The Merit Shop
Preservation of Freedom .......
Upholding Merit Shop principles is very difficult for many contractors.
Some firms accept the line of least resistance and decide to follow the union road accepting, in reality, the closed shop. They accept the advantages - a hiring hall to supply workers and preferential treatment on certain job sites. At the same time, they accept the disadvantages - union bickering, strikes, political intrigue and other problems that come wrapped within the organization package.
Other firms will follow the non-union road, having no relations with union men or union firms if they can prevent it. This, too, has both advantages and disadvantages. Such firms compete in an open marketplace, but lose the use of hiring hall manpower sources. They remain "independent" only with the continuing consent of their own employees. They have to face up to the problems of a mobile "free labor market."
Right to Choose ........
Because the phrase Merit Shop might mean different things to different people, to clear up any misconceptions, we are presenting here the origin of the term as it is used by the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.
Organized originally to support the open shop, ABC asserted as its chief purpose, the creation of a climate where union and independent firms could work together in harmony.
As ABC was invited into heavily unionized areas, we found the "open shop" connoted "anti-union" and, therefore, the phrase caused the merit of this harmonious method of working to be lost because of semantics. Therefore, ABC developed the phrase Merit Shop.
Many people do not understand that Merit Shop is a business way of life for both employers and employees. It means the preservation of the individual worker's freedom to choose whether he wants to be a union member or not. It means that union and independent contractors should be protected in their right to do business with each other, regardless of their firm's relations. In bidding, it means that the job goes to the lowest responsible bidder - whether the firm is union or independent.
What is ABC?