Hard-working members of the U.S. labor force continue to contribute to the "strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." They're the backbone of the "Middle Class," of America itself. And yet workers (including school teachers and fire fighters) have been demonized by many in the Republican Party. A variety of GOP leaders have been doing all they can to rid America of unions. It stands to reason, I suppose. After all, unions—with their ability to bargain collectively— make it harder for wealthy corporations to trample on a worker's right to a fair wage. Fair wages can cut into corporate profits. And corporations support leaders' re-election efforts; therefore, a number of elected officials must pay the piper, so to speak, by fighting unions.
Collectively, union members have a say in the conditions at their workplaces. Uniting is the only way for workers to have a voice and get their needs met. The power is in the hands that hold the fat purse—except when hard-working people unite for a common purpose. That would be "people power," generally discouraged by management and owners of big business. Having a safe and healthy work environment sometimes costs the corporate "front office" money they'd rather not spend.
It's becoming the norm for corporations to "downsize," laying off or terminating workers. The work force is pared down as close to the bone as possible without inflicting a mortal wound. (Being "people," corporations could bleed to death unless rushed to a hospital by ambulance; very messy, a corporation bleeding in a speeding ambulance.) The remaining employees (workers) must then do the added work of those who have departed. I've seen how that goes with people in my own life: They're so grateful to have a job at all that they're willing to work longer hours with more responsibilities, while getting little to no additional compensation. Weary and pushing themselves beyond belief to "get the jobs done." And that's exactly what the business powers-that-be count on. Yes, indeed: We're so grateful to have this/these jobs. They banked on employees accepting outrageous work loads for inadequate compensation without complaint. Remaining employees see their buddies can't find jobs and, until their luck changes, see them struggling to feed their families with an unemployment check. (By the way, if you're someone who complains about unemployment compensation deterring people from looking for work, and if you actually believe people enjoy living on the meager amount—here's a challenge: Let's see you and your family (or just you if you're single) live on that amount for, say, three months. (And to make it realistic, be sure not to have more than a little money in the bank when you do this. No fair going into your savings or depositing/cashing your own checks.) Then get back to me about whether you'd be fine "taking it easy" on unemployment.
Union workers don't have as much to fear in terms of being bullied by "the man" or "the woman." Yet they have to tolerate being characterized by GOP candidates and officeholders as "bullies" and worse. Just for demanding fair treatment. Sad when fairness must be demanded, isn't it?
Over the past weeks I've heard the Republican presidential nominee, his VP pick, and an array of surrogates ranting about the number of unemployed Americans. I sometimes talk back to them from my couch, asking about all the off-shored and outsourced jobs they and/or their corporate donors have taken out of our country to enhance their profits. We could use a little financial patriotism about now, couldn't we? I mean, "Make a healthy profit here in the Lower 48, just let go of the colossal greed."
Yep, there's lots of unemployment today, even though the situation is slowly improving; there's been some gain in jobs each month since President Obama took office—as opposed to a huge number of job losses during the previous administration. I need to look up the number of losses per month from five or six years ago; it's pretty impressive. But I won't research that now. I want to add a little more information about Labor Day for any info-hungry readers and then, to honor the great American worker, I plan to watch Norma Rae. I hope you're enjoying a fine day off today— if you aren't working 2 or 3 jobs in a non-union workplace. Either way, keep the faith and remember to look for the (union?) "Made in the USA" label!
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