On May 12th, 2011, members of TWU marched on Wall Street to protest the continued assault on workers by big business and politicians trying to turn back the clock.
Before unions, no fixed hours to a work week, no basic pay, no benefits (Paid vacation, Health, Life Insurance), no safety rules, no child labor laws and no recourse if you were fired. This is just a few of the gains in rights that all workers got, not just unionized workers, because employers had to compete against unionized wages and benefits to hire good qualified workers.
Yes there are problems within unions, after all they are ran and managed by humans, like corporation are, with all their faults and prejudices, like we all have. There is one major difference,” We” are the Union and we can vote out the leaders that are going against what the majority of its members want. We, the employee, have no way to influence or change the management in the organization we work for. The only thing that changes leadership in the corporate world is the loss of money, profits. And as we have all seen in the recent pass, sometimes corporations are too late and they lose. And when they lose we lose, jobs.
I have been following the unrest in some of our States that are trying to limit Unions in the public sector; they are blaming their woes on union wages and benefits of state employees. This is a false accusation, any good economist and most of the people in this country understand that when the economy goes down, home prices, home ownership, and jobs disappear, their will be less Tax money going into the states coffers, and our governments live off the Taxes we pay. We tightened our belts to survive before we overspend, do our best not to go into Debt. Our government project a year, 2 years, 5 years, or more out and spend accordingly, and when the money doesn’t come in, they don’t blame themselves but want to lay the blame on someone else, this time the UNIONS.
Part of the blame can be all of us, Americans, we have gotten so use to,” spoiled”, the services that our governments provide, we have trouble giving them up. We don’t see it as a fringe benefit but it is. What I can give up may be a nonnegotiable deal to my neighbor or coworker.
Taking away union bargaining rights is not the answer; working with the unions can bring insight into what the people are willing to do without temporarily or permanently.
Their have been numerous corporations that managed to get through these tuff time economically and in the pass. They have negotiated with the unions and by showing in good faith that they have cut at the top first, the unions have agreed to concessions to keep the company going.
The foray in the states to take away bargaining rights of wages, benefits, having to take annual votes to maintain certification yearly and adding, members of collective bargaining units will not be required to pay dues is to bring death to the union. If to many people do not join or pay dues to the unions they will fade away and their will be no one Voice to say, hay wait that’s not right. For the one Voice is that of many and they will listen, that is what this country was founded on.
Without unions’ corporations, the bad ones will run all over the American worker. Their will be no standard to go up against, no one voice to deal with and they will have their way.
This country was built on the backs of the American worker and the American worker does not mind carrying the load as long as he is treated fairly and with respect.
God Bless America,
Darrell Withrow
Vice President
TWU, Local 527
Good News!
TSA Officers are organizing with AFGE. They’ve been organizing since the formation of TSA in 2001.
