Massive labor protests are expected in Michigan today...

As Republicans lawmakers and Republican Governor Rick Snyder give their final approval to the state’s new right to work for less law. Michigan will join 23 other states in the nation that have gone right to work for less – but it is by far the most unionized state to suffer this fate, which should be very troubling to the organized labor community. In response, as many as 10,000 union workers are expected to march on the Michigan Capitol building today, and kick off a brand new labor struggle in America’s rust belt. Schools across the state are closed due to staff shortages, as teachers are expected to join the struggle in front of the capitol today, too.

President Obama made an appearance in Michigan on Monday, where he slammed the new right to work for less law calling it strictly “political.” Working people have done a remarkable job pushing back against anti-union laws in Wisconsin and Ohio, but the President’s leadership on this issue is vitally important to the success of the labor movement.

President Obama must understand that he was re-elected to a second term because of organized labor. It’s time for him to fight for working people, against these right to work for less laws, and eventually get a card check bill passed through Congress.

Comments

Kend's picture
Kend 10 years 15 weeks ago
#1

Help me understand. If unions are so good why do poeple have to be forced to join the?

DCC of FH's picture
DCC of FH 10 years 15 weeks ago
#2

Forced? Really? If you don't want to belong to a union, don't get a job at a union shop.

Realize that the right to work for less bills force unions to represent everyone without that person contributing to the cost of having and maintaining that same union. Fair? Not in the least.

So, identifying this effort as simply an attack on unions is right on target.

... and if this idea was such a good one, why did the legislature apply the poison pill that makes it impossible for a voter referendum to repeal it? You darn well know: the majority in the state would not vote for what the GOP has spawned.

ken ware's picture
ken ware 10 years 15 weeks ago
#3

Obama is no different than the Republicans. He is a Politician and cannot be trusted either. I just read that there are additional costs to Americans concerning his health care bill. There will be an additional tax of $63 a head to cover people with preexisting health problems. Don't get me wrong, I support health care for everyone. But this guy has more tricks in his bag than a magician! I really believe his lack of intestinal fortitude allowed Pharmaceutical companies and big Medical Corporations to stick it to us in his health care bill. Do I trust him to do the right thing concerning the fiscal cliff, NO! I think Palindromedary is rubbing off on me, because I am beginning to think this B.S. between the White House and Republicans is a conspiracy to slide Austerity measures into the budget and then they will blame each other for it. What better way to enact austerity into the picture then to say I had to do this to get that. We got the Republicans (the rich) to go along with higher taxes, but we had to take cuts in various social programs. Mark my word the Poor and the Lower Middleclass will get screwed before this fiscal cliff is resolved. I really hope I am wrong and both sides do the right thing for our citizens and future citizens, those that are going to be born. I had to add that part in; I'm going to be a grand-father in a few months for the first time, so the future means even more to me at this stage in my life! P.S., I really do not trust this government or any Corporation that say they are looking out for our (American Citizens) best interest, now and in the future. I think it is time to start reading this massive health care bill and see exactly who the beneficiaries actually are.

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#4

You have to have at least some worldliness to understand that (or lack any to genuinely ask that question).

Let's just say there are many things you don't choose about a workplace when you enter a new job, many of them are not for your benefit, some are. This is one that is.

dowdotica's picture
dowdotica 10 years 15 weeks ago
#5

from "a" investor report that came across my desk..."From the 4th qtr 08 to the 2nd qtr 11, real domestic corp earnings surged by almost 100% while real employee comp has risen by a mere 3%. Got your attention? The world in an effort to satisfy the pigishness of corp greed and the markets will soon all be like America, third world with the highest min wage a whopping $9.04 and hour...So what will the markets do when suddenly no one can afford to consume anymore?

dowdotica's picture
dowdotica 10 years 15 weeks ago
#6

When i moved away from Michigan i really did mean to return, live someplace like Michigan city, St. Joeseph or Holland maybe even Hilsdale? I'd actually be affraid of what the mind set of folks is back there these days! Pretty sad, my home town had so much industry when i was a kid, 1972. All those dad's going to work everyday, working for an assembly line pay that was such he could get through the day, feed the wife, feed the kids and even get them off to college. All those sons in that home town left behind now just shooting up crack they know they can never go back to what ever it was daddy worked to have. The idiots of America went and sold us all out, bought our poloticians and traded it all away just so we can work for less and less pay. I sure hope the last cereal plant there doesn't burn to the ground they may just send the rest of my home town industry down ol' mexico way....

