. The fire fighters are employees of the City of Winnipeg.  So, how does it make any sense that their Union President has his salary paid by the City of Winnipeg.  That seems to be a conflict of interest.  Most Union leaders have their salaries paid by their members fees so in that way, they are accountable to their members.  In this case, the President seems to be accountable to the City of Winnipeg.  How can that be good for firefighters.  

The Fire Fighter President has been asked to explain how this conflict is good for anyone but him.  He has responded by saying that he is not going to defend himself to anyone.  Well, me thinks he doth protest too much.  Also, if he receiving money from the City of Winnipeg, than he is a public servant and accountable to the voters.  Despite not feeling that he owes anyone an explanation, taxpayers do have the right to know what he is doing with our money.  You see this is why most Union leaders derive their salary from their membership, then they are only accountable to the members.  See why this autonomy is important?  

Another thing that taxpayers are entitled to an explanation about is activities during the recent Mayoral race.  One candidate, Paula Havixbeck, tried to bring this issue to the forefront.  She was met with a strict denial that this was happening, therefore the issue died and Paula ended up looking silly.   Now, what was denied less than two years ago is now something that he is not only admitting but not apologizing for.  This may not have made any difference in the Mayoral race, but it is also possible that it could have.  At the very least, an apology is owed to Paula Havixbeck. 

Since I am a taxpayer, I went on the UFFW website to see how our tax dollars are being spent.  It appears the current President has been in his position since 2008 and he is no longer an active Fire Fighter.  A decade is a long time to be in Union Leadership.  It is likely an impossible job requiring a great deal of overtime and passion in order to be effective.  No one can sustain that level of passion and enthusiasm required to be effective in that job.  Nor is it healthy in an Union environment for someone to be in a position of power for that long.  After a certain amount of time, the leader becomes more interested in maintaining their power rather than doing the work of its members.  

This is definitely reflected in the UFFW website.  Actually, they should consider changing the title of the website.  It feels like a very self-promoting website, not promoting the work of the fire-fighters, but of their President.  Pictures of him attending meetings.  Pictures of him representing UFFW at a conference on removing barriers for women entering the workforce.  I would like to know exactly how many of his female members that he interviewed in preparation for that conference?  Wouldn't it make more sense to send a female member to that conference?  Someone who had first hand knowledge on the subject.  

The Executive drop down tab did not work so there was no mention of anyone else but the President.  I assume that he is entitled to holidays and sick days.  If there is no one else mentioned, you represents his Union when he is away?  What is their succession plan?   These issues normally wouldn't be any of my business, but since my tax dollars are funding this, I do feel the right to ask these questions.  

It looks like the Union has approximately 30 committees that operate the organization.  It looks like the President is on all committees with the exception of 1.  It seems to me that attending meetings for 29 committees could be a full-time job in itself, but, I don't think that is worth my tax dollars.  

The website also points to some accomplishments of the UFFW.  I notice they supported candidates in the last two Mayoral elections.  I guess that is appropriate.  But, I also note that they supported a candidate running for the leadership of the federal NDP.  They also supported a candidate for the provincial leadership of the NDP.  I really don't understand the purpose of them supporting a candidate for leadership positions of which they could not realistically benefit?  Why would they endorse candidates for these positions?  How did they decide to support these candidates as opposed to others?  Did the membership vote or was this an executive decision?   

Taxpayers want to know.   Actually, basic common sense means that tax payers have a right to know.  See what happens when a Union President is paid from public dollars.  The Union might be better off paying their own bills.