"Unfortunately, in collective bargaining one party or the other too often tries to gain an advantage - a bargain, like buying something in a store for less than it is worth"
About this Quote
Wilson’s “unfortunately” is doing a lot of quiet political work: it frames conflict in labor negotiations not as a structural feature of bargaining power, but as a kind of moral lapse. By likening collective bargaining to “buying something in a store for less than it is worth,” he smuggles in a retail fantasy of fair prices and honest exchanges - a world where value is measurable, transparent, and agreed upon by decent people. That’s a businessman’s idealized market, not the messy terrain of wages, safety, dignity, and leverage.
The metaphor also tilts the reader toward management’s instinctive grievance: someone is trying to get a “bargain.” In the consumer story, the bargain-hunter looks clever, maybe slightly opportunistic; the seller looks cheated. Translate that to labor relations and you can hear the implied complaint: unions push for more than the “worth” of the labor they supply, as if “worth” were a fixed sticker price rather than a moving target shaped by profits, productivity, and scarcity. It’s a neat rhetorical move because it makes power struggle sound like petty haggling.
Context matters. Wilson, a major corporate executive in mid-century America, spoke from an era when large firms wanted labor peace without ceding control. His line reads as an argument for “responsible” bargaining - which often means limiting demands to what management already deems reasonable. The subtext isn’t anti-negotiation; it’s anti-disruption. He’s selling the idea that fairness comes from restraint, not from confrontation, and that the real problem is someone forgetting their place in the marketplace.
The metaphor also tilts the reader toward management’s instinctive grievance: someone is trying to get a “bargain.” In the consumer story, the bargain-hunter looks clever, maybe slightly opportunistic; the seller looks cheated. Translate that to labor relations and you can hear the implied complaint: unions push for more than the “worth” of the labor they supply, as if “worth” were a fixed sticker price rather than a moving target shaped by profits, productivity, and scarcity. It’s a neat rhetorical move because it makes power struggle sound like petty haggling.
Context matters. Wilson, a major corporate executive in mid-century America, spoke from an era when large firms wanted labor peace without ceding control. His line reads as an argument for “responsible” bargaining - which often means limiting demands to what management already deems reasonable. The subtext isn’t anti-negotiation; it’s anti-disruption. He’s selling the idea that fairness comes from restraint, not from confrontation, and that the real problem is someone forgetting their place in the marketplace.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
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