dowdotica's picture
dowdotica 10 years 15 weeks ago
#7

michigan min wage $7.40 hr. service (tipped) $2.65!!!!<I think thats what that hot little waitress that showed me life was making back in 1980!!!> Minors 85% of the minimum. When i got fired from my first job in 1979 as a dishwasher a had earned my way up to a whopping $3.35! Man that was the shniz at 16!!! next step? Grill boy/relisher and get to $5.50. an hour! Man the chick would so dig me! Then that fateful day, FAT CHARLIE, "your fired!"...Think about that and try not to cry for the young people today for they truly are screwed!! Back then i could at least pay my rent with one weeks pay and keep mac and cheese in my stomach. A young person tryin to fly solo these days? Tragic indeed...

Bideford2007's picture
Bideford2007 10 years 15 weeks ago
#8

The fact that this question has to be asked tells us a great deal about the brain washing that has been done over the past few decades. There was a time in America when getting a union job was all any working person wanted. It meant that they would have an decent LIVING WAGE and be covered by a collective insurance for healthcare for themselves and their families. It also meant that if their wife wanted to stay home an be a mother to their children they could afford to do that. Not only did the union lift the boats of its members but non-union shops had to comply with many of the same rules because they were in the market for the same labor force. Union wages made it possible for working men and women to buy a decent little house, a family car, TV, and maybe even a boat. They could afford to have a vacation and it was the union that brought them overtime wages and paid vacation time. The Union often did not bargain for money but rather safer working conditions, dental coverage, and mental health services. They went to the aid of members in trouble with family problems, and addiction. They made it possible to keep your job even if your supervisor did not like you for whatever reason. You could not be brow beaten for fear of being fired. Naturally there were always some who took advantage of the system. Unfortunately those cases stood out like sore thumbs and were used by union opponents to point out that unions made it difficult to get rid of bad employees. No, it was only that the person was given a chance to redeem themselves and the union would stand by them up to a point. In the 1960s the auto companies in Michigan had to send out massive advertising to other countries because their skilled labor force was retiring without replacements. They needed Tool and Die makers, electricians, plumbers, welders, engineers, etc. The ads were in all the foreign press and hiring was being done overseas. Why was that? It was because there was no apprentise programs for the companies to replenish the workers who were leaving. It was the unions who arranged to train American workers for the jobs that would open up when an older work force left.

Our biggest problem has been that many young workers do not remember the struggles and the hardship it was to win the right to collective bargain. The company has the power and the money. Working people have only their time and their labor. The Grapes of Wrath should be must reading in every high school so that young people can understand how it was before unions made workings conditions better. if you don't like unions then I suggest you do not apply for a job that has a union that protects the worker's back.

Because there is now and has always been more workers than jobs companies like to pull the strings all by themselves. They like to think that anyone they hire is lucky to have the job so they should not complain about working conditions or the wages. Before airconditioning many plants did not want to locate in the South because of the heat. Once that was taken care of individual states became like countries bargaining for companies to come and build in their state. More companies meant more employment which it turn supplied the state with more tax revenue. In order to get those companies they promised to give away the store. Promises were made to keep unions out, pay for the infrastructure, charge no corporate taxes for so many years. On and on the promises went but in the end it has helped to kill the LIVING WAGES that Americans needed to support a family in a decent manner and maybe even send their kids off to college. There was no longer money to spare to save for the kids education.

Unions will come back once more and more workers are at the "Brother can you spare a dollar" stage.

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#9

They'll redirect everything to China.

They don't need us anymore, they don't care what happens to us. I'm suprised they don't try to kill us all like they did the Native Americans.

Kend's picture
Kend 10 years 15 weeks ago
#10

My problem with unions is, when you do something collectively you lose something individually. If I work harder than most people shouldn't I make more than them?

