We have high wages, 4 weeks vacation, a pension, paid sick time, maternity leave, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance and a 401 K. What do we need a union for?

And keep in mind that high wages, vacation time, liberal leave policy, and insurances all came about as a result of Union demands that became the workplace norm. It is that one time 'norm' of work-place benefits that will crumble just as fast as the Unions are driven from the workplace.

Last edited Thu Jun 7, 2012, 05:27 PM - Edit history (1)

It was from work the unions did years ago to create a situation where it is the norm to do this for employees and it also keeps employees from forming a union. Your company doesn't do it out of the goodness of their heart.

Tell him to be patient. Once corporations feel unions are powerless they will start to take them away. Just look at Walmart and what they do to prevent unions, they will fire employees and even close a store before allowing a union.

I just hope your coworker is young enough to see and maybe feel the results of destroying unions.

The only thing keeping them in place is the fear that the employees would then walk out, organize and picket the place.

People are clueless, they are getting a free ride on the backs of those that did the heavy lifting for them in Labor, the blood of dead Unionists, and they don't even know it.

at least not at my high school...

when I was in HS (20 yrs ago) here in Canada, we learned about unions as part of the whole industrial revolution. It was made very clear how important they were. My daughter will be entering HS next year (same HS, even some of the same teachers) and I'm anxious to see if the curriculum has changed.

tales of folks "exploring" (raping, pillaging and thieving from indigenous people everywhere) and participating in "free enterprise" (more of the same). Mostly told from the rich white male perspective. I only know about unions because I'm middle-aged and from the midwest - my dad was in a union in the 60s/70s before those factories were closed down and sent overseas. Folks under 40, in large part, are clueless because they didn't experience having unions in their communities and it's not taught in schools.

...with a line that starts very low and rises up to meet the '67 level.
Unions were largely responsible for the rise of the middle class in this country.

if he'd put a little bit of effort into supporting the recall. But he didn't. I don't know who he thinks will provide masses of foot soldiers in lieu of the union workers in Wisconsin.

Just as his public admission of a change of heart on same sex marriage changed a lot of other hearts and minds, his influence on public perception of unions could likely have made a measurable difference in the recall vote, or at least educated voters on the importance of collective bargaining.

...a power bloc which could prove beneficial to certain presidential candidates later this year. Our Chief Executive ignored it.



To recap:

Almost without exception, they'll say anything to get elected. I watch what they do. Unfortunately, I suspect that many Wisconsites have just learned that same lesson.

Obama's kept many, many of them.

This one? Apparently too risky, or not approved of by his major donors.

I blame a lot of the demonization of unions on a three decades long campaign by the corporates and right wing to try to negate their power. I grew up in a very pro-union household...my grandfather was a Union president and heard and read of the many struggles he and others fought for things we take for granted today. Safer working conditions, 40-hour week, health care and all...it was unions that made these possible, but those wars were fought long ago...few have any clue about the battles fought and blood shed they just assume this is the way things always are. They also grew up to resent unions (thanks to RW propaganda) cause union guys always made more for doing the same job. Sadly unions ignored a lot of what was happening...some getting too comfy with management and others caught up in their own internal politics. Union membership dropped as jobs were outsourced or corporates merged unions out...then went after the pensions. Unions did little and lost the public support it once had.

Tuesday's results in Wisconsin show how fall things have fallen. A wedge has been driven between public and private sector union members (the 36% who voted for Wanker) and there's little outreach to the many who are suffering. During the Depression the unions stepped up in providing a social network for the many unemployed and used that political muscle to help FDR push through the New Deal. These "New Deal Democrats" turned into "Raygun rushpublican" (or their kids did) when that social nework evaporated. It's time to restore the outreach...stand with all, not just those who pay dues. Maybe this will help rejuvenate a much needed labor movement in this country.

that they are weak and/or corrupt. No matter what/who we replace them with, likelihood is that corruption will continue and/or they will create laws for corruption to become altogether legal as it seems to be these days.

We can kiss unionization goodbye. The billionaire scumbags may have won this round but they're far from winning the war. One day we will rise up and defeat these crusty old bastards once and for all - I'd like to think it will happen in my lifetime but anything is possible.

They could start today by picketing so-called "news" stations.

And the first response proves it. Thank goodness for educated people on the rest of this thread.
Those protections came at a price and was years in the making. Heck there are movies that tell the stories. No reason to be ignorant about america's history of blue collar exploitation.
One example is the Triangle Shirtwaste fire.

First: As the following graph shows, only about 35% of non-agricultural workers were union workers. That peak was in the 40s and 50 when there was still a large farming population in the US. Farmers went from 18% of the workforce in 1940 to 8.3% of the workforce in 1960. So the percent of total workers in unions was never over 30%.

Second: As the graph shows, the unionized workers are predominantly public employees. This has the following implication:

public union employees are to taxpayers as private union employees are to stockholders.

In both cases, the union employees are in an adversarial relationship with politicians/managers. The politicians/managers are selected by the taxpayers/stockholders to effectively represent them in collective bargaining in order to ensure the highest employee productivity with the least cost in salaries and benefits.

workers rights will have to fall to virtually nothing and for corporations to over play their hands for people to finally wake the fuck up again.

Until that point, they will keep squeezing. A when we finally kick back it will make the period from 1885 through 1960 look like a walk in the part.

They won't just have goons and scabs anymore they will have corporate cops who won't be unionized and will basically be paramilitary to do their dirty work.

Unions grew up in the manufacturing and mining sector where large numbers of workers performed similar manual labor.

Those conditions are unlikely to return.

Without standardized jobs, work rules, and pay scales, it is hard to see how unions come back. There are places like hotel housekeeping and food services where they fit in the private service industries. There are also adminstrative jobs in the public sector, but those are being eroded by IT that reduces standardization.