Thirty-six months. That's how long I give Pacific Coachworks before it disappears from the RV landscape following news yesterday that the company's employees voted to unionize in a move upheld by the federal government.

We've seen unionized shops in the RV industry before, most recently at the FTCA plant in Pennsylvania which produced Coleman travel trailers until it shut its doors in January. It wasn't too long before that that union thugs disrupted a trade show at which the company's products were being sold in hopes of forcing the firm to submit to union demands. That act backfired as disgusted consumers turned to RVs made by other firms when it came time to make a purchase. The union thugs made their point, and now the members are looking for work. 

While employees often see unions as the great savior coming to rescue workers and restore companies, in reality, unions are a giant albatross for any business. Unions are all about serving themselves first, their members second, the company third and customers last, if at all.

They suck the wind out of a company's sails and rip off its propellers. Every major decision made by a company has to be negotiated with union reps, and every little grievance must be mediated. As a result, it is very hard for a company to steer a union shop in the direction of growth. A unionized company can't get rid of unproductive, uncooperative employees. Those employees who do excel can't be rewarded or honored for their commitment, and team players are often ostracized by fellow workers and threatened by union thugs.

Whether the firms are run by strong-willed, arrogant leaders or mind-numb bean counters, companies are unionized for one reason and one reason only -- because management refuses to take care of its human resources. Pre-union, the bottom line at union shops was always more important than the people standing on that foundation.

Pick up any best selling success principles book written in the past 100 years and you'll see one of the major keys to building a strong, lasting and profitable business is to treat staff fairly. When that key is missing, the engine can't start and employees turn to unions to jump start their futures.

However, in the end, the only people charged up are union organizers who, history has shown, reap tremendous personal gain at the expense of their members while leaving a path of destruction in their wake.  Every business I know of that is governed by unions is either struggling, has failed or frequently requires a government bailout.

Will I eat my words at the end of 2014?  Who knows. But the very first act of the new union shop -- the vote to unionize itself -- had to be arbitrated over a period of 100 days. In the meantime, I haven't see much innovation coming out of the plant.

Innovate or instigate -- successful companies are build on the former, losers on the latter.