DCC of FH what if I want to be a fireman or government worker I have no choice but to join a union, is that freedom?

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#11

How is joining a union, mandatorily, interfering with anyone's "right to work"? Does anyone ever object to joining a union?

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#12

The site is acting funny, this is a reply to #11 not #12.

Again, so unreal.

A union doesn't prevent you being promoted. When you lose something collectively you lose EVERYTHING individually. You, as an INDIVIDUAL, are paid less, are less protected, are thoroughly exploited. Unions are because you, as an individual, don't have the power to bargain for a fair contract with your employer. You only have that power when you unite with your coworkers and bargain collectively.

When you are greedy and have no regard for others you stab yourself in the ass.

2950-10K's picture
2950-10K 10 years 15 weeks ago
#13

Why is the billionaire party always allowed to play offense even when the democrats have the ball? Why in hell isn't the CARD CHECK BILL getting rammed through? Why do we let out of control citizens like the Kochs and DeVos family set the agenda when instead they should be fleeing the country with a sack of jewels?

I'll tell you what, if Obama caves on the so called entitlement cuts, his place in history will be that of the, we held our nose and voted for the lesser of two evils candidate. He needs to go FDR crazy and right now...doesn't he see what's happening? The ball is in his hands, man up to the drunks and teabaggers. They full well know if he caves he will be hated...it's what they want!

2950-10K's picture
2950-10K 10 years 15 weeks ago
#14

Hey Skeeter, I think a better question is.... If non union settings are so good... why did the bottom 90% only receive 16% of the total income growth from 1989 to 2007 a trend that is continuing my friend?

Global's picture
Global 10 years 15 weeks ago
#15

I don't know, if a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his as so much.

ken ware's picture
ken ware 10 years 15 weeks ago
#16

Kend - I can always count on you to make me wonder about conservatives. Let's live for a moment in the real world. People in Unions are better paid with benefits and a vacation than are the nonunion workers. Many corporations in such industries as Aerospace were unionized and those that weren't had to offer the same pay and benefits as the union corporations to retain good employees. If you were an employee with exceptional skills you often were/are promoted to a higher position. The main reason why these conservative Republican hate the unions is because the unions generally support Democrats that are more labor friendly. You know that and to raise a smoke screen or red herring to avoid that issue is beneath you. When I left the military in the mid 70's I had several offers from union and non-union companies. I choose the unionized companies so I could be represented and to be honest they offered better pay and benefits. When the conservatives say that unions stop companies from firing poor workers that is simply a lie or smoke screen. The people I hear denouncing the unions are people who would join one if it was presented to them. We all know companies and corporations today are only concerned with profit and not with the employee. Otherwise how can you explain the fact that the working man's wages have stagnated while upper management has made out like bandits in terms of their pay and benefits. Republican politicians have tried to destroy private and public worker unions for political reasons and everyone knows that! If it wasn't for the unions these Republicans and the corporations that support them would privatize all public jobs for greater profit for themselves. Teachers, firemen and policemen would all be replaced with the cheapest labor the corporations could find and coerce their employees into voting for the Republicans like the Koch brothers attempted to do. And all the people that work for the government in office jobs would also see themselves replaced with the cheapest labor they could find for more profit. These people who are out to destroy the unions is not because they are concerned with rmployee's having to pay union dues, but rather to stop those union dues from supporting Liberals and Democrats. Only a blind man would think this has anything to do with employee choice! My daughter is a teacher and she belongs to a union. They have the choice of whether any of their dues should go to support political campaigns. It is just a lie that the Republicans spread around like a disease to get people to see unions as the bad guy. As I stated earlier, employees who demonstrate poor work performance can be fired. The only difference between a union employee and a non-union worker is that the union worker is allowed to go through a due process of law before they are fired. In non-union places of work you’re at the mercy and whims of the employer. Show me on person who would rather be a non-union worker, rather than a unionized worker. Good luck on that one. The employees who complain about the unions are usually Republicans who hate the idea that any of their dues are going to support a Democrat. In every union I know about the employee already has the right to state they do not want any of their dues going to support a political party. This whole thing is about busting the unions so they will not support the Democrat Party. And that my friend is why Republicans hate unions. I hope you enjoy your time in Arizona and the sunshine!

