Union Perspectives

When we don’t know what the antiunion people like American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are planning then all we can do is respond like the thousands of Indiana workers who just got the “right to work” for less jammed up their butts. Now that it is done we talk about how bad it will be for the workers like making more than $5,000 a year less on average maybe we should pay attention to what is going to happen and warn our workers before the damage is done. It’s too late after the legislation has passed to take to the streets in protest. Unions should be holding meetings with its members, educate them and their families on “who” and “what” and “how" labor is being attacked right now. Labor is being attacked in 20 states along the lines of anti-worker legislation. The “what” is to break workers into temp workers without a voice; the “how” is through the power of people and the ballot box; and the “who” are the likes of ALEC, Citizens United, American Crossroads, Chamber of ...

Are the anti-union people like the Chamber of Commerce, the Manufacturing Association and other like-mind organizations doing the right thing for themselves? The conflict between labor and the business owners or “capitals” (as the wealthy business owners were once called) is a natural one that goes back since the beginning of this country. The proletarian toilers or wage slaves (a term coined by Jack London) have nothing in common with the employing class. The IWW Wobblies understood this and this is the reason they did not want to enter into labor contracts, which, they believed, would take away labor’s best weapon—the strike. Also the IWW did not want to affiliate with any political party. Its party was the wage slaves’ workers. This is the reason the Wobblies were so feared. They were the first 99%. What would be the recourse of us wage slaves if we lose all unions and the right to form or belong to any organizations to lobby for our rights within law?  What will happen? Well, l...

The 99% think the 1% is in control or is about to control our country’s government and the work place. In reality the people who are in control are 1/10th of the 1%. The true oligarchies with their minions engaging in anti-union organizations, such as the Koch brothers’ Limbaugh, ALEC’s Club for Growth, and Dick Armory as puppet master of the Tea Party’s Americans for Prosperity. Labor has boxed themselves into a corner with labor agreements, which binds labor to no walking off the job site while there is an agreement in place. The strike was labor’s best weapon against the anti-union corporations. If labor could partner up with the 99% maybe we could help each other and labor would not be in breach of contract. The 99% could picket in front of businesses or job sites where labor has a no walk off stipulation in its contract. In the long run we all want the same things: healthcare, jobs, good pay, a home, good schools, pensions, end to the war, and rebuilding our infrastructure. We...

The 1% are at this time putting up legislation that is prohibits protesting or picketing outside of businesses or government buildings, which would just about shut down anything the 99% or unions are trying to do. Georgia has an anti-picketing bill that would ban all union pickets or gatherings outside of businesses. This is a huge throwback to the 1800-1930s. I wrote a blog entry, U.S. Supreme Court Giveth and Taketh, and in it I wrote about how the Supreme Court giveth and taketh away. Well, the courts are about to taketh away and all the gains that the IWW Wobblies fought and died for will be for naught. They must be turning in their graves. We must take back the courts for the working wage slaves if not there is no doubt that the wage slaves will become more temporary workers or workampers. Is this what we, workers, and retired people want to leave our children and grandchildren? Things will have to change and we must keep the right for free speech and the right to assemble at ...

The minions do the work of the oligarchies in keeping the tax rate low for the very rich; but the minions are also the mercenary army that works to elect Republican people to offices in county, state and federal government. The definition of minion in this case are people like of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and Glenn Beck, etc., who are the water carries for the Koch brothers, and American Legislation Exchange Council (ALEC). Then when they are elected to office they are then asked to join ALEC. There the newly elected people are wined and dined at ALEC retreats where they are given cookie cutter legislative bills, which enhance the oligarchies’ money and power. The more they get the more they want. If ALEC can find ways to break the unions and suppress voters’ rights they will be unstoppable unless the 99% can expose the oligarchies’ minions for who they are and how they work. If we don’t understand and know our enemies we will only win half of our battles, but if we...