Union Perspectives

Are unions paying attention to the eroding child labor laws? I think all union members should be watching and pushing back against this. We, union people, should not allow all the work of Mother Jones to be lost just because we don’t care or understand what will be lost and how it will effect the labor market, jobs, wages, health and safety for all workers. The child labor laws were hard to win because the big corporations were making a lot of money from children doing very hard and dangerous jobs when they should be in school, and maybe just having a fun summer like children should have during their break from school instead of making a rich corporation richer. If the GOP succeeds in destroying most of the child labor laws, then unions must get these young workers into unions where they will have some protections from being exploited by these corporations and take advantage of the children and their parents. But that should not be unions first priority—that should be protecting child...

The Art of War says when the enemy is in disarray is the time to attack, so what are our union work force doing? Are they planning for an expansion? Are they educating their members on the history of unions? Are they training their members on how to be foot soldiers in the upcoming fight to destroy their safety net—the unions? Make no mistake about it, the anti-union GOP are coming for the unions. Unions are the last bastion of defense for the workers who still have jobs. They have “right to work” laws in most states, which devastates unions. The GOP is planning to go after the Holy Grail, which is California. If they ever pull that off, it is Doom’s Day for the unions and Have Nots. We will be in the streets begging or in the streets fighting. Either way, we will probably lose. Now is the time for us to go on the offense and stop using our defense policies. Being on the defense will always get beat in the long run because all you do is buy a little time. Now there is a window of op...

In 1905, the International Workers of the World fought for fewer work hours in a week, better wages and safer working conditions. Is it time to lower the work week hours from 40 to, say, 32 hours whenever there are more workers than jobs because of faster tools, new technology or over population? We’ve had to make adjustments before in the labor force, for example child labor laws removed a large segment of the work force beginning the mid-1800s.This opened up jobs for older workers. Another example was the mandated retirement age, but the easiest way is to adjust the work week. This is different from what employers are doing to workers now. Employers are short changing workers with hours, healthcare and income. What I’m advocating is using the system that’s been used before that created jobs, not stifle them. When I worked during the ‘80s, we took four hours off every Friday, it made a huge difference and got a lot of people through the down turn in the economy. This would open up a ...

We must be on guard against the GOP and corporate backers of the plutocracy way of government. Plutocracy is the governing by the ultra rich and corporations. For they have a very effective strategy for how to divide and conquer, as defined in the book “Art of War.” One way they are accomplishing this is to put Obama and the Democrats in a position where they will have to do something that will anger our base. Another way, for whatever reason, is to attack unions and the working class by going after our rights. Case in point, is when California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, veto the card check (Employment Free Choice Act) for the farm workers. The Democratic party at the local, state and federal levels have not done one thing for the unions or the working class for a long time. In order for unions or workers to hit the street in support of the Democratic party and donate money we will need to have something to show that the Democrats are supporting us. Without our support the r...