Palindromedary's picture
Palindromedary 10 years 15 weeks ago
#17

Ken Ware: I hadn't heard that about the extra $63 about to be tacked on to taxes for preexisting conditions. Thanks for the heads up...I'll have to look it up. I had suspected, however, that what will happen is that the insurance companies, despite not being able to turn anyone down for a preexisting condition, will still be able to charge a lot more for the premiums for those with preexisting conditions. In addition, I don't think the bill will prevent insurance companies from basing their premiums on age. The premiums currently are based on age, preexisting conditions and other things. The older you are the more they charge.

Palindromedary's picture
Palindromedary 10 years 15 weeks ago
#18

Mark Saulys: The (Reply to: # ) has been doing this for a long time. What happens, I think, is that the Drupal Site gets confused sometimes depending upon when people edit their replies, perhaps, at the same time other people are sending their messages. About the only way to stop the confusion is to not click on the "Reply" button on the message you wish to reply to and just type your message with your own heading with the person you are replying to. It's kind of funny sometimes to see a message with a header (Reply to: # ) which refers to the same message number you had just written yourself. It looks like you are replying to yourself.

delster's picture
delster 10 years 15 weeks ago
#19

A Slave is just a worker who has lost his individual rights. A union worker is an indiidual member of a workers rights organization. Unions have been corrupt and decieptful and bogus at times just like the the corporations they negotiate with. Wealth by widgits. Some one who invents something and patents it assumes a risk that his widgit will sell. If it sells reasonably he will have a good middle class life, but if it sells big then it is like a huge windfall. The amount of money and power is enormous. Power surpses money early on in the game. There is therapy for gamblers and the likes but no therapy for the power junky. It must be fun herding livestock and managing their interest. It must also be sick. There are no kindly benevolent rulers. As Marx pointed out in the communist manifesto capitalism is doomed inspite of its creative power. It is ultimately doomed. It fails everyday by bankruptcies. Inevitably those who make or sell stuff run out of enough wage earners able to afford the stuff being sold. Since the late 60's captilaism has been patched by credit cards, home refinance, now by reverse mortgage. Most have lost their retirement, their homes, their ability to find living wage employment. It is a very vicious game. I personally grew up in an old world agricultural community were people practiced captialism and socialism simultaneously, without calling it either. They didn't question what they were doing or give it names other than neighborly and it worked to everyones advantage. I think it can still work but it doesn't serve the wealthy. It serves the people with kindness and sharing. I'll cut your wheat if you'll thresh mine. We will both go to market. It works.

BMetcalfe's picture
BMetcalfe 10 years 15 weeks ago
#20

Yes... YOU know it's a "union" before you decide that's the job you want... 'Nuf said?!!!

Palindromedary's picture
Palindromedary 10 years 15 weeks ago
#21

I had to travel to a lot of places around the world...but mostly in the US..for most of my life..to work at various high tech factories that made integrated circuit chips. One place I had to go to, sometimes, was in Indiana where there was a major manufacturer that had a Union Shop.

As a representative for the equipment my company manufactured, I had to diagnose and repair that equipment when the Union equipment techs could not..so they called me in.

One thing I noticed was that I had to follow certain rules to avoid violating the union/company rules. And if I, or the Union workers, my overseers, slipped up and if I was seen working on the equipment without a Union rep present then the Union (or maybe it was the company) could be fined something like $100,000.

At most other non-union places, I'd just find the problem and repair it. Here, I had to diagnose the problem then have a Union "electrician" come in to, say, solder a wire or measure a voltage or replace a UV Lamp. If I found a pneumatic leak, I had to have a Union "plumber" come in to replace a defective valve. If I found a problem with a laser interferometer needing to be aligned or any other thing ..like a computer component to be replaced I had to have a Union technician actually do the work.

But sometime, with their blessing..if they liked me...I was allowed to actually make the repairs myself...as long as the appropriate Union worker was there to watch me. Oftentimes, if I found a problem and needed a Union rep to come in to fix the problem I had just found, they weren't available..working on another problem..or on strike (they would find a corner of the shop..fence off the small area with yellow "caution" or red "warning" tape and sit till their strike was over)....and I had to wait....boring!!!

