Union Perspectives

Unions do not do well in a dictatorship because unions are the first thing dictators destroy, and rest assured the workers won’t be allowed to hit the streets in protest. If Trump is elected he will invoke the Insurrection Act and send troops into the cities to crush them and send a message that he will terminate and dissent. They will eliminate unions and unionized workers. We are standing at the precipice and it's up to us to fight the fall into a dictatorship. By voting for the GOP, maga people and anyone else will be able to keep their guns until Trump says, “No.” By then, he will have already amassed an Army of foot soldiers in place to take over the government jobs. They will be Trump’s people and they will do whatever he tells them to do. The only way this can be stopped is for all unions and their members to put aside their political and social differences and stand strong for democracy, unions, workers rights and workers safety. This is not a drill. It will happen just loo

We are seeing the highest labor unionization since 1965. Business owners and workers have nothing in common. Owners want profits and political clout and workers want respect for their work and proper compensation for that work that makes the owner rich. The rich, like the Charles Koch Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, the Freedom Foundation, the Heritage Foundation and the State Policy Network are antiunion organizations that fund GOP conservative think tanks. The people behind these foundations are motivated by one thing and that is to destroy unions and weaken workers’ rights. Every time Republicans get into office, they have the same strategy to cut safety nets for the rest of the population while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and then threaten to shut down the government in a tantrum like a three-year-old child. It is estimated that the wealthy American evaded almost $66 billion in federal taxes. The top 2,000 highest earning tax dodgers owe $923 million in taxes so that expla

Bank of America is rooting for there to be less jobs so the employers will be back in control. Joblessness could help companies bring people back in the office where they want them, despite evidence that shows employees are more productive when they work from home. These titans of wealth would like to see a recession just to put the little people back in their place so they can regain the control they had over the working class who feared losing their jobs or having their hours cut. Some employers enjoy watching their workers grovel for their jobs that pay low wages where missing a day’s work could mean not being able to pay the rent or make a car payment or pay the utilities. Good timing and planning are the ways to win strikes with as much support from all unions that can get involved. The young workers are getting smarter even though they don’t teach about labor and the capitalist system in high school. The young workers can now just look up labor laws and history and how the ca

The working people’s army are marching together for a better life for all working people. Unions on strike or getting ready to strike should follow the example of the Writers Guild of America, this union’s members have been on strike for four months and counting. WGA’s negotiating committee met today with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. No agreement has been met as yet. People thirty and younger are for unions by 88 percent and 90 percent support strikes. Why are thousands of workers across America on strike right now? asks Robert Reich, professor, lawyer, author, artist, and presidents Ford and Carter’s labor secretary. CEO pay has increased 1,460 percent since 1978 while typical workers’ pay increased by 18 percent. When auto CEOs say they can’t afford to pay their workers more, remember that the Big Three have made $250 billion in profits the past decade. Reich points out that stock buybacks became legal in 1982, this is a form of market manipulation. By

Now is the time for all families and union members to learn the best way to take care of each other in all events, such as fires, floods, earthquakes, traffic wrecks, shooting and just everyday incidents. All people with children should know basic first aid and CPR. As a first responder with a volunteer fire department, I once went on a medical call where an infant fell into a hot tub and lost his life because the six people at the scene did not know CPR. This should not have happened. We are our "brothers keeper", to use a biblical phrase, and we have a certain responsibility to our fellow workers and our country, we move away from "otherness," "us vs them," "hostility toward those who don't believe as you" and run toward seeing the good in others, showing compassion for others, being responsive toward others--it's imperative that we find a way. If these last six or seven years haven't taught us anything it is that we get ahead in l

Trump will manage to get out of legal trouble by the help of the most third powerful person on earth: Leonard Leo, who is the co-chair of the Federalist Society, who picks most all of the trial judges and most of the corrupt U.S. Supreme Court justices. Leo and his billionaire friends own the Supreme Court, and they are opposed to voter rights, unions, LGBTQ rights, abortion and contraception. They have spent $43 million for Leo’s nonprofit, which serves conservative political figures and groups, and it has made Leo a very rich person. So, if Trump would ever get his case to the Supreme Court, there is no doubt that he would win. Our country is at a tipping point, will we be a country of laws that is not bought by the billionaires, or will we be a theocracy ruled by guns. If we want a land of laws for the people, how do we get it back, and hold onto it if we don’t have voting rights? This 2024 election might just be the most important election in our lifetime. So all working people

S.A.G.-AFTRA is a strike that working people cannot afford to lose for many reasons. First, is that the S.A.G.-AFTRA members need and should have a fair share of the profits their work brings. It is not the CEOs who make the money, but the creativity of those they hire to write and act. We need this people and their union because if we lose them, the right wing followers will control most of all forms of communication and entertainment the public will see in movies, television shows and news. We, the 99 percent need these 160,000 people to keep things fair and we cannot afford to lose these talented and creative minds, which can and often do show all sides of the stories and history they write. It looks like some union contracts expire next year. Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA and this could help the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the union that represents nearly all crew members. A win for these workers is a win for all unions. It will show just how str

