LABOR UNIONS
Give workers a choice
Many thanks for publishing John Parker's excellent letter explaining the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act. It is time to level the playing field" for workers seeking to exercise their rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution.
This act will give workers - not management - the choice between a secret vote or a simple card check system.
As the situation now stands, many workers have actually lost their rights as citizens. In too many cases, we are seeing a return to the conditions made famous in a line from a song by Anne Feeney, The Union Maid: "Once unions were against the law, but slavery was fine."
It is time for the American people to fight back!
STANLEY L. SWART,
labor activist,
THE FLORIDA TIMES UNION (3/21/09)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
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2 comments:
Unions were created because of the serious mistreatment of workers, (like coal miners) by their companies.
The coal miners were paid low wages, and put in dangerous conditions that destroyed their health (Black Lung). When they fell sick they and their families were discarded like a piece of trash...thrown out of their homes, and put on the streets. I had an Uncle that died of Black Lung, and his wife later married a Union Organizer.
You might know the song "I Owe My Soul to the Company Store". it was written for the coal miners who were paid so little they had to charge their company owned stores for food, clothing and other things. It was designed to keep them owned and dependant on the mining companies like slaves.
There were many atrocities like these committed by bosses who had become too powerful ("Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Unions were born out of necessity. As workers united (Unionized) they were beaten, and often beaten to death along with their families. Unions finally won due to the courage of those early union workers. Many died to bring about better working conditions for others.
However when the Unions became too powerful, they also committed crimes which dwindled their numbers (members).
Now my friends the balance has shifted again as the American worker is again put on the street in favor of the foreign and illegal worker who works for less, and will tolerate being treated as a slave. It is time or the return of unity. That may be in the form of Unions, or perhaps something else, but the people must come together, and support one another once more.
P.S.
We owned our business since 1984, and closed it in November of this year. We started new companies. As business owners you think we would be against Unions. But that is not the case. We have seen first hand how illegal workers are creating third world conditions by lowering U.S. wages which is rapidly destroying the middle class.
I agree with Ford who said he paid his workers well so they could afford to buy his cars.
I would like to stress one point. Employers who hire illegal workers should be ashamed. They are not only committing an illegal act, they are destroying this country, and taking advantage of the less fortunate. You can actually make a difference if you let such bosses know what you think of their illegal shameful behavior.
Some of these companies even help the illegal worker commit identity theft. In the construction industry we have seen builders bring them in by the bus load. When ICE picked them up, these builders simply brought in another buss load the next day. It is a whole underground world of corruption.
The Chamber is working with these corrupt companies to destroy E-Verify, and lobbying in favor of these companies illegal practices. You can make a difference by supporting the extension of E-Verify
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