What got me was that these Union workers all made a lot more money than I did...some had huge houses with 3 and 4 car garages sitting on 5-10 acre lots..I saw their pictures over their desks...and they had very expensive hobbies like race cars. But, I'd bet that none of the Union workers had bank accounts and property as lavish as any of the "suits". All this, granted, in an area that may not have been very expensive to live...nor expensive property values...but, I thought, I had kinda wished I had started work in one of those Union plants many years ago after I got out of the military. But then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to travel to all those far off exotic places either.

Another thing I noticed was the glaring animosity between "the suits" and the Union workers. Both, often staring each other down as they passed each other in the hall ways.

It was frustrating to me to have to put up with all of this Union overhead just to get my job done...and thought it was all pretty darn silly. But, I realized that they were just trying to protect their jobs in a corporate jungle that would tear them apart if they had the chance.

I had worked in a Union shop for about a year right after getting out of the military. It wasn't a big and powerful Union like in Indiana and the only thing I found peculiar was that whenever we had to attend a Union meeting...everyone would call each other "brother"...kind of like a religious revival..or something.

And aside from Unions protecting jobs, I also experienced countries...like Canada...protecting their jobs as well...when I had to go to Edmonton, I found it was not easy to get parts into and back out of Canada. They had to make things very difficult...just my being there at the University where they had equipment was a bit of a problem because I could be taking away some Canadian's job. Maybe one could think of Canada as being one big Union?

ken ware's picture
ken ware 10 years 15 weeks ago
#22

Palindromedary - I read the article on the front page of the N.Y. Times this morning. I did not read the whole article but I am sure you can read it online. I can understand the frustration of needing a union technician to check it out. Different jobs have different regulations and some can be a pain the butt. One of the reason some union agreements have this included in the contract is because of the employers constant attempts to use nonunion workers in the "shop". I have worked for companies where the management constantly tried to slip-in nonunion workers, so to prevent this unions have had to include specific regulations for outside personnel working in a union shop. For as long as I can remember it has been a constant battle between the union and the management to insource or outsource jobs. It is like the situation that occurred in the L.A. docks where management was trying to outsource some office jobs which is against the contract they signed, so all union members that work the docks and related jobs went on strike. If the dock workers did not support the office personnel the management would have started outsourcing all of their jobs. You need a union, especially in the present era or management will simply outsource your job for more profits. They do not care about the workers who are the people actually producing the profit. The only thing that is important to this type is higher profits and screw the workers for more profit. And the myth that you cannot fire a union worker is simply a lie to destroy the Unions today. Unions usually support the Democrat party and that is why the Republicans have been trying to destroy the unions for decades and decades. Without the unions the workers would be at the mercy of the management and we have seen how much they care about the workers.

Aliceinwonderland's picture
Aliceinwonderland 10 years 15 weeks ago
#23

Kend- who said anything about mandatory union memberships?! Sheer fantasy. For your information sir, it is ILLEGAL in this country to force anyone to join a union. So workers here already can choose whether or not to join, regardless of how much they've benefitted from the bargaining power that union has secured for them. I don't know what labor law is in Canada, but that's been the law here since 1947. So clearly, Mr. "Kend", you don't know what you're talking about.

When you ask such stupid rhetorical questions based on nothing of substance, you sound like a damn fool. Do you sincerely want to understand? My hunch is that anyone who tries to "help, as you've suggested, is just wasting time.

What I find so irritating about your input is the ignorance it shows. Apparently you don't know doodily-do about labor & union policy! You just keep spouting off hogwash like there's a serious disconnect between you and reality.

Aliceinwonderland's picture
Aliceinwonderland 10 years 15 weeks ago
#24

I get very tired of these same old neo-con talking points constantly broadcast over the airwaves, filling people's minds with garbage. Like for example, this inane notion that collective rights & individual rights are somehow at odds. Baloney. For one thing, it depends on the issue at hand. But generally speaking, people have way more bargaining power in groups than they do all by themselves, something these greedy so-called "job creators" simply can't stand. And since they've taken over our airwaves, we hear those same old messages all the time: that joining other workers in solidarity means giving up our sovereignty as individuals. And it is nothing but crap. Yet we have to deal with things like tort "reform", bargaining rights, voting rights and so on, constantly under attack by these predators.

