Unions' Hope is in Bernie Sanders

Unions have finally recognized that the only person who will work with unions and support new and better laws for workers is Bernie Sanders. He is probably our only chance for unions to grow and unions can reclaim their lost territory. We may even get a national card check in place where 51 percent of workers want a union the company or corporation must start negotiations with the workers. This keeps companies from dragging out the process and bringing in union busters. The unions now need to really get behind Sanders with their support, boots on the ground and ask union members to vote for him and consider donating $27 to Sander’s campaign. Healthcare for all or Medicare for all that covers dental, eyes, hearing and mental health with no out of pocket money will help union workers and owners. If healthcare was universal, unions can bid jobs better against nonunion shops. The unions need more union schools to send members to and union retreats for union families so all union members and their families can learn about union and workers rights, laws and labor history of all unions and the lives that were lost to earn the eight-hour work day, pensions, and child labor laws. This fight for our very lives and all union members must be educated on how to stand up and take the fight to the streets and anti-union people. Families who fight together stay together, and unions become stronger ones that are not union. Union workers should consider running for local public office, whether it’s on a school board or fire board or water board or a city council or a county board and even state elected office. This would give the member a two-fold opportunity by ensuring unions are protected at whatever entity their elected to and the destructive cuts and management skills are conducted for the betterment of the agency, not political ignorance. Unions should expect their elected or hired representatives to attend all city council and board of supervisors meetings just to let the elected officials know what unions are doing in our labor councils. In my local labor council, we represent five counties with about 10,000 members. Our elected people show know this. We are engaged in a class warfare and it will be fought at the ballot box or in the streets, either way we need educated people who know how to fight and also know their history. If you know yourself and know your enemy, you will win most of your battles. Our enemy comes from a common place, greed and control, and they don’t belong to just one political party. We have our work cut out for us.