tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post7579832205311475414..comments2023-09-09T07:55:53.277-07:00Comments on El Pollo Real: It Is The Duty Of Union Men To Keep Informedchickelithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-31363375253791601972011-02-19T07:11:02.049-08:002011-02-19T07:11:02.049-08:00Wisconsin voters have two choices as I see it. (1)...Wisconsin voters have two choices as I see it. (1) Pay roughly 4X the taxes that they're paying now to satisfy the debt that the State racked up, or (2) Support the repudiation of the labor contracts as a temporary measure and bring things into balance. <br /><br />When I was a kid going to college, I was a shop steward with the Printing Specialties and Paper Products Union while I worked my regular job. I'm not opposed to collective bargaining or to unions in general, but there are times when the unions need to bend - or in this case the teachers can simply go on strike in the hope that they're not replaced by scab labor.<br /><br />With unemployment where it is that might happen. If Wisconsin put out the call for qualified teachers from other states, it could find itself fully staffed...quickly.LLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05538854359365988863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-76808090107941889542011-02-17T08:08:45.099-08:002011-02-17T08:08:45.099-08:00Ron, I should add in my original post that he was ...Ron, I should add in my original post that he was a reluctant member of the ITU. At least that's how I remember him at the end. The strike in 1977 was a defining moment for me, coming as it did halfway through high school. He never went to the picket lines, but I did, not to participate but rather to interview people for the school newspaper. <br /><br />There's a fine line being walked by people who I hear talking like they want to completely throw out the notion of organized labor. They don't realize that this impossible too.chickelithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-6689753822175026612011-02-17T07:47:09.888-08:002011-02-17T07:47:09.888-08:00I grew up in a UAW household...and saw this evolut...I grew up in a UAW household...and saw this evolution in my own father. At one point, in the late '40's, the union was a source of both unity and family support. But somewhere in the '50's-'60's, despite being a minor union functionary, (thus giving us trips to DC!) he turned against the union, and in '68 voted for Nixon...and never went back.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08791314877257904422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-49696191982029864242011-02-17T07:33:35.595-08:002011-02-17T07:33:35.595-08:00The economic facts they speak of are largely histo...The economic facts they speak of are largely historical. There are citations to labor abuses dating back to the Pharoah's time in this book. I'm not seeing individual credits, but I suspect that it was written mostly by a labor lawyer.<br /><br />The story it tells is of the slow rise of organized labor from the primal sea of abuse and slavery. Even in 1958, they are relying on the momentum from this dismal past.<br /><br />What seems to be happening in a visible way now is the realization that organized labor built a protected edifice of privilege. The benefits which they’re screaming about losing, used to be pretty standard. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been put in place. It’s not like unions had super secret benefits in the past. The unions don’t realize the resentment that others feel towards them. It’s really hard to be on the moral high ground looking down on less privileged.chickelithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10773887469972534979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130126685334700207.post-14568773588514627212011-02-16T22:57:11.185-08:002011-02-16T22:57:11.185-08:00I'd love to know the economic facts they speak...I'd love to know the economic facts they speak of.Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.com