Aliceinwonderland's picture
Aliceinwonderland 10 years 15 weeks ago
#25

Do you like working eight-hour days instead of twelve or sixteen-hour days? Having weekends & holidays off? Getting paid overtime for extra hours spent on the job? Do you want a clean, safe environment in which to work? Do you believe a fulltime job should pay a living wage? What is there about any of that you find so objectionable? How would it benefit you as an individual, to be deprived of such things? Please enlighten me.

Aliceinwonderland's picture
Aliceinwonderland 10 years 15 weeks ago
#26

I'm also very tired of hearing you Canadians whine about your healthcare system. So you don't like waiting lines, eh? How would you like to pay a $1500 premium each month with a $5000 annual deductible and STILL have to wait in line, with administrators and billing people in your face all the time?! Please spare us the crocodile tears.

And you call US spoiled?!

Just answer this if you can: How many Canadians are bankrupted by hospital bills each year? How many are dying for lack of care, and how do the statistics compare between our two countries? How much does your system pay annually per capita, compared to ours? Ever bother to check any of that out?! My understanding is that Canadians get taken care of right away if their problems are life threatening. Everyone else has to wait. Boo-hoo-hoo... Just breaks mah heart!

Aliceinwonderland's picture
Aliceinwonderland 10 years 15 weeks ago
#27

If you think for-profit, pay-or-die health "care" is so great, come check it out for yourself. Then you'll REALLY have something to cry about.

Have a lovely week. - Aliceinwonderland

douglas m 10 years 15 weeks ago
#28

I thank God work in a Union Company, without it my life and Family would be on the streets with todays wages!

No Fraud's picture
No Fraud 10 years 15 weeks ago
#29

Excellent question...

And of course "global" two cents isn't worth much!
Skeeter, are you going to explain this????

We're waiting.

Elioflight's picture
Elioflight 10 years 15 weeks ago
#30

You can bet your bottom dollar that ALEC had a hand in this.

No Fraud's picture
No Fraud 10 years 15 weeks ago
#31

I'll answer those questions...
YES! YES! YES! YES! YESSSSSSS!!!

To expand on the "Liveable wage"...I think the federal minimum wage should be doubled, and Unions in their respectable States should require even higher wages (and benefits) when it comes to skilled trade and government jobs. It doesn't bennefit anyone to have people working for less than what meets the basic cost of living.
I have lived in California, Indiana, North Dakota, New York, and Florida...You can't afford the basic cost of living in any of those states if you are working for less than 16.00 per hour; especially if you have a family to support. Even than you are just making ends meet, and if you don't have a job that offers healthcare benefits...You and your family are screwed if you need any sort of medical treatment.

It is better to take care of your worker bees...You'll get mo-bettah-honey!

Kend's picture
Kend 10 years 15 weeks ago
#32

Sorry your right you are correct nobody is forced to join a union. You are forced to pay the union. It is kind of like government social programs.

No Fraud's picture
No Fraud 10 years 15 weeks ago
#33

What' your point???
Why are you so concerned about issues that do not pertain you?
If you would like to tell us about "social issues" in your country (the pros & cons), and your feelings on them we're all ears.

Aliceinwonderland's picture
Aliceinwonderland 10 years 15 weeks ago
#34

Kend, wrong again. Your logic escapes me. If we are not forced to join unions, how can you justify the assertion that we are forced to pay them?! I give up. You apparently are incapable of absorbing anything. - Aliceinwonderland

Kend's picture
Kend 10 years 15 weeks ago
#35

My wife worked for a non union company for 18 years the a union came in and even though she never signed a union card she had to pay dues, it just doesn't seem right to me. The union did nothing for her.

