As published in the November 1, 2007 Toledo Business Journal
Allan Block
Block Communications, Inc.
Toledo labor guarantee could spur economy
Toledo Business Journal recently interviewed Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications, Inc. He shared the following thoughts.
Toledo Business Journal: You recently made a proposal aimed at impacting the economy in our area, and you have agreed to answer a number of questions that Toledo Business Journal has concerning your proposal. Can you explain why you are putting this proposal forward and why you are doing this interview?
Allan Block: The driving motivation behind my proposal and interest in doing this interview is based on several factors: my family, longtime commitment to Toledo, and my ideas to revitalize this area. Since 1926, my family has been involved in a leadership role in Toledo. I’m proud of what my grandfather, Paul Block, Sr., and my father, Paul Block, Jr., did for this community. As a native of Toledo and a business leader, I feel pained by our current economic situation. I feel a responsibility to contribute my best ideas about what it would take to turn this city’s economic future around.
TBJ: Full-page ads have appeared in The Blade proposing that area unions play a key role in improving the economy in our region. Can you explain these ads?
AB: My main thought is that unions play a key role in creating the economic environment in Toledo. It is my view that any major financial turnaround would require union change. This change must include all of the leading labor officials – including the UAW, building trades, Teamsters, and AFL-CIO – and their membership.
If the unions in the Toledo area can change in a dynamic way that makes them pro-investment, and if we promote that change properly to the world, a floodgate of new investment can be opened up for the Toledo area.
There’s nothing wrong with the economy of Toledo that cannot be corrected with much more private investment. We need at least $20 billion more investment in the Toledo area in the next decade.
If investment can be dramatically increased, everyone – union and non-union – will be far better off. Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore, who led Singapore from the third world to the first world in one generation, had to get cooperation from Singapore unions in order to score the great economic breakout miracle that was achieved there. Certainly, no one who was in a union family in Singapore in the 1960s is unhappy today with what has happened.
In Toledo, we have to think of the long-term and not just about right now. We have to think about how to dramatically increase private investment and create jobs. We have to think about how to breakout our economy. We have to believe it is possible, because other places have done so. Aren’t we tired of being economic losers? Aren’t we ready to win again?
TBJ: One of the ads asks area labor unions to provide a “unique Toledo Guarantee” that would provide companies in this region with adequate profits. Do you have examples of other areas where a change by labor unions has had a significant impact on the economy?
AB: Singapore would be an example, as I just indicated. But if you want an example from the United States, I’m not sure there are any community-wide examples of labor union change. There are certainly company and factory examples, but if in fact no metropolitan area has launched union change on a community-wide basis, that is not a negative but a positive. While union change everywhere would help Toledo, union change in only Toledo would differentiate us in a way that would be much more powerful.
I understand the hurdles that exist for the kind of change that I’m asking from the unions. The national labor leaders might not agree and might not want Toledo differentiated in a way that would help us but potentially hurt union members in other places. I understand that unions in America operate under democratic principles, and the membership has to be sold on making changes in the short run that might be viewed as more painful than positive.
But the economic reality on the ground in the Toledo area is very powerful also. We have lost jobs and our average income compared to the national average income has declined. Young adults have had to move away. All people in Toledo, whether they are of union background or non-union background, want to see something done soon to bring this town back.
In that context and in spite of the hurdles, I believe it is possible for unions to exhibit dynamic change in the form of some kind of guarantee. The exact details of a Toledo Guarantee are up to the unions, but a guarantee must be meaningful to be effective. However, it must be broader based than just some situations and some unions. The enlightened attitude of the UAW at Jeep and GM Powertrain and the new approach of the building trades have already created and preserved investment and jobs in this area. A Toledo Guarantee from the local labor movement would build on what’s already been done to offer the possibility of breaking the economy out for growth.
TBJ: Can you share reactions that you have received from the business community concerning this proposal?
AB: There has not been much reaction in response to the ads except from some individuals from the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP), and I will be meeting with them.
TBJ: Can you share reactions that you have received from area unions?
AB: Major labor leaders – the UAW, Teamsters, AFL-CIO and building trades – heard my thoughts and ideas about the Toledo Guarantee before the ads ran. None of them told me it was crazy or impossible. In fact, I received positive response to these ideas from the UAW and the head of the building trades. I look forward to having future meetings with labor leaders to more fully present my ideas about what we can do and to hear ideas from them.
TBJ: The Blade has just gone through a period of labor strife where the company employed an ad campaign during an adversarial confrontation with a number of the unions. What do you say to people who see these ads and simply assume they are part of a public relations effort related to the company’s recent labor strife?
AB: The labor strife at The Blade has been settled. While I did use newspaper ads during the situation at The Blade, these recent ads present my true, honest ideas for turning around the economic situation in Toledo.
TBJ: The Center for Labor-Management Cooperation at the University of Toledo has been instrumental in assisting a number of major manufacturers and unions in our area in working closer together to improve the competitive position of their facilities. The Toledo Jeep operations and GM’s Powertrain facility are two examples. Do you see a role that the Center can play with this Toledo Guarantee from area labor unions?
AB: Any organization, such as the Center for Labor-Management Cooperation, that exists to improve our economic and competitive position should be utilized to the extent they are effective. Unfortunately in the past, most of these local economic and cooperation organizations haven’t been as successful as we need.
TBJ: Are there any other issues you would like to address?
AB: It is possible to adopt revolutionary changes that could break Toledo out economically and not only stop the decline but create quick growth. This is not easy to do. If it were easy, everyone would do it. However, there are examples from around the world, such as Singapore, that prove with the right beliefs, policies, and leadership, economic breakout and growth are possible.
If we understand the economic factors that have resulted in economic breakout in other places, we can make it happen here. First, we must believe it can be done. Second, we must do what it takes to attract much more investment, and this will have to involve the unions.
Making the UAW attitude at Jeep and Powertrain the rule and not the exception and promoting that properly would certainly drive a lot of investment into the Toledo area. If the unions are fully on board as part of the economic development team and are doing things like offering a guarantee or other good ideas they would come up with, it would send a very powerful message. This could start an economic breakout like what happened in Singapore. Then all the other economic development approaches, such as attempts to promote technology corridors and transportation centers, would become much more effective.