Union Perspectives

The best unions for workers are the way trade unions are set up. They are an in-house organization. They have their own pension plans, which they control. They have their own healthcare plan. They set their wages. They do their own training, such as apprenticeship programs. They set their retirement ages; in short, they provide the labor for a price, which covers everything. The contractor pays a set price per hour for a tradesman and when the work is done the worker goes back the union hall to be put on the out of work list until the next job. If the union man or woman moves their pension follows them. The other types of union are governmental: federal, state, city, special district, corporations, businesses schools. These unions just have people who negotiate on their behalf for benefits and wages, but pensions and healthcare are paid for by the agency and employees, and not paid by the unions so the workers’ do not have much control. In cases of corporations selling out to another...

Joe Hill wrote in 1914 about how to make work for the unemployed, which was about, “How to use new ways and tactics of carrying on the class struggle to emancipate the workers from wage slavery. The best way to strike is to strike on the job. First, present your needs or demands to the bosses. If they should refuse to grant them, don’t walk out and give the scabs a chance to take your place. “No, just go back to work as though nothing had happened and a new method of warfare, which is to slow down things [like accidently unplugging a refrigerator or copier, its passive sabotage] every way possible as not to give the bosses a good reason to fire you, and when things begin to happen be careful not to fix blame on any certain individual unless that individual is an undesirable from a working class point of view. “The bosses will soon find the cheapest way out of it (the slowdown) is to grant your demands. This is not a mere threat; it has been successfully tried more than once. Striking o...

There is a consensus in the U.S. and worldwide that the labor movement is dying, but to understand how to turn it around, we must understand why, when, who and what. Labor at one time had the momentum and was winning so why is labor at 7 percent today and with 24 states now right to work for less laws that sap union treasures by allowing workers to benefit from union contracts without paying dues. Why do union members belong to the GOP or vote GOP? One reason is that union head of families, fathers and mothers, have not taught their children the importance of unions. They had all the benefits of a union: healthcare, good pay, weekends and holidays off, and money for a good education, but was never taught how or where this all came from, not at home, not in the schools and not even at the union meetings. Who is to blame? It is the unions and the unions’ members not teaching it at home, and throw in apathy and anti-union laws, and some Blue Dog Democrats who did not support unions and w...

The wage slaves who are fighting for unions to better their lives, such as ending inequality, new contracts, benefits, end of outsourcing, firing workers for striking, and being locked out of a work place, also fighting for safer working conditions. They now have a place to get their word out and a place to compare notes on strategy and tactics. This has been offered by Maggie Trowe, who writes a column for the Militant newspaper, which every working toiler should have access to. Trowe will help you with your struggles with bosses. Contact her at 306 W. 37th St. 13th Floor, New York, New York 10018 or 212-244-4899 or the Militant@mac.com. It would be very helpful if all union members and nonunion people would subscribe to the Militant. This week the newspaper is talking about the Los Angeles, California, area grocery workers; farm workers fighting union busting in the U.S.; garment workers in Bangladesh; movers in Illinois in the U.S. strike for first contract; phone workers in New En...

It’s time for payback. Now is the time for President Obama to repay the wage slaves for the money and support given to him when he ran for election and re-election. All the unions were asking was just the tools to work with, such as card check. For the federal contract workers at the U.S. Capital and other high profile locations in Washington, like the parks, museum and zoo workers, have the right to fight for collective bargaining rights and to obtain higher wages. President Obama should use his executive power for a higher minimum wage than $10.10 an hour, more like $15 to $18 an hour. Also, the President should change the classification of Federal employees who fight wildland fire to wildland firefighters with the pay that is fitting, such as California Department of Forestry firefighters receive. Then the President should make good on his promise to the people who have come here for work or a better, safer life, and quit deporting them and splitting up their families. These people...

Unions must show what they can do for their membership at this time—not what they have done before. People have a short memory. You are always judged by your last win or loss and unions cannot at this time survive on past laurels. Should labor at the AFL open the ranks, sort of like the old Minneapolis Teamsters Local 74, like a worker assistance program where you ask the workers to pay a small amount each month to belong? In return they would receive information on which labor union needs workers or apprentices, provide news on labor rights, such as federal and state laws, maybe even an electronic labor newspaper and an Internet resource center for information. The non-union workers would have support in their working place protests such as people, law advice, and maybe even representation by an attorney. This would be a wage slaves’ club for all non-union workers who would like to make their lives better. In the old days, this type of organization even offered cheap life insurance ...

We need to get our shit together, and unless we are together we will continue to be stomped on by the 1 percent. One way to get our act together is organize our efforts to keep track of what the different organizations are doing, a clearing house of sorts. The workers of the world must expand and reinforce the war on inequality. The workers must carve out some of the cash that the oligarchies and corporations are hording. The wage slaves of the low wage jobs will have to force wage hikes by strikes, walkouts and withholding their labor. If you are making minimum wage, you probably can’t fill up a gas tank even at $3 a gallon, the average tank would be about $54—about a day’s work. So, minimum wage workers walkout will hurt the fast food, Walmart corporations’ executive officers more than you for you need the money, they worship money and they have to report to stockholders, which can get them fired. You just missed a day of work, or didn’t have work the day of the walkout, but their ...

The right wing governments of the world are pushing the wage slaves from the ballot box to the streets because the oligarchies have bought the ballot box. This forces the toilers to go to the streets to protest the wrongs of the right wing governments, like in Belgium, Brussels, where 100,000 workers had to take to the streets to demonstrate against planned reforms against public transport, schools, post office and other services. The government wants to cut staffing, services along with companies across the country. This is worldwide and here in the USA workers will be even more under assault by the right wing GOP for they now control 27 states, which will finish devastating the unions, and the oligarchies own the ballot boxes here also and the courts. So all that is left is the streets, which will probably be closed soon by Sedition Laws being passed by cities, counties and states, such as what was done in Ferguson, Missouri, where protestors were not able to stop walking, standing ...

“The wage slaves need more,” said the great labor leader Samuel Gompers. “What does labor want? We want more—school houses and less jails, more books and less crime, more leisure and less greed, more justice and less revenge—in fact, more opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to make manhood more noble, and womanhood more beautiful, and childhood more happy and bright.” He was ahead of his time. He went on to say, “What do labor, community justice advocates and environmentalists want today? We want less inequality and more dignified work that contribute to the greater good and is safe from toxins and hazards. We want the material basis of economic prosperity and the ecological bounty required to thrive—clean water and air, fertile soil and wholesome food. We want our children to flourish, their bodies to grow strong and healthy, with full voices and laughter. We want our elders to be honored and treasured. We want vibrant communities of art, creativity, song and learning. We ...

Organizers of unions must look at new ways to organize new members for nothing stays the same and trying to do and use the same methods that no longer work is the definition of insanity. Organizers have depended on the National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) laws to give workers the right to unionize and protect then, but using the NLRB as a fortress to protest will not work today. In any fortress there will sooner or later be destroyed either by being overrun or by just poking holes into it and making it no longer defensible without upgrades, like new, stronger laws. The NLRB is dying so organizers must change their tactics. The SEIU, between 1995 and 1999, unionized 74,000 home healthcare workers in Los Angeles. The labor movement will be in low wage employees working toward $15 to $18 an hour minimum wage plus benefits. The once powerful trade and industrial labor unions, which built the middle class, are no longer able to protect the interests of the American workers and this also is...