Union Perspectives

Yes, we, today, are smart enough to rethink our Constitution and should not be afraid to do it. To change our Constitution, 34 states must vote to hold a national convention. To amend the Constitution, it takes 38 of the states to ratify the changes. There are many things that should be looked at—good or bad. The bad things include a long obsession by the conservative movement for a so-called balanced budget amendment. This would make the government powerless to borrow its way out of a recession. The government would have to cut spending at the very moment it was most needed. The cuts would most likely be made to benefit programs instead of raising taxes on the wealthiest and eliminating the inheritance tax. The effort to change the Constitution is being funded by the Koch brothers, Coors, DeVos and the Walton families, who produce op-eds and other positive-sounding propaganda that touts the need for such a convention. At this time, 29 states have voted to a hold a Constitutional conv

Today, we are still fighting for a living wage at a minimum of $15 an hour, when, in fact, it should be $24 an hour had it kept up with inflation. This fight has been going on for a very long time, and nothing seems to change. In 1905—a 112 years ago—the International Workers of the World (IWW also known as the Wobblies) held a convention in Chicago to lay the groundwork for one big union. IWW members were the “shock troops” of labor. Their prime purpose was to make the first breaches in the entrenched industry. They fought and won the free speech fights so they could continue to educate the workers on what should be their right to a safe work place, fair pay and reasonable work hours. Some died exercising this right. These Wobblies traveled the country in search of work, as timber fallers or on farms (they were known as fruit tramps). Many worked to unionize the textile workers, long before the New York Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. Here in 2017, we are still fighting f

How much money do people really need? Is it decided by how you fit into the Have Nots, Have Littles and Used to Have or the Have More and Have Everything? If you are one of the Have Everything, you might think you need Balenciaga’s Triple S sneakers for $850. A pair or three houses, at least a jet and yacht and a fleet of cars for a start. Then there is the Have Mores. They are making between $150,000 to $2 million a year at least. They can send their children to a private school, ensuring they get a better education and can make as much or more money than their parents. And they, too, will be able to afford big houses, lots of cars, nice vacations, healthcare, and a good retirement. What will your children have? Then there are the Used to Haves, who are the old bitter people who voted for Trump. They once had the More, but have now lost it and now blame the government, but take all they can get. Then there are the Have Littles, who are like children with their faces up against the