Union Perspectives

The U.S. Supreme Court has given to labor and it has taken from labor. In Feb.26, 2018, they will be taking from labor and their decisions will destroy labor’s membership and bankrupt unions financially. The Court could then allow workers who have paid union dues to seek refunds from union dues already paid, which would drive a stake into the heart of labor unions. After three tries, in 2012, 2014 and 2016, the high court is poised to reverse its own 40 year precedent and strike down the Fair Share Fees as unconstitutional. The 1977 ruling said workers did not have to pay for unions’ political activity. The verdict expected in June of this year would allow workers to pay nothing toward union dues, but still receive the union protections. This could force unions to have to raise union dues on those who remain or lose clout in states, such as California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, in the public workers, such as law enforcement, firefighters, teachers, government ...

With the Trump election, we here in the U.S. must brace ourselves for privatization of our security and government services. Also, there will be a huge push in union busting activities and we will see more states pushing right-to-work laws, which will smash unions by reducing union dues. We are seeing this in Australia, Britain, Greece, and Israel. These trends are now driving violations of labor laws, which is responsible for underpaying workers, and now Israel has the highest poverty level among developed nations, and it has the highest level of inequality among children. Privatization is the fastest path to the bottom of the economic ladder. The model set by President Ronald Reagan and Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who both followed the hardline economist and privatization nutcase Milton Friedman, who has been one of the ones who have widened the inequality gap here in the U.S. and the world over. With the Trump election, we will see privatization and wars on ster...

Once again the oligarchies want to throw the old wage slaves under their greedy bus regarding the Greek pensions. This just shows the disdain the greedy money people think of the worker and this goes on all over the world--just look at Ukraine and Turkish miners. It is bad enough that the people who are working and driving the capitalist system of today are being deprived of their civil/human rights. This has always been the fight and workers understand this war, but when the world’s oligarchs start a war on the retired workers who are just barely making it on their earned pensions just like the governor of Wisconsin and mayor of Chicago, Illinois, are doing here. This type of conduct will not be tolerated much longer and when present wage slaves see there is no hope now or in the future when they get too old to work, what do the greedy money-grubbing GOP anti-union people think the wage slaves of the world will do? At this time we in the free world have enough enemies so why in the ...

The world’s toilers have the same problems with work safety, like the Ukraine mine workers, Turkey’s mines and West Virginia’s mines. Then there are the oil refinery workers and the train workers hauling Bakken shale oil from the Canadian tar sand, which are wrecking at an alarming rate in the North American. So far in 2015 there have been eight so far in 2015 train wrecks, four in Oregon Illinois, West Virginia and two in Ontario. All these wrecks at a time when owners want to cut staff to one on the trains. This is just a fight to stay safe and alive on the jobs. Then we get to wage inequality and a living wage along with toiler’s rights in the work place like the West Coast dockworkers all 20,000 of them. The airport workers, who are making $8 to $10 an hour, should be making $15 just to make it. Also, Israel’s chemical workers walked out to block layoffs of about 840 workers—and the fight goes on and on. A meeting about the future of railroads’ safety, workers, community and the en...

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...