States that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. a union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.

Interestingly (to me anyway) I’ve worked for 2 companies that did pretty much the same thing but one had Union protections, the other didn’t. I’ve seen the downside of union representation (as mentioned above) but I’ve seen real abuse including  psychological harassment and blackballing in companies who’ve put the ill-equipped in leadership roles with no competent, or politically unaligned, overseer to correct abuses. I’ve seen truly destructive middle managers, their foibles easily recognizable to the peons (i.e., the cognizant), which ratchets up the danger factor for those who buckle at the hellish reality of their position in the food chain. We used to call ourselves the “M.A.S.H” unit of designers. I know why Hawkeye went mad. The black humor only lasts so long so you’ve got to get out before it runs out.