Palindromedary's picture
Palindromedary 10 years 15 weeks ago
#36

Ken Ware: Yes, I see your point. I wasn't able to read the NY Times front page for yesterday 12/11/12..too late..it might be archived...so I don't know what article you refer to. Yes, I am in full agreement that had it not been for the unions we all would be working 18 hour days with slave wages and no benefits. No one would have been able to buy any of the products that they helped to manufacture..and I suppose even those top executives wouldn't even be as wealthy as they are today. Henry Ford had it right when he said that he was raising his workers wages so that they could afford to buy the products that they helped to make. It may not have really been a magnanimous deed after all...by creating an economy where people could actually spend more money...he was able to benefit himself.

Maybe what the workers in the United States should do is create an absolute worker's Union of the United States of America...as a bastion of protection against capitalists who have been steadily squeezing workers of America out of their decent wages and benefits and shipping our jobs overseas. Workers of the world unite...you have nothing left to lose but your chains!!!

megalomaniac's picture
megalomaniac 10 years 15 weeks ago
#37

My thoughts about the unions; Early on in life my feelings were a mix of emotions. Some good, some not good. Now, rereading the Bill of rights in the First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. Intrinsically holds all the elements that we the people should really care about and how this amendment is connected to an assembly of an elected body called a union. The irony is that the overall disrespect we the people have for the unions are parallel to effect of what is in our government representatives. The people’s attitude sucks. The reason why unions have slide in support.

Yes, the amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, thereby making it feel a lot out of place to call someone brethren, or brother, with such a feeling as to be religious. Perhaps those are the individuals who are really masquerading as a union official. But really not. We know in our hearts that there are plenty of representatives in unions that don’t give a shit! The types you talk to about in issues that breach a local contract. The hypocrisy is staggering, where we know the running front union official my very well end up in management. Think about it if the company can find a person to make the worker happy and in line chances are they found a person for their first line management team. Ah La congressional or senate representative quits and goes to think tanks for political or becomes a lobbyist.

Also, abridging the freedom of speech, to reduce the length, to cut short; to curtail, to omit. As Omit Romney, for laughs just had to throw that in. Even in assemblies on the streets is it not a curiosity that a public emissary is not sent out to meet for free speech and air grievances. But a Journalist, a corporate journalist, devoted to a six figure salary schmoozing on the air waves all the while watching we the people as unionized police beat assemblies, or occupies movements in the street over their heads with batons and spray with pepper spray. We the people get slap around or torture in the streets while the corporate media get profits in commercial ads. An extraordinary screwed up system with total disrespect for those core elements of the constitution. The "new media" (not miss spelled), knows it, but asks why the country is so upset. Why are people taking of lives for stupid reasons?

Then, infringing on the freedom of the press, where Fox news owned a huge amount by the Wahhabi Arabs highly and likely influence the programming of news to fill the hate mongers besides Rush Limbaugh or Dennis Miller or other hate radio specialist that lie, or outright antithetical to the constitution, meaning they are obstructionist that work in the system of the constitution itself. The current Republicans need the constitution as it stands, and the Democrats the way they are. Just think about it otherwise how could they become billionaires by any other means. Its delightfully simple when you think about it. Republicans need sappy dumb Democrats to be rich. There are millions out there and they know it!!! That’s why we need unions.

No Fraud's picture
No Fraud 10 years 15 weeks ago
#38

It strikes me as funny...

The same people that agree with the Supreme Courts ruling that Corporations are a People and money is its voice are anti-union and want to abolish collective bargaining.

Hhhhmmmmmm...something strange go'en on here!?

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#39

And he wouldn't bump his ass so much, either.

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#40

I think the union probably did A LOT for her. Either she didn't notice or somebody's not telling the whole story.

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#41

Perhaps. Perhaps you are made to do something good for you and everybody in spite of yourself.

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#42

Real Canadians don't whine about their healthcare system, only the fake shills do.

Mark Saulys's picture
Mark Saulys 10 years 15 weeks ago
#43

Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me? You are not being clear.

Or you misunderstood me. The only people postulating that someone would object to joining a union are people who don't work for somone else and are disingenuously trying to charecterize unions as something working people don't like. No actual blue collar worker ever, to my knowledge, objects to joining a union.

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