Editorials & Other Articles

Teamster Jeff

(1,598 posts) Sat May 4, 2013, 09:22 AM May 2013

Mushroom Clouds Over Texas, 500 Deaths in Bangladesh -- That's Why We Need Unions

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/mushroom-clouds-over-texa_b_3211055.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

>>>
News reports tell us that more than 500 people have now died and more than 2,500 were injured in Savar, Bangladesh, while the toll in West, Texas stands at 15 dead and over 200 injured. Behind these two disasters is a common thread of greed -- and a common need for unionized resistance.
>
A Pattern of Death

Their deaths weren't random or unpredictable, no matter what the politicians want you to believe.

Texas Governor Rick Perry denied that lax oversight caused the West explosion, while the Bangladeshi Finance Minister who outraged the world by saying the accident "wasn't really serious" added that "These are individual cases of ... accidents. It happens everywhere."

That's a lie. It's the lie they tell to hide the underlying pattern behind these deaths -- a pattern of under-represented workers and unrestrained greed.

And they endanger us all.
>>>

6 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Mushroom Clouds Over Texas, 500 Deaths in Bangladesh -- That's Why We Need Unions (Original Post) Teamster Jeff May 2013 OP

The Problem Is That People Still Hate And Distrust Unions And Want To Eliminate Them TheMastersNemesis May 2013 #1

It's easy to blame Unions. Teamster Jeff May 2013 #3

Worldwide labor surplus, Benton D Struckcheon May 2013 #2

China's one child policy and male birth control on the horizon will finish it off yurbud May 2013 #5

I agree gopiscrap May 2013 #4

Absolutely. And - horror of horrors! - government regulations Addison May 2013 #6

TheMastersNemesis

(10,602 posts)

1. The Problem Is That People Still Hate And Distrust Unions And Want To Eliminate Them

Reply to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Sat May 4, 2013, 09:27 AM

May 2013

When I am out and a about and the discussion of unions comes up all I get is unions have caused all our problems and they should be eliminated. Union people make too much. Union bosses are no better than CEO's. You are a communist if you believe we should have unions.

I have been retired from DOL for over 15 years now. And the attitude toward unions and labor regs seems to only get more hostile. Until people begin to wake up I do not know what we do.

Teamster Jeff

(1,598 posts)

3. It's easy to blame Unions.

Reply to TheMastersNemesis (Reply #1)

Sat May 4, 2013, 09:58 AM

May 2013

It's like a path of least resistance. Your boss and even your preacher would chuckle and approve. It's hard to fight corporations, companies and even the government.

I look at Union bashing working people as weaklings and cowards not up to the task of fighting the real fight. Buying the Fox News bullshit and bowing down for the favor of Boss Hogg is the Corporate approved paradigm.

All of the protest activity and strikes going on make me hopeful for the future

Benton D Struckcheon

(2,347 posts)

2. Worldwide labor surplus,

Reply to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Sat May 4, 2013, 09:27 AM

May 2013

and they've all been engaged in a global labor arbitrage. But they're running out of these places to set up shop in. After China and the Indian subcontinent, about the only place they'll have left is sub-Saharan Africa. Not enough people there to sustain this nonsense for long. This game is close to ending.