Angry in the Great White North

There is a saying, particularly popular with engineers: "The best is the enemy of the good."

I didn't coin it -- thank Francois Voltaire for that gem.

The meaning is obvious -- good enough is good enough.  Holding out for the best means rejecting what is good enough, and often ends up with costing you both the best (which was never really possible) and the good (the opportunity has now passed you by).

Doug Allen was brought in to the Screen Actors Guild to be their chief negotiator in January 2007:

In a departure from the usual Machiavellian wrangling, peace has prevailed among SAG leaders as they've awaited Monday's arrival of Doug Allen as national exec director. Allen, who's held the No. 2 slot at the National Football Players Assn. for two decades, has gotten off on the right foot even before doing a day of work.

On Oct. 21, SAG's leaders unanimously hired the former NFL linebacker (Buffalo Bills, 1974-76) in a three-year deal and gave him a standing ovation after a rousing speech exhorting them to take a tough stance at the bargaining table.

"A bad contract is worse than no contract at all," he told the board.

A bad contract is worse than no contract?  Not as pithy as Voltaire's version, and of course, it is in complete contrast to what Voltaire said.

What happened to Doug Allen?  Well, somewhere along the way, people realized that a "bad" contract to Doug Allen is just what other people called a "good" contract, especially in these economic times.  But for Doug Allen, it wasn't the best contract, and that was the only contract worth having.

Of course, most actors don't have multi-million dollar mansions, and no doubt were hoping that they would simply get a contract that was good enough.

They've got their wish, and that's because Doug Allen was fired this past January precisely because he could not accept less than what he defined to be the best:

Doug Allen, the lightning rod at the center of the Screen Actors Guild's bitter polarization, has been fired as national exec director and chief negotiator.

Allen's gig ended Monday afternoon; several hours earlier, the moderates had delivered "written assent" documents terminating him.

The moderates also replaced the negotiating committee -- a sign that a SAG feature-primtetime deal may be close. Sally Field, who's opposed Allen on several fronts for the past year, said she was relieved and hopeful.

"I'm sure it was a difficult decision to replace SAG's negotiators, but if the other entertainment unions can make a deal their members can live with, SAG can too -- and now I feel certain that will happen, quickly and productively," Field said.

Though Allen retained strong support among the hardline Membership First faction, the moderates believe he bungled the negotiations, keeping SAG without a deal on its key contract for nearly seven months.

Allen's ejection is a sore point within the SAG, with the guild fracturing between hardliners and moderates, but clearly in this economic environment, the moderates have the upper hand.  As Sally Field said, moderates wanted a contract they could "live with", an attitude a majority of the membership seemed to share.

And so I think of Ken Lewenza, who leads the Canadian Autoworkers Union.  He is furious that union members have been approached directly by management at Chrysler and Fiat to consider what they are willing to live with to keep the those jobs in Canada:

The past week has seen an unprecedented and outrageous series of attacks on Canadian auto workers and their union. One after another, business executives and political leaders, working clearly in tandem, have lined up to denounce the CAW's role in the auto restructuring process, and to demand that we accept up to $19 per hour in concessions or else face massive job losses and economic dislocation.

We heard earlier from Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement, and Chrysler Canada CEO Reid Bigland. The letter distributed in Chrysler plants today from Robert Nardelli and Tom LaSorda, a clear attempt to sidestep and undermine the CAW, is the most offensive yet.

Is Lewenza angry, or is he frightened?  Doug Allen was willing to lead his SAG membership into a strike to get the best contract possible, because in his mind, nothing less than the best was acceptable.

The membership threw him out.

Now the membership of the CAW at Chrysler are considering their options, prompted by management (and their own common sense).  I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few of them are wondering if Lewenza is going to cost them their jobs.  I doubt they can do much to get out from under Lewenza's control, though.  Unless like the Screen Actors Guild, there are senior union leaders willing to make a move against Lewenza and move quickly.

But Lewenza's anger makes me wonder if he knows something we don't -- that maybe there is a reason for Lewenza to be nervous.

The deadline for a Chrysler deal is the end of April.  That's less than two weeks away.  If something is going to happen, it's got to happen fast.