Union Perspectives

The United Auto Workers union is kicking serious ass. All unions should look at what is working for them and what has not. If they are winning for their people, labor needs to do big things that will change the lives of their members for the long term, such as child care and a labor school, where members and families can learn how to make their lives better, and how to run strikes, work stoppages, electing labor people to local, state and federal government offices. We are in a fight for our existence and all union members must embrace Sun Tzu's, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." We need a trained Army. This way we can get the court system back to where they support the laws fairly when lawsuits involve labor and our families instead of the ...

This is the year of labor. We have had some very good wins, but now the work begins for the big fight in 2028 when a lot of the contracts expire at midnight on May Day, May 30. On this day we, labor people, could pull off a nationwide strike to get a four-day work week with full pay, healthcare with no out of pocket costs, better pensions and a universal basic income for those who fall through the cracks. This can be paid for by the mega millionaires and billionaires. These money hoarders need to pony up and pay their fair share instead of getting on their ponies and riding off to one of their tax havens. To counter the rich, we must elect labor-friendly people from the bottom up who will tax the greedy, instead of taking their “political contributions.” Volkswagen recently had a union vote. The final tally was 2,628 in favor of a union, 985 against. What the hell is wrong with these 985 workers? This is where organizers could begin their unionizing by educating workers on labor histor...

Unions’ long game is to get all union contracts to expire on the same day nationwide. The United Auto Workers combines contracts ends on April 28, 2028. This could then result in a mass national strike starting on May Day beeginning that year. This could then put enormous pressure on employers, but also on lawmakers. It’s the muscle and sweat of the workers that keeps this country great, not the individual company or corporations. This May Day strike would be the time to change the workers’ world for the better by negotiating for a 32-hour week with the same pay, and the U.S. adopts a healthcare for all with no out of pocket costs. This would also help the employers as they would no longer have to provide healthcare. By striking, the UAW won same pay for new workers, all UAW contracts will end on the same date, a 25-percent pay increase, a cost of living adjustments, a guaranteed right to strike over potential plant closures, and also the right to vote to unionize through the card che...

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. ...