“Why are thousands of workers across multiple industries currently striking or planning to strike?” asks Robert Reich. “I guess it’s a mystery.” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) pay has skyrocketed 1,460 percent since 1978, while workers’ pay grew by 18 percent, Reich said. Amazon’s CEO was paid 6,474 times the company’s worker in 2021. This is a perfect example of a rigged system against the workers. The union representing the 3,300 UPS pilots say they will not cross the picket lines if the Teamster drivers and package sorters go on strike August 1, which would essentially shutdown the express logistics company’s global operations. The pilots are represented by the Independent Pilots Association, separate from the Teamsters, but in solidarity with them. The writers and actors of your favorite shows or movies are on strike and it may have to do with the fact CEOs do little of the work, but are paid way more than those who do. The CEOs currently are making at: Fox Corporation $22 million;

What would Mother Jones think or say about the states, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Arkansas, that have changed the labor laws regarding children? Many other states are working to roll back child labor laws so children can work in meatpacking plants, auto factories, logging, construction sites and bars, which would leave children to open to be exploited or injured like in the days that Mother Jones fought most of her life to get children out of these dangerous jobs and into school. At this time, sixteen year olds can serve alcoholic drinks, fourteen year olds can work in meat packing factories and it’s all being pushed by corporations. The U.S. Department of Labor says there has been a 69 percent increase in companies illegally employing children since 2018. Some blame the child labor trend on the 3.5 percent unemployment rate and the lack of workers so naturally children should forego their futures for the sake of corporate greed and claim children can get valuable work experience and he

Now is the time for the working people who are raising families, who are the drivers of the so-called capitalist system that, in turn, turns workers into slaves. It is time for healthcare with no out of pocket expenses, child care, sick days, living wages and a four-day for week. If you think this is asking a lot, take a look at other countries. Belgium, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, and UK all have or testing having these benefits. If we’re so great, why are we so far behind? Greed. The very rich corporatists call those of us who advocate for these benefits “socialists” or “dreamers” and those workers with no self-awareness or interest to look beyond the term, chime in with the name calling and go further by associating it with “communists.” Instead of running from the word “Socialist,” we should not care about childish name calling and embrace it proudly, inste

If our country is a country of laws that keeps even and honest then we need to cleanup the U.S. Supreme Court, the last stop for all lawsuits and even then they can change any laws based on previous laws. However, it appears they are now changing laws based on corporate money and vacations. Today, if the political party in the White House wants a change on the billionaire-influenced Supreme Court they would have to have the money today for any change. The corporate billionaires use Citizens United ruling to buy off the late Antonin Scalia, current Supreme Court judges Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito—that we know of—and who knows about the rest for the temptation of billions of dollars can sway even the so-called honest judges. At this time, any case, which would do damage to the 1 percent will lose, which means any labor case, union case or voting case will lose even student debt relief. On top of this any climate and healthcare laws will not make it passed the Supreme Court because t

It is hard to believe that labor is now in a fight for the right to strike. The people who will fight labor over the right to strike are the local law enforcement, and they will be trained at the new “Cop City” that is built in Atlanta, Georgia, that the labor busting people want built. Chief among them is the Home Depot Foundation that is helping to fund the Atlanta Police Foundation’s Cop City; but a private entity fiercely opposes the plan to build the $90 million training center in the South River in the Weelaunee Forest. Cop City will have a shooting range, driving course, a mock city to train law enforcement from across the country. Part of the training center will involve urban warfare, which could be used against people excising their right to protest and labor strikes, which could be reminiscent of the Matewan Massacre. One of the leaders against Cop City is Vincent Quiles, who had worked at Home Depot and tried to unionize the workers before being fired. Home Depot used a vi

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone vote against Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters. Though the Court left in place—for now—the right to strike. However, Justice Amy Coney Garrett made it easier to sue unions/employees for striking if “certain instance of property damages occur.” At what point does a company use lost profits or reputation as property damages? Corporations have shown they will stop at nothing to destroy unions and workers’ rights. They have shown they will stop at nothing to be the wealthiest. The fact that workers can still strike is good news for the hundreds of journalists in eight states who are striking against Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the U.S.—Arizona Republic, the Austin American-Statesman, the Bergen Record, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and the Palm Beach Post. Workers claim the cost-cutting measurers by the company, which were the elimination of journalist jobs, and closing of newsrooms, which the union members are sa

