The union representing workers at Western Michigan University has filed a grievance because the school has a herd of goats on campus clearing undergrowth and poison ivy.

The union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), says the goats are taking away union jobs:

“AFSCME takes protecting the jobs of its members very seriously and we have an agreed-upon collective bargaining agreement with Western Michigan. We expect the contract to be followed, and in circumstances where we feel it’s needed, we file a grievance.”

The herd of 20 union-busting goat scabs will clear 15 acres by the fall, and unlike most government projects, they are actually ahead of schedule.

The use of goats on the WMU campus is not new; last year the school used goats to successfully clear another woodlot of undergrowth and other invasive and toxic plant species.  Goats are increasingly considered an efficient and environmentally friendly way to manage vegetation growth as compared to the use of traditional methods such as machinery and pesticides.  And they can safely remove plant species that are problematic for humans to remove (such as poison ivy).  The City of Seattle has long embraced the use of goats to clear underbrush on public lands.

When goat-grazing services began going mainstream, comedian Stephen Colbert featured a hilarious segment on his satirical Colbert Report called “People Who are Destroying America: Landscaping Goats.”  The spoof poked fun at the concept of goats stealing the jobs of human landscapers. 

It seems AFSCME thinks the threat is real.