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'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
In France when the trash haulers go on strike – it shuts the entire country down! The Trash Haulers in France are Nationalized. Their Union controls every trash truck, driver and collector in the country. When the management wants to cut their wages, remove their pensions, take away healthcare for themselves or their families….they go on strike and not one piece of trash is collected until the issues are resolved.
Scott Walker recently won a round with the Public Employee Unions in Wisconsin. Had those Public Employees been part of a National Union the effects of what Scott Walker did would have had National ramifications. How about a National Firefighter Union, or a National Police Union, or a National Truck Driver Union that rivaled the days of Jimmy Hoffa? John L. Louis was famous for organizing the United Mine Workers which brought a semblance of social justice to thousands of mine workers owned by the company store. What about a National Union for every Airline Pilot in the country? Could Scott Walker and Mitt Romney in their wisdom cause the downfall of the United States of America – by simply forcing Organized Labor into National Coalitions that strike across borders of States, Cities and Municipalities? What about Bus Drivers, Shuttle Drivers, Cab Drivers and Transportation Workers in General…including all rail and commercial traffic? What about School Teachers? What about a variety of employee groups that Scott Walker and Mitt Romney have not considered in their rush “to cut back cost”?
The current weather forecast for Organized Labor…is that they are on the way out. Ask Scott Walker or Mitt Romney or the powers within the Republican Party and the Tea Party! Going the way of the Buggy Whip and the DoDo! But what happens if the Occupy Folks, join with Public Employee Folks, who join with the Firefighters, Police and Pilots, who join with the remnants of our manufacturing base, who join with retail outlet workers and service workers throughout this country…….just because they can. Maybe the Postal Workers will finally have enough and call a National Strike!
A few weeks ago the Screen Actors Guild finally merged with AFTRA to create a unified front against Producers and Studio Execs that have no qualms about taking big bonuses, stock options and pay increases….even when they lose money. The new Super Union is bloated with double staffing and double leadership that is unnecessary and very inefficient. Eventually, the actors and artists involved are going to catch on, when dues are doubled for the lower end of those not working all the time in the Entertainment Business.
“The Law of Unintended Consequences” is starting to raise its ugly head in a political world filled with enmity, mean spirited attitudes and a hard core resolve to disenfranchise the lower end of the work scale. Laziness is certainly a key component of this awful attitude of “I’ve got mine…who cares about you?” This is not the “Social Contract” Americans sign on for after World War II. This not the “Social Contract” that ensures that even the most disenfranchised among us be brought out of the gutters and eventually made whole.
Somewhere along the way, America has lost its way. The Bottom Line has become “A Godless Being to be followed…without concern for anything else!” The thought of sending jobs overseas after World War II – would have been met with charges of being a TRAITOR to the country! The recent reaffirmation that so-called ObamaCare was Constitutional in most part – has created an even more mean spirited attitude by some in this country. Conservatively, 17 million Americans had added the ability to have Healthcare without going Bankrupt. Now all we have to do, is control the cost of prescription drugs for all.
Governor Scott Walker and Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney may have killed the Golden Goose! Will they be the cause of our participation in the Global Economy becoming a great reason to follow the lead of all the European national labor groups? Be careful what you wish for! Remember the Arab Spring? Guess what folks…it can happen right here in the United States, if we stop taking care of our own people! Only this time it could happen …..even faster! Facebook and Twitter and Blogs are at the ready……the AFLAC Goose too!
Wins–great and thought-provoking article. After all, its a law of nature that for every action there is an equal an opposite reaction. I would only add that the latest round of union-busting is the most recent symptom of a serious disease in this country. Besides the Bottom Line becoming our Golden Calf, we’ve lost the ability to face our most serious economic and social problems as a united country, and instead we’ve substituted blame for thought. This country was built on debate and dissent, but the vast majority of us seemed to be working for common goals: prosperity for as many as possible (who were willing to work for it); equal opportunity, etc. And, when necessary shared sacrifice, (remember gas and food rationing during WW II)?
But somewhere along the way, someone figured out it was a lot easier to blame “others” for our problems. If we can just get rid of the trouble-makers, all of our problems will evaporate. Whether its illegal aliens stealing our jobs or unions driving up labor costs, if we can get rid of them, things will be okay. Never mind there is no factual support for most of these accusations; their appeal to our base emotions is enough. The only problem is, eventually we’re going to run out of people to blame, but the problems will still be there. I wonder what Abraham Lincoln would say today, thinking about the words from his first inaugural speech, appealing to “the better angles of our nature”.
*noclib1 – Well said…agree on all counts!