I was reading this morning over on a Liberal blog, about the return of the middle class and unions. As a Moderate, I will confess, I have no quarrels with unions. But as a bit of a Conservative, I do criticize them and their double standards.
This entry at firedoglake by someone calling themselves Joe Fish is of interest:
As a member of a union that I have to wonder about sometimes (ALPA, the Airline Pilots Association) I think it’s certainly worthwhile to talk for a minute about the Employee Free Choice Act and the role of unions in building a stronger middle-class and hence stronger America. Why do I wonder about ALPA? More on that in a minute…
A quick and simplistic review for those not old enough to remember the ultimate Federal Union Buster, Ronnie Reagan and his most excellent (in his mind) PATCO adventure. In 1981 the air traffic controllers union decided to go on strike and the controllers were fired by Reagan for violating a federal law banning strikes by governmental unions, although previous strikes by other governmental unions like the Postal Workers had not been punished by terminating their employees. Reagan’s views of unions was the same as virtually every other major republican figure of the 70’s and 80’s; that unions were the creation of the devil and the antithesis of American/Free Market capitalism and thus should be put down like Old Yeller… with a single shot to the head, but without the emotion.
This, of course, is a stretch of the truth and a bit of poetic license. Reagan was forced into the position that he was put in, by the union. Reagan knew that if the air traffic controllers had struck, commerce would have been interrupted and it could have led to a shut down in the economy. Reagan saw that and took action. One must remember, the economy was still shaky from the disastrous Presidency of Jimmy Carter.
Where does this apply to me? My Father is a U.A.W. member, I am very appreciative and grateful for the many great things that the Unions did for him. I am here today, because of that. I am also, as a history buff, very aware of the role that the unions had in the forming of this area here. However, as a man, I must ask the unpopular question, asked by many of the children of the Union members:
What exactly has the unions done for me? The sad, but truthful answer is, nothing at all. Has the union ever approached my Father and offered me a job in the plant, where my dad worked, No. The closest thing I ever came to getting a job offer from the Union, was G.M. sending me for a test to see if I had the smarts to work for the company. Me and 10,000 other people. The test I took, there were people at this testing session with 2 year college degrees, who were having trouble with it. Needless to say, I never got a call to work for the company.
The sad truth is that the unions have simply become protectionists. There was a time when the unions had a legitimate role in defending auto workers from the out of control hiring and firing polices of the auto companies here in Detroit. But because of the greater control and stricter labor laws in America. Unions have lost their value. Not to mention the various trade agreements, passed by the Democratic President Bill Clinton, which was viewed by many unions as a “selling up the river”, caused the unions to lose their foothold in the organized labor movement.
This is not to say that I think that unions should be eliminated, not at all. I think if the unions want to be brought back into the mainstream and taken seriously again, the Democrats need to work to make them strong again. Like renegotiating trade agreements and if said countries will not, Op out of them. This was a early campaign promise of Obama. I wonder if he will honor it? This would cause the unions to become strong again. Also, giving tax breaks to companies who hire new blood, without all the restrictions, would be a bonus as well.
So, until this, I ask the question; Dude, where’s my union?