Those Bad Unions

Those bad unions!

Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 8:33 PM Updated: Monday, February 21, 2011, 7:49 AM-in the Oregonian

By TM

I've read books (What's the Matter with Kansas?), articles, stories...trying to understand why people will vote for, and support, issues that work against their own self interest. Case in point. Public Employee Unions. Among them are Police, Firemen, and Teachers. You know, the people who protect us, fight our fires, save our lives, and we hold responsible for preparing our children to win the global intellectual wars to come.

Over the years, through collective bargaining, some have gained benefits richer than many in the private sector. That must be acknowledged by every thinking person. Equally fair, is to acknowledge that on average salaries for Public Employees are lower than their private sector counterparts. It is not uncommon for unions to negotiate wage concessions for benefit enhancements or ,when times are bad, just to maintain the benefits they had previously negotiated for.

The key word here being "negotiated." No one blackmailed anybody, held a gun to anyone's head. The wages and benefits and working conditions were NEGOTIATED. Both sides at the table. It is through negotiation that American workers today have sick leave, overtime laws, health insurance (the lucky ones), child labor laws, disability benefits, etc. In fact, you can thank the labor movement for just about anything having to do with improving the lot of the American worker. Not to mention growing the Middle Class.

But Republicans and the right-wing media would have us believe that we no longer need unions. That we have all the rules and regulations we will ever need. That businesses and corporations will always do the right thing. They will always pay fair salaries. They will always protect our jobs if we become sick, or need to care for a sick child or parent. They will always allow access to health insurance for us and our families, and they will always, always, put our safety above corporate profit.

Even more amazing than expecting us believe that bunch of malarkey, is the fact that...we are. Thanks to the right-wing media machine, a great number of us believe that Public Employee Union Members are greedy leeches sucking their tax dollars with free health care for them and their extended families including cousins and aunts and uncles, before enjoying cushy retirements in the Bahamas. Oh yeah, and Public Employees make 10 times more than their counterparts in the private sector. You know, all those rich policemen, firemen, and teachers. Lots of new BMWs and Mercedes in those employee parking lots, I'm sure.

But the head shaker is that people across this country, working people, believe unions are bad. That Public Employee Unions are particularly evil and a major cause of state budget deficits. Not the bankers who caused all the home foreclosures driving down property values and in turn state property tax revenue, or Wall St. that brought about a financial crisis that cost people their jobs and their retirement nest eggs. No, the problem is with Policemen, Firemen, Elementary School Teachers. People who protect the beauty of our national parks, and make sure our letters are delivered thousands of miles across the country, on time and to the right location, for 44 cents. Who says government doesn't do anything right.

Most of those who demonize unions have never experienced a union first hand. And for that they can thank Republicans. They have successfully demonized unions, made it harder for workers to unionize, so that now only about 8% of the private sector workforce is allowed to collectively bargain for wages, benefits, and working conditions. The other 92% has to shut up and take what they are handed.

Meanwhile, corporate bosses are making 300-400 times what their workers make. They are paying less taxes, sending jobs overseas, and doing quite well thank you. They can affording sending their children to the best private schools,giving them the best chance of success in a global market, while our public schools teach with outdated books in overcrowded classrooms. And school days have to be reduced just to make the budget.

What happened to the Eisenhower Republicans? Republicans that supported organized labor. That appreciated that unions helped grow the Middle Class. Helped to make workplaces safer, children not be abused, and workers not taken advantage of...not thrown under the bus of corporate greed.

And when might Republicans understanding that business needs customers. And customers need livable wages and good health. That in a world without unions, the American worker will be left depending upon their corporate bosses' benevolence.

Good luck with that.

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