Political cartoon from 1955--era of a different perspective
Michigan is the latest target of, powerful moneyed people who want to explode solidarity--want to wipe from consciousness the idea that employers have responsibilities to their workers, and workers to each other, and both of these, to the whole community. Walter Reuther, Pope Leo XIII, Cesar Chavez, countless union maids, and so many others are rolling over in their graves.
Michigan has just been voted by its lame duck legislature, a “right to work” state.
The rust belt {insult to injury} is now made the union bust belt—Indiana,
Wisconsin, Michigan, and more, the targets.
If they can break the UAW and teachers unions in Michigan of strong labor tradition, they can do
it anywhere.
After many slick operators like Bain Capitol have shipped
most of our manufacturing out of the country, then corporate groups like ALEC
and the Mackinaw Center cleverly engineer legislation that says we have “the
right to work”-- not having to join the union that’s won the right to represent
the worker at their workplace. These
think tanks like to say this makes states more likely to draw business. But on important indicators of a good
economy, right-to-work state studies show conflicting, murky results. Some “job creators” are becoming job
devastators.
Soon there will be no more good paying jobs, and no more
unions. Because the “right to work” is
really the right to shirk—reject your responsibility to co-workers. Get the benefits that the union wins in
negotiation, but no personal by-in, no shared sacrifice.
Every man and woman for themselves, divide and conquer. The
gospel of Ann Rand tries to marginalize the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Unions are disparaged; disunion is
celebrated. I’ve got mine, good luck
getting yours. Selfishness battles
shared destiny.
Our grandparents sacrificed to build unions which
bargain for the middle class with upper class owners. We do live in two different worlds. If you don’t believe so, just try to visit a
gated community, join an exclusive club, or fly in a private jet. There doesn’t
have to be class warfare, but there surely is class distinction. The need for mediators to negotiate between
bosses and workers should be self-evident.
Yes, there is bad union behavior, just as there’s bad boss behavior, but
paying a little attention to the history of organized labor in the USA should
convince, that good unions are the foundation for good jobs and
productivity. Many employers now
recognize this. But they didn’t always.
At a hospital emergency room seeing patients, shoveling
in a mine, hoeing sugar beets, or working the assembly line, all the long
day—these teach a lesson. Having done the first and third of these, I’ve
learned something. Most working
people know what’s fair and what’s not, if management sits down and levels with
them. This is the purpose of sensible
union activity, to achieve the goals of the company / organization, all
contributors at the table. For the rich especially, a thorough contemplative reading of the Gospel of Luke and his Acts of the Apostles, would be a wise prayerful choice during this troubled, holy, season.
St. Luke the Evangelist was bullish on the responsibility the Rich have for the rest of us.
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From Sec. 20 Rerum Novarum, 1891, Pope Leo XIII---“Lastly, the rich must religiously refrain
from cutting down the workmen's earnings, whether by force, by fraud, or by
usurious dealing…”
From Economic Justice for All, a pastoral letter of the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1986)
“No one may deny the right to organize without
attacking human dignity itself. Therefore we firmly oppose organized efforts,
such as those regrettably seen in this country, to break existing unions or
prevent workers from organizing.”
Another form of rights--that includes everyone--Today
December 10th -- Human Rights Day
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