Union Perspectives

Worried about your future and that of your children? Get involved. The future is for the young and if the young don’t step up and take control, the future won’t be worth living. Young people in their 20s and 30s should be the people running for office in local boards, such as water, fire, utilities, school and city and county office. If they were elected to county board of supervisors or city councils, they appoint planning commissioners, which regulates economic, infrastructure and construction development within the limits of the county or city jurisdiction.  Young people who are in junior college should run for elementary through high school boards. I think they could bring a lot to the table on what is needed in education today. Even if they are not elected, they could attend the school board meetings and speak up, especially during election forums with their fresh ideas and experience. If they decide to run for office, they could ask for money on social media to fund their run fo...

Privatizing is just a way to get rid of union jobs, nothing else. It does not save money, as predicted or the excuse given for the privatization. This is what is happening in Bosnia-Herzegovina-Sarajevo today. This privatizing has sparked economic plight and civil unrest with buildings being set on fire and the presidency under siege. When Bosnia abandoned Communism 20 years ago, officials devised a plan to privatize government jobs. More than 80 percent of privatizations have failed. Many well-connected oligarchies have taken companies and stripped them of their assets, declaring bankruptcies and leaving thousands without jobs or with minimal pay and no pensions. Protests erupted on Feb. 4 in the city of Tuzla, where thousands of factory workers burned government buildings and fought police over the selling off of state-owned companies that left workers without jobs and future wages. Privatizations have decimated the middle class and sent the working class into poverty everywhere it...