i am a third generation union member...doubtlessly not some sort of world's record...but how many of us are left? i grew up in a union household where belief in the positive good of unions was strongly held and imparted...so i am inclined to see the recent proliferation of "right-to-work" legislation in a number of states, including my own, to be an unwarranted intrusion of increasingly unbridled capitalism into the ability of workers to earn a fair living..i have no love whatsoever for the oligarchical tendencies of wealth or the political whores who serve those proclivities...that said let me also say that the union i belong to does a miserable job of protecting and expanding workers' rights in the face of that ongoing rollback by corrupt politicians and their wealthy owners...this may not be entirely their fault...the wagner act of 1935 did not do workers any favors, nor did the interpretation of that law by the courts...essentially it took unions off the street where they had been increasingly effective in gaining concessions by direct action through mechanisms like the now illegal sit down strike ( illegal because it was effective ) and brought them "into the system" and made them reliant on politicians for a "seat at the table" of government...and as a result forcing them to compete for political clout with the seemingly always ( not to here the forces of reaction tell it ) better funded agendas of corporate interests...politicians are notoriously fickle ( and pretty much whores ) and their "friendship" cannot be counted on where the possibility of more cash is in play...labor has fallen into the trap of, among other things, believing that democrats are more friendly to labor's interests...the behavior and voting record of the congressman ( and democrat ) from this district alone should be enough to put paid to that silly illusion...additionally ( and most unfortunately for working people ) the courts interpreted the wagner act as guaranteeing the rights of unions, not workers...so unions effectively became a lesser entity in the department of labor subject to government rules and regulations...add into that the tradition of "business unionism" which sought to limit union activities to seeking financial gains for their membership while limiting politics as a valid subject for unions members to pursue as union members...in other words, no labor party...you were a democrat or republican in your politics and your union served only as a vehicle for economic security...when the political winds began to blow directly in the face of unions this left them bereft of "friends" and replete with detractors...so they find themselves backed into a corner with things deteriorating rapidly and not a bit of political sympathy in sight...right-to-work legislation says union members may opt out of paying dues while still being represented by the union as "free riders"...clearly this is aimed at the slow economic strangulation of unions with their ultimate demise as the goal in an effort to leave working people unorganized and effectively balkanized as a class...well...politicians are whores to a (wo)man and i simply cannot say that enough...aside from the standard wobblie graphic you will find a page from my union's journal...it is a craft union that has never and , seemingly, will never understand industrial production workers...there is no hope here...impossible...it is a page from a section on production news and in the section under the subheading "trane" they have, in bold face type, printed the names of nine members who have "opted out" of paying dues and become free riders ( you may have to click on the image to actually be able to read it )...the editorial staff of "the craftsman" want readership to "encourage them to do the right thing and become good standing union members."...here is a union run as a business clearly concerned with its cash flow...being a "good" union member means shutting the fuck up and paying your dues regardless of the quality of representation that you may receive...their desperation may be understandable but trying to publicly shame individuals that may only be making a statement about the relative value of union membership is hardly a way to build the solidarity unions will need if they can even hope to overcome the current political assault...when i was a member of the steelworkers i was in a union that had stewards and grievers...here i have business agents...a holdover form the old sam gompers days that leaves me thinking union leadership has more in common with management than with me...the more desperate they become the more shrill they will become on this issue...and the more shrill they become the more they will alienate the people they need to survive...the prognosis is not good.
