The fight for unions worldwide is being fought in France. French workers are like the little boy with his finger in the hole on the dike of anti-unionism worldwide. If the French government wins, so will the fight to make it easier to fire workers and to end the 35-hour workweek. The corporations of the world and governments who cater to them will all be trying the same thing in their countries.
It is hard enough for unions to fight corporations and their own governments, but to do it at the same time is overwhelming. Although the Brits just voted for to leave the EU, for better or worse, but the people took their futures into their own hands and won the election over the money people. There is still hope for people power.
The workers of the world need to support the French workers on opposing the French government’s planned labor reforms, which the conservatives-led senate is to vote on the bill Tuesday, June 28, 2016. If the workers lose this fight, the loss could reverberate around the world, and give governments confidence to try it even here in the U.S. With the elections in turmoil here in the U.S., there is a lot of uncertainty.
This is the time all unions need to pull together and in the U.S., all unions need to join together with Bernie Sanders’ army and get ready for future elections and the fight for our survival. If the French win, we should build on their success. If the French government wins, we need to go on the offensive.
To change the abundance of labor in the world is to put more money in the pockets of the laborer to buy the products their fellow workers are making. Otherwise, when there are more products than money, there is slump in the economy. Austerity policies, low wages and automation (robots) were also of concern in the 1950s when Henry Ford II, CEO of Ford, took Walter Reuther, head of the United Auto Workers Union, on a tour of a new engine plant.
Ford gestured to a fleet of new machines and said, “Walter, how are you going to get these robots to pay union dues?” The union leader turned to Ford and said, “Henry, how are you going to get robots to buy your cars?”
This type of change in the labor has created a new type of working class that swings from task to task in order to make ends meet while enduring the loss of labor rights and bargaining rights. They are called “precariat” workers, a group of workers who live on the verge of collapse due to the instability of the nature of their job…