Union Perspectives

Union workers do not want to be seen as the 1 percent of the wage slaves because of their good pay, pensions and healthcare. The way to not be seen as the 1 percent of workers is to give back to the workers that don’t have a union working for them. Unions can do this with money support and support in the fight for $15 to $18 an hour. The unions can educate wage slaves on tactics and legal advice in their support. Union workers can also show and help the low wage workers how to start or join a union or even a group that will stand up for what the wage slaves need. Wage inequality is a worldwide scourge and will only be stopped by the people. The government can help, but the workers must make them. Governments will not volunteer to do it on its own. There is a need for large changes, like free education, single-payer or universal healthcare, and card check to make unions’ certification faster. The largest pool of low paid workers is found in the fast food, restaurant, farm, retail, hom...

One thing that might help the 99ers and our countries workers get back to work is to not cut wages to keep work here. The corporations and the right say cutting wages stimulates job creation. This is a lie. Soon the 99ers will have no money to buy anything. What we can do to make our corporations more competitive in the world is have single payer-national healthcare or at least right now expand Medicare coverage (lower the eligibility age). This would take the burden off the corporations that provide healthcare which would drop the employee cost. Germany has high labor costs, but it is doing very well in the global economy. It is the most successful social democracy in the world right now. It has a large trade surplus and one reason for this is it has a whole different type of corporations with workers making up one half of the board of directions, and the workers have privileged positions in the company and real power and responsibilities. The Germans also have government sponsor...

It is time for the labor councils to join the 99ers who are the Wall Street protesters. For we all have the same concerns: shelter, food, health care, pensions and jobs. The 1 ‘percenters’ have crossed the line and not just in the USA. This is now a worldwide movement. It is reminiscent of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). We the working people have had opportunities before and did not take advantage of them. This time we, the 99ers, and unions now have no choice but to keep going for the 99ers are at the bottom of the financial ladder. If you are not in the top 1 percent on the economic scale, you’re a 99er. This is not the first time we've had to deal with corporate greed. Ralph Chaplin captured the 1 percenters' greed at the turn of the 20th century. “It is we who plowed the prairies, built the cities where they trade Dug the mines and built the workshops endless miles of railroad laid Now we stand outcast and starving Midst the wonders we made, but ...