EDITORIAL - Veco union's worst mistake

Whatever quarrel there is between the Visayan Electric Company Employees Union and the management of their company, they should keep it to themselves and not involve the public they are both obligated to serve.

Unfortunately, however, this does not seem to be the thinking of the union president, who was reported by one newspaper as having threatened that “the union will see to it that Veco's entire operation is paralyzed.”

“I ask all power consumers to bear with us because we will cut off power supply everywhere within the Veco franchise area, once the strike starts,” union president Casimero Mahilum was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Oh yeah. If Mahilum and his union make good this threat, then they no longer will just have a quarrel with Veco management. They will have a quarrel with all Cebuanos living within the Veco franchise area.

And when that happens, Mahilum and his union will have a far greater problem than they originally had. At least, in their quarrel with Veco management, they know who their enemies are. And unlike Veco that can very well absorb losses for as long as it takes, the public cannot.

Anticipating the immediate apprehensions the strike notice can generate, Veco reasssured the public it will take all necessary measures to ensure that power will continue to be available even if the strike pushes through.

With that reassurance, determining where public sympathy lies becomes a no-brainer. And the Veco union may just have lost one very crucial element it could have used in its quarrel with management.

Again, whatever quarrel the union has with Veco management is just between them. If the public has to be involved at all, it should be as a sympathetic force to hopefully tilt the balance in one's favor, not as an innocent casualty who can turn into your worst enemy.