Union Perspectives

Competition can be used against the Haves. The Haves possess and, in turn, are possessed by power, obsessed with the fear of losing power; their every move is dictated by the idea of keeping their power. The way of life of the Haves is to keep what they have and wherever possible to shore up their defenses so now we have the Haves 1 percent determined to keep its power and in constant fight with the Have Nots. At the same time they are in conflict among themselves. Power grows or dies therefore in order to keep power the status quo must get more; but from whom? There is just so much that can be squeezed out of the Have Nots, so the Haves must take it from each other. This cannibalism of the 1 percent is a good time for the Have Nots to attack, such as the $15 to $18 an hour minimum wage. The Have Nots should try to pick fights between fast food places by picketing one, which would bring more business to the one where there are no pickets. Then, when the owners see what is happening t...

If we depend on courts and lawyers we will lose the battle on union rights. Wisconsin Supreme Court recently handed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker a sledgehammer to further destroy union rights. I was told a long time ago by a union organizer that when we left the streets and picket lines and turned over our fight to the lawyers and court system is when we started to losing the battle against the GOP. Long strikes won’t work nowadays for most working families because they do not have the resources to withstand a long battle and the unions don’t have the resources to back our people. What will work is timing our moves like hit and run, old gorilla tactics. One or two days at a time pick targets where we can get the most support, most media and be able to drive our point home on what we want. Timing, planning, good communication and being well-organized is done through people all supporting each other. Even if it does not at the time affect you, but if we work together, we will bui...