Melvin Gordon

[Northside Hawk]

There's a collective action problem, though. It's always huge in union negotiations. The current members are voting on behalf of future members, none of whom are represented at the bargaining table. The last time there was a material CBA amendment, it added the rookie salary scale, which totally devalued the top picks' compensation, but the trade for this is that they got more juice for the current players.

You see this in union contracts all the time. The Illinois public workers have no problem bargaining away future members' ability to participate in the pension, but if you try to change the existing members' pensions, whoa nelly.

My dad, who is still with us, worked for the pipefitters union for 37 years. It's ironic that when he was young and voted in union negotiations he would vote against increasing union pension dues out of his check. He has pointed out to me many times that he thanks his lucky stars that older union members were smarter than he was. They were looking out for the younger workers. They voted for higher union dues/increased pensions. That was in 1975, 1980. Now my dad is 75, 12 years retired, and starting to lose his health. But he has that pension. And my mom will as well when he goes. He's doing better than many his age who are living solely on social security or fixed incomes.