wow. this is a terrible story. I’m waiting on pins and needles to hear it play out. will you bookmark this page (as I am ) and keep us updated? I realize you have more important things to do, but I will be watching, reading and praying.
Thanks for the kind words.
I got in early again, and wrote a very long reply, then erased it all, and started again.
Long story short, I spent several hours with my attorney and another attorney he brought in who deals with organized labor. I walked away with just as many questions as were answered.
Went to dinner last night with my wife and one of our managers and we got more info. We then headed home and talked till past midnight, then decided to sleep more on it.
The card check vote will be next Monday, they only need 30% to proceed with a union vote. They will get it.
We are now torn between our brains saying shut the business down, it makes no sense, every year is more and more of a struggle here in Illinois, with many months we lose money, but our hearts say keep it open, because it is a 55 year old business, with long ties to my wifes family, and we do care about our employees, we are not ogres who want to see them out of work.
As it stands, we are 80% sure we will close the doors. We have other interests, and it is too much like pulling teeth month after month. Plus, we have looming higher taxes (as an S Corp if this tax the rich goes through, we are gonna get zonked), Illinois taxes are higher, we pay about 23-25% more in blue-cross blue shield as it is now for healthcare, unionizing will further increase our costs, of which we are barely getting by right now (yes, sounds funny right, a company in business since 1957 with 10 people on payroll, who does about 4 million in business a year, is barely getting by). Our property taxes are nearly double from 5 years ago (but our property is worth less), our fees almost double every 2-3 years.
My father in law made a good living from this business, he built up other properties with his profits, and invested well, now the last 2 years we find ourselves selling off some of those assets to stay in the black.
Playing devils advocate with myself and wife, and going back and forth, but I think I know what our decision is going to be. It is just going to be an emotional one, but in the end, I think we’ve been throwing good money after bad these past couple of years, and this just amplifies that situation.