May
Day is the traditional day of honoring the labor force. What better
time then to reflect on labor? As America has gravitated to post-industrialism,
how are we viewing our labor force? In particular, what are the
food manufacturers and distributors doing about the future of
labor?
In the traditional factory setting, a hierarchical system evolved
where few managers at the top planned and lead many workers at
the bottom. This pyramid shaped organizational chart worked for
decades in American manufacturing plants. As the 70's and 80's
past, traditional practices were replaced by changing attitudes
and improved technology. Most cheese plants today are highly mechanized
with far fewer employees producing many more pounds than in the
past.
The "line workers" in today's food manufacturing plants tend to
be bi-polorized. On the one side are highly skilled artisans while
the other side is comprised of low-skilled, generally janitorial
type of labor. To be fair, there are also semi-skilled warehouse
people. The point is that the traditional "journeyman" system
in manufacturing is not present. The younger workers, who traditional
came up through the ranks acquiring skills, don't seem to have
a place. The lower skilled employees would like to move up but
there are few mid-range skill building jobs.
Every segment of the food industry today is faced with terrible
labor problems. Restaurant operators have permanent "Help Wanted"
signs. The turnover in warehousing and driving is extremely high
for distributors. Manufacturers are inundated with applicants
who can't even speak or write English. Our industry has lost its'
appeal for lower skilled employees. Healthcare, tech and bookstores/coffee
shops have siphoned off the traditional job-seeking base. The
main culprits are low wages, weekend hours, poor access to health
insurance and physically hard dirty jobs. For example, younger
people would rather work in a comfortable mall than sweat in a
production kitchen. These are long-term demographic trends with
little chance of shifting.
Years ago I ran a bakery manufacturing facility with 150 employees.
Admittedly our workers were on the lower end of the socio-economic
scale. We had a group of workers who shocked us with a certain
behavior. As we raised wages, they would call in sick more often
as they could more easily meet their financial obligations. They
were willing to trade time off for economic gain. We have lost
the traditional "Protestant work ethic" in America. The assumption
that people will automatically work their way up the ladder of
success does not always hold true.
The massive consolidation in manufacturing and distribution has
squeezed out many of the middle range jobs. Workers entering our
industry at the bottom do not see a career path to the top. They
see a life of drudgery, low wages, terrible hours and little upside
opportunity. They work for a few months or years and leave for
greener pastures. They see the bi-polarization as a great divide
between their jobs and management on the other side. Many of us
have seen friends and colleagues squeezed out in the last few
years as well.
Food manufacturers have responded to the restaurant labor issue
by creating many new valued added products. Manufacturers have
understood that the people working in kitchens today lack the
skills and the drive to do what a generation ago was simple kitchen
work. Restaurateurs simply don't trust their labor force to cut
onions or cheese or measure dry ingredients. This has created
less interesting and less challenging jobs for those who do want
to build their skills.
Can our industry create a viable, stable and motivated labor force?
Are we doomed to a dwindling labor pool that in not committed
to the future? The answers are yes to the first and no to the
second. Firstly, I am an optimist with a healthy dose of realism.
Secondly, I am a trained economist out of the Adam Smith School
of "Economic Man". Food manufacturers, distributors and operators
will create a stable labor force because to do otherwise will
spell the end of the industry. Given that companies want to survive
and that food is a necessity, we will find a way. Wages and benefits,
particularly the latter, must be improved. The National Restaurant
Association can play a vital role by creating a "super company"
under which all food industry employees and their families can
be covered by health insurance. The food industry is the largest
private employer in the country. It is ridiculous that individual
employers are forced to negotiate the purchase of health insurance.
If a huge "Quasi-employer" could negotiate on behalf of all of
us in the industry, we could all have better and cheaper insurance.
Our society is spoiled by low food prices. We spend a smaller
percentage of our income on food than any other nation. Consumers
pay an artificially low price for foodstuffs because the true
market cost of wages and insurance are not factored in. As food
manufacturers and distributors are forced to pay higher prices
for labor inputs, prices will rise to maintain profit margins.
There really is very little choice in this outcome. We cannot
continue to train employees only to see them leave for other industries.
We can continue to replace labor with capital, as in the modern
cheese plant, but at some point, people must be in the equation.
We must create long term viable careers for employees. Our industry
must create career paths that allow a motivated employee to see
a future that is worthwhile. Each of us reading this article started
at the bottom of some career ladder and worked up. As baby boomers
begin to retire in the coming years, employers will need to replace
us with a crop of highly skilled food careerists. The process
of training today's prospects for tomorrow's industry leaders
must begin. Each of us has built a base of knowledge that must
be passed on. As we mentor younger people, this process will allow
motivated lower level employees to make the jump across that great
divide.