The current Northwest mechanics strike makes it a good time to talk about Local 59 and unions.

Our furniture has an appreciation for skilled labor built into it. I suspect we’re like a lot of people who spend their time sitting at desks staring at monitors — we have a real affinity for people with an ability to actually make things with their hands. We designed our furniture so it could be made by the highly skilled metal workers in our community.

That doesn’t mean we think labor strife is going to move industry forward. In fact, Local 59 is about creating a new kind of collaboration between business and the skilled trades — one that is about forging relationships to create things that are extraordinary.

It’s time to stop thinking in terms of labor versus management and start considering how talent — skilled labor — can become integral to ideas.