From my own experiences and also from my shaky memory, Labor Unions brought
about their own demise, as much as did the Corporate Bosses. Labor Unions
began to take on the appearance of the very corporations they found
oppressive. The Union leaders began making decisions without the knowledge
or approval of the rank and file members.
While the Corporate Bosses cried out that Unions were riddled with
Communists, the actual truth was that the Unions were filling up with
Capitalist lookalikes, eager to carve out their own little empires.
It became difficult to tell if you were in the offices of the Union
President, or the President of Shell Oil.
Keeping the members in line was not difficult in the early days. Strike for
higher wages and better benefits and working conditions. As long as the pay
hikes came in, most members were contented to turn over the hard work to a
handful of paid union officials. Meetings were controlled and basically
dull. Members felt they had nothing meaningful to contribute.
The Unions, like their Corporate buddies, jockeyed for dominance, cutting
the legs off one another whenever they could. The Teamsters tried to unseat
the Aero Machinists at Boeing, back in the late 40's. The Teamsters were at
it again in California, attempting to take over the United Farm Workers.
But then, the Teamsters had been built by Dave Beck, a self serving man who
knew how to write Sweetheart Contracts. He left his job as a truck driver
and moved into the posh Teamster suites, hobnobbing with the rich and
famous.
And the rank and file members couldn't see that they had been sold out, that
they were now being used by both Labor and Management.
And what the Labor Movement could have done world-wide came crashing down
when Unions behaved just like the Corporate World when it came to their
dealings with Third World Nations.
Have we learned from our experiences of turning our responsibilities over to
a few greedy leaders? I guess not.
Can we learn? Sure, but in whose lifetime?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "ted chittenden" <tchittenden@cox.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 12:56 PM
Subject: RE: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Miriam:
While it is true that there have always been criticisms of the union
movement (some of which I share, by the way), the unions themselves really
had the most power in this country between World War II (and its aftermath)
and 1980 and the election of Ronald Reagan as U.S. President.
--
Ted Chittenden
Every story has at least two sides if not more.
---- Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
Well, I think that things are a bit more subtle than the picture you paint.
Politicians say what they think people want to hear. There are a lot of
working class people who consider themselves to be middle class. The
definitions of what is working class and what is middle class are a bit
foggy to begin with and people's definitions of themselves are subjective.
As for unions, the business class always despised them. And by the mid 70's,
anti-union propaganda had been very effective. I remember a saleswoman in a
department store telling me that she was so happy that there was no union
representation in that store. I also know people who saw all unions and
union activity as a negative force because some unions were tainted by crime
and illegality.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of ted chittenden
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 2:06 PM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: RE: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Miriam:
The reason that politicians are more interested in the middle class than in
the working class is that members of the middle class have more money and
are willing to spend more of it on politicians than their working class
counterparts.
With regard to how life was with respect for the unions, keep in mind that
that was only a brief phenomenon that occurred only during the middle of the
20th century. During most of U.S. history, union movements and their
supporters were abhorred and looked down upon.
--
Ted Chittenden
Every story has at least two sides if not more.
---- Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
It's interesting that part of the American dream is that everyone is
supposed to work hard and get an education so that he or she can move up in
socioeconomic status, make more money than his or her parents, live better
lives, which means have more material comforts. The implication of this is
that the people who haul the garbage or clean our office buildings or pick
our fruit and vegetables, are worth less. The idea is that their children
are supposed to work hard so they won't have to do such menial work. We do
not honor hard work. We borrow money at rates of interest that are too high
in order to go to college and graduate school so that we won't have to be a
child care worker or a home health aide. And it used to be that the
individual who earned a PhD and taught at a university was respected. But
academia has changed. People work hard and also borrow lots of money in
order to become physicians. But now-a-days, physicians are ruled by the
market place and health insurance companies. Things have become confused.
But it was unions which insisted on respect, good wages, and good benefits
for working people. Workers who didn't have that protection were never
respected by this society. And those who did, have been resented. Now all
workers are looked down on. No one wants to be considered part of the
working class. That's why politicians talk only about the middle class.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 11:17 AM
To: ckrugman@sbcglobal.net; Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Chuck,
Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up even
if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out once
the ball gets rolling.
As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat my
dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the fellow
hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done those
people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public assistance are
forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so their
purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net and
exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting raises in
the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly rate or
what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to stay
competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people working
in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of aedvanced
training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: Miriam Vieni
To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
To: Miriam Vieni
Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in. Can you
share this petition with all your friends?
Click here to share it on Facebook:
Share on Facebook
Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
Thanks!
-Roger Hickey
Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Hi,
Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost the
paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are adults
with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it would be
$10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation, this
bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
hard-working Americans.
The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its value
since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its pay
13 times.
The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to
$10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create 140,000 new
jobs over three years.
On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates, workers, online
activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day of
Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of America's
lowest-paid workers.
You can find details about events in your area here:
http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-ameri
ca
That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
"Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum wage to
$10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in more
than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of living."
Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by
=1126864
Thanks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the Minimum
Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action does
not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on MoveOn's
public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about this
petition, click here to unsubscribe.
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