If you live in the following areas please consider attending one of the following Rally to Raise the Wage events with Senator Bernie Sanders and Reverend William Barber II. The rallies will be held Thursday, June 1, in Durham, NC at 7 p.m. in the Hayti Heritage Center; Friday, June 2, in Nashville, TN at 7 p.m. at the Fisk University gymnasium; and Saturday, June 3, in Charleston, SC at 4 p.m. at the Longshore’s Association Local 1422 union hall. The rallies are to bring attention to the substandard wages people are paid in these areas, and to educate people on why the federal minimum wage of $7.25 should be $17 an hour, incrementing upwards during a five year period. For those unfamiliar with Rev. Barber, he is, among other impressive things, a social activist, who has lead Moral Mondays, a civil rights protests on the steps of the North Carolina State Capitol Building since April 2013. Senator Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has long advocated for working families. Si

What happened to our celebration of May Day? The celebration of workers’ pride. I know when I worked, we all wore our hard hats with union stickers indicating our locals. We never took them off when we went to get a drink or take a break or had lunch. It was a symbol of pride. I remember in school during the 1950s, we celebrated May Day, but from I’ve seen, it’s not celebrated or explained in school. Some teachers might have the young students make spring hats, but that has nothing to do with why May Day was established. May Day or Workers’ Day or International Workers’ Day is a celebration of the historic struggles gains made by workers. In the U.S., May Day became a day to celebrate workers/laborers in 1889 to commemorate the Chicago Haymarket Riot of 1886. Today, celebrating May Day is done all over the world except, apparently, here in the U.S. If seems as if workers are looked down upon with disdain, like losers for not working harder to become rich like others have achieved.

Are unions paying attention to the eroding child labor laws? I think all union members should be watching and pushing back against this. We, union people, should not allow all the work of Mother Jones to be lost just because we don’t care or understand what will be lost and how it will effect the labor market, jobs, wages, health and safety for all workers. The child labor laws were hard to win because the big corporations were making a lot of money from children doing very hard and dangerous jobs when they should be in school, and maybe just having a fun summer like children should have during their break from school instead of making a rich corporation richer. If the GOP succeeds in destroying most of the child labor laws, then unions must get these young workers into unions where they will have some protections from being exploited by these corporations and take advantage of the children and their parents. But that should not be unions first priority—that should be protecting child

Our Social Security is now at risk thanks to the Republicans. As France has now had their retirement age increased from 62 years to 64 years of age. The people of France fought and are fighting hard, but not hard enough or in the right way, it appears. Their leader circumvented protocol to ram this retirement age higher. Is there anything else they can do? We, here in the U.S., must look hard at how the French lost because if the Democrats lose the next presidential election, the oligarch’s control of the Republicans will use the French’s playbook to raise our retirement age to 72 and possibly cut our Social Security pensions. We need to get ready for the fight to save our Social Security and retirement age as we have them right now. The Republicans have been trying to to destroy Social Security since we started receiving it. It was our old age safety net. They will never stop just like they didn’t stop trying to overturn Roe v Wade, which no one thought could ever happen. At least n

The U.S. Labor Movement … “Workers of the world awaken. Break your chains. Demand your rights. All the wealth you make is taken, by exploiting parasites. Shall you kneel in deep submission from your cradle to your grave? Is the height of your ambition to be a good and willing slave?” Joe Hill Workers of the world, 1910 “When silence isn’t golden. It is we who plowed the prairies, built the cities where They trade, dug the mines and built the work shops; endless miles of railroad land. Now we stand outcast and starving, midst the wonders we have made; but the union makes us strong.” Ralph Chaplin Solidarity Forever, 1915 “The Revolution will not be televised. when you get too old to produce anymore, they hand you your hat and they show you the door. Too old to work, too old to work, when you’re too old to work and you’re too young to die. Who will take care of you, how will you get by when you’re too old to work and you’re too young to die?” Joe Glazer Too Old To Work, 1956 These a

Why are the building trades not organizing? At this time when there are and will be lots of prevailing wage jobs starting. This is the time to go after non-union trade workers to get new members, which will turn into more union shops or out non-union shops out of business since they will not have trades people, who will work for them. We need to keep our money for organizing, and tell the politicians we will give you votes but not our money until you are elected and do something, like better fund the National Labor Relations Board and vote for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act or PRO Act. The trades people need to stop giving up on the rural part of the country, like the Democrats have done, retreating and holding up in cities with larger populations, which turned out not to be as effective a strategy as they thought it would be. All it did or does is slow the bleeding. So we, labor and labor friendly political people need to go back to the counties, like in far northern and eas

Labor should cut spending on politicians and put the money every last dime into organizing the ninety percent who have no union. This is the only way we, the unions, will ever be relevant again. And then, the politicians will come calling on us again. If we do support a politician, we can demand more tools for the ninety percent to get a union. Can anyone list how the union money contributed to politicians has actually helped unions as a whole? At this time, the AFL-CIO’s budget for new organizing is but a sliver of its budget in comparison for political contributions. This will not get us new members or more union jobs. The politicians will not do our work for us. We need to realize that we have to help ourselves. To have ninety percent of non union people pool to work for is a good thing to take advantage of. There will not be a better time than in the next two years. We have to force the Democrats to fund and rebuild the National Labor Relations Board, that has been starved of resou