Union Perspectives

Some times when bad things happen it is for the best in the long run. Once when working with my tools as a union sheet metal worker, my tools were stolen. My co-worker told me it was the best thing for me because my tools were so old and outdated, basically crap. Fortunately for me, my insurance covered the cost for new tools. Two back-to-back hurricanes, Irma and Maria, decimated Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, could be a good thing in the long run. Puerto Rico’s infrastructure was crap before the hurricanes, but the wreckage gives it an opportunity to rebuild it in a stronger, more efficient way. The government owns the utilities, such as roads, electrical grid, schools, and water and sewer systems, and allowed the infrastructure to become so fragile by underfunding since 2006. The government cut spending by 12 percent, laid off one quarter of the government work force, jacked-up sales taxes ad reduced pensions. With these layoffs, there’s no one to run the sewage system, and none o...

The world’s Stock Market is taking big hits, which kills 401Ks usually owned by the little people and pension plans. One of the main reasons for this is the inequality on the part of the spenders of the capitalist system, which we and most of the world use. The capitalist system we us is where the profits from corporations go to just a few people at the top while none goes to the wage slaves who make the profits in the first place. The few at the top take their profits and hide them overseas or loan the profits to the toilers, who then have to pay top interest rates on the loans, which means more money out of the pockets out of the toilers need to just survive. The problem is the toilers are out of money to pay back the loans and this is what is going to kill the capitalist system worldwide, and the top 1 percent know this or should. The way out of this is 1) Raise the minimum wage to $15 to $24 an hour; and 2) have workers on corporation boards, with votes on how profits are spen...

If the capitalist system is dependent on 67.5 percent spending, which is provided by the habits of the proletarians then shouldn’t the proletarians have jobs or a hybrid system of work in which they are paid a living wage of $15 to $18 an hour minimum or a temporary job or some payment for non-labor to put money in the spenders’ pockets. The money hoarders do not want to invest in factories, they want to invest in bonds, stocks or extend credit line loaning money to countries that cannot repay or student loans. So what needs to be done is to tax the cash hoarders so governments worldwide can start rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure worldwide. Here in the U.S. we need to rebuild our bridges, highways, water mains, sewers, electrical grids, railroads, schools, waterways, fiber optics, clean energy and all the jobs that would be created if we invested in these areas. If the government focused on these areas, then it would create opportunities for investors to be able to maintain or s...

Things that could change the USA and the world for the betterment of the proletarians and save the capitalist system, which is what we have to work until something better comes along, like maybe a hybrid capitalist system. Until then, this is it. The changes for the fastest results are a minimum wage of $15 to $18 an hour, legalizing drugs and taking away the profits for the bad people and then applying a tax, which would support government and care facilities for the addicted. There are jobs in the marijuana grow industry and care businesses. With more cash in the hands of our spenders, there will be more jobs, which will be more taxes paid and also with these changes there will be less reasons for so many prisons (the prison industry is one of the obstacles to progressive drug laws). If we take drugs off the table, the lives of our people and families will be much better. Then there will be an incentive for getting a better education, which will make the corporations happy. For 2015...

Workers have the right in a capitalist system to make money and better their lives and the lifestyles of their families. But if working for wages or owning a business, which makes money, there comes with it a responsibility of how it is used or spent. It should not be used to destroy, it should be used to build and enhance the community and living standards for all, and this will not happen if the 1 percent just sits on their cash or worse yet, hides it to not pay their share for using our commons. The most important fact to appreciate is that the concentrated wealth translates into concentrated political power. The remedies that could reverse the increasing inequality are outside the mainstream politics today because the wealthy 1 percent gets to define what’s mainstream. This is why we need a wage hike of at least $15 to $18 an hour, more full-time jobs with benefits, such as healthcare, pensions, and free education for all. There are comparisons to draw from, such as Denmark or Fin...

The Dow Jones drops 318 and experiences the worst day since June. The Stock Market is down and people are asking why. It is very simple; you just have to go to the very bottom of the capitalist system, which is the wage slaves, who are the consumers in a capitalist consumer system. So the answer is obviously wage inequality. The greed of the oligarchies has caused the Stock Market to fall and it will continue to fall until the greedy loosen their pocket strings. China’s manufacturing has dropped, and as a result the country now uses less oil, iron, coal, which puts wage slaves out of jobs and creates a ripple effect upon other countries, such as those in Europe. These countries are also seeing a drop in consumerism. It all goes back to disposable income in the pockets of the “have nots,” who actually spend the money. U.S. workers should be making $15 to $16 an hour, which would be a huge money infusion into our capitalist consumer system. However, with no money to spend we end up w...

It is very hard to educate and organize at the same time as workers are working 12-hour days seven days a week. You have to work your organizing and protesting in sync with education. Workers must have the knowledge of worker history so they have confidence in what they believe. I once was told by a human resource manager at Point Magu Navy base that the reason labor loses in negotiations is that human resource people know more about labor history than the workers, which is why I study labor history. The Art of War tells us that to win you must know yourself (labor history) and know your enemy. If you only know one of these you will only win about half of your fights, but if you know both yourself and your enemy, you have a better chance of winning all your fights. Also, labor must have a good knowledge of how the capitalist system works for you and fighting for better wages you must understand economics. You can split out the truth and the bullshit and it is not